10 Insights from a 10 Minute Pitch

At the ROSACon 2014, romance authors had the opportunity to pitch to international editors and agents. Some of us got to pitch to Charlotte Mursell, a comissioning editor of Harlequin Mills&Boon. Before the Skype pitch, she’d asked to see a first chapter and synposis of our stories, which made the process go smoother – as we weren’t try to sell an idea ‘cold’. Here are 10 insights for those 10 nerve-wracking, exciting, rewarding minutes face-to-face with an editor.

1. Relax! As nervous as you are, just smile and say hello – once the waiting is done, it’s almost like meeting in a coffee shop.
2. Listen. The pitch is about sharing as much information about your book in the shortest space of time, so make sure you listen carefully.
3. Keep an open mind. The editor is going to give ways to improve your story so that it fits their brand – don’t be resistant to this or, worse, defensive.
4. Take notes. The editor is going to be throwing ideas at you, suggesting changes, giving advice – you’re not going to remember it all without writing it down.
5. Give her something to work with. If something’s not working in your book, throw some new angles or ideas around and see if she responds to these. If you can’t think on the fly, tell her you’ll think about it.
6. Ask questions. If you’re unsure about anything, ask! This doesn’t make you look stupid. It just means you want to get things right.
7. Plot. She’s probably going to hone in on three things – plot, characters, imprint. For plot, she’s going to hone in on elements that are not working in your synopsis. She’s probably not going to sugar coat it.
8. Character. For your characters, she’s going to test their motivation and behaviour. She’ll want you to dig deeper than what she’s seeing in your submission. Know the hero and heroine inside and out.
9. Be prepared to change things. After the pitch, be open to every suggestion given but maybe give yourself a few days to play with ideas, let the information settle etc., before making a new strategy.
10. Breathe! It’s over, you survived. It doesn’t matter if you got good news or not so good news, the advice given is invaluable and the experience will make you stronger – it will certainly force you to improve your focus on your novel.

Personally, I got more out of these 10 minutes that I’d ever got out of the feedback letters received in the past. I was worried about my the tone of the story, the main plot idea and a few other things – Charlotte helped me get a better grip on the story. I left feeling a lot more confident, positive and motivated about the changes I needed to make.

Anthony Ehlers

Conference Report: The Pitch Experience

Today we're bringing you feedback from some of the pitchers on how it felt to pitch live to an editor or agent.

From Kathy Bosman on pitching to editor Charlotte Ledger:

I chose to pitch to Charlotte Ledger as it’s a dream to be published by Harper Impulse. I’ve never done a pitch before and was really nervous. Maybe because I express myself way better with the written word than verbally. I prepared a speech with loglines, characters’ goals, motivation, etc and practised it with my husband and other writer friends. I expected to make a monologue, but instead, Charlotte surprised me. In a pleasant way. What I really appreciated about her was that she took the time to read through my synopsis and first chapter thoroughly. She’d prepared questions for me and already had some advice on how to tighten up my book. Her manner was friendly, casual, and pleasant but in no way unprofessional. She pointed out the strengths of my book which gave me wind beneath my wings to fly with it, but also showed me ways to strengthen it. I don’t know if I’ll ever be fully relaxed for a pitch, but I do know now what to expect and I’m very excited to have the opportunity to send my manuscript to Charlotte once it’s complete.


Elsa Winckler on pitching to agent Laurie McLean:

I didn’t really feel ‘ready’ for the pitch but decided at the last minute, let’s do this (with a little help from Romy, that is :)) I’m so glad I did, though. I’ve tried to get in touch with agents before but it’s impossible really because most of them only accept pitches from authors they’ve met at conferences. And now we’ve had a conference! I don’t know whether I’ll be accepted as a client eventually but just the experience of being able to chat to Laurie made the whole effort worth-while.


Check back here tomorrow for Anthony Ehlers' post on 10 Insights from a 10 minute pitch.

The Pitch that got me the call back ~ a journey

Lets face it as a modern South African writer / aspiring novelist we face many challenges in landing that book deal we all dream about.  The role as a writer has many complicated layers and holds such beautiful promise. It's a compulsion driven by a need to inspire, make a difference and heal through words and stories. Every writer has a message to deliver, an urge to be heard and to connect through expression, but at the same time stand out as an individual. 

When I started writing my first novel, I believed in my creation. In my dream to heal through words. Once my manuscript was done, revised and edited it was time to find an agent/publisher to deliver my story to the world. But I soon discovered how isolated and alone I was in the South African publishing world. Resources, agents and tools for a SA writer of Young Adult Science- fiction was a rarity. For me as a SA writer there was no support. Without landing an Agent there was no getting published. 

Four years later, through countless hours, and money wasted on a Vanity publisher,  I  eventually started making a name for myself in the international market. But paying in USD currency for an editor, a cover artist and a publicist started to take its toll on me. I couldn't understand why I had to fight so hard for my dream to come true.  I quickly found that it was so easy and extremely welcoming to adhere to international trends, and pretty soon I had a huge fan base in America. 

In 2014 my ultimate dream came true when I attended a USA book signing and writers con in Nashville. I did extremely well and established myself as a force to be reckoned with as my editor would say. What I gained and learnt in those few days was a revelation compared to the three years of online research. I learned about honing the perfect pitch hoping it would give me the confidence to pitch my projects one more time. I leaned so much at the con I couldnt wait to apply it -= And then the booboo! (yup I said booboo) While at the con I got an off chance to do live pitch and even though it wasn't to an agent I totally froze up and BLEW IT! 

UNTIL... 

a few months later and hours after sulking I found ROSAcon2014 and this was my chance to show myself I have to get up and do it again. I learned so much how can I not use it??

What won me over to attend the event is that I would have the once in a life time opportunity to pitch my voice to very important players in the publishing industry - and editor from Harper Impulse and a bigshot US agent. I had to grab this opportunity as they don't come often. 

 When I registered to ROSAcon 2014 I was extremely, extremely excited by the fact that there was actually a happening, gathering of SA writers with the opportunity to learn about the growing market of SA writers and know that there were SA writers that have been extremely successful in the industry despite the extreme challenges we as SA authors face.

Building up to the pitch that could ignite my writing career to such an extent that I could possibly become a full time writer.

Once I registered with with ROSA I took out all my notes I learned in the US and studied them, did the worksheets. A day or so later I got a wonderful email from Romy Sommer (host of ROSA) and published author with Harper Impulse. 

Tips on what to add in your pitch... I posted some of it here.

As expected, even after all my preparation, it didn't guarantee they would like my work -  I had a very sleepless night. 

Minutes before the pitch, actually waiting in line with a few other authors, was killing me slowly. 

I chewed up all my nail polish!

On realizing everyone in the room felt the same I started to feel a bit better that I had others sharing the same kind of torture. Romy Sommer made us all feel a bit more relaxed and she was totally right there was nothing to be worried about.  And she was right!

It was love at first sight!!!

First pitch 

The gorgeous Charlotte Ledger from Harper Implulse.

Charlotte was great from the word hello! 

On doing research on Charlotte, I soon realized I love this woman's passion and beauty -  I don't have anything that would sweep her away - So I started writing something that would peek her interest and sway mine... Well turns out she freaking loved my first chapter and wanted to see more. Immediately my guard was down and all the prepping just soaked in and delivered everything I was taught. 

The important thing was to ask questions - and I did and going back to my story I'm freaking in love with I cannot wait to send her more. ~ although this does not mean I will get the YES PLEASE WE WANT YOU - the fact that I got the call for more proved to me that I can hook like no ones business.

Second Pitch 

To the esteemed lit agent Laurie McLean 

This too was huge deal for me, as Agents are non existent in our parts and landing one would mean I can spend more time on writing and my agent would become my best friend and help me grow in areas where I suck. Once again I wanted to write something inspired by Laurie's taste, because having something an agent actually likes is a wonderful start.

Laurie was wonderful, I didn't feel intimdated at all. In my opinion I thought we got on really well. She was so easy to talk to and I could see the passion for stories with each blink of the eye. I fed off her energy and got us much from Laurie as I could. I'm not sure who asked more questions me or Laurie? Yup I got the call for more!!

I am still on a high from this event that could possible change my life, and like I said before even if I don't fully close the deal, I know how to create a good hook and feel confident enough to pitch to other agents and editors now. What a wonderful opportunity it has been!! 

You can follow my journey @CarlyleL

www.carlylelabuschagne.com

GO GET EM!!!!

"dont be crippled by fear, let love give you wings"

~ Carlyle Labuschagne 

Next up: reports on Rebecca Crowley's talk on 'How to stand out from the slush pile'.