Author: Ralph Walker

I got a great question on Twitter yesterday:

Is it OK to pitch an agent even though you’ve submitted your manuscript to a publisher who requested it? – Janice F.

First off HOORAY! Shoot the fireworks off. You have a publisher who has requested your manuscript! That is fantastic. Well done. Seriously, it is a small step on a long road, but you should celebrate each step.

Second, lets get to your question. The short answer is Yes, it is usually OK to pitch an agent if you have submitted to a publisher. In fact you should be using that tidbit in your pitch! Saying that there is an acquiring editor who has requested your work can be a really valuable piece of information for any Agent. It immediately shows that this is not your first rodeo.

When I attended the New York Pitch Conference (amazing conference, you should go) I had the opportunity to pitch to Editors before I ever met an Agent. While I came away from the conference with major rewrites on my novel, I also knew that two editors were interested in my work. From that point forward I made sure to mention that nugget in both my pitch and my queries. You can see how I integrated it into the REBIRTH INTERRUPTED pitch.

Now here is the longer answer. Once you have a publisher interested it is your job to find appropriate representation. You don’t want to be in a situation where the publisher offers you a deal and you don’t know who to call for help with terms. I know some folks may disagree with this, but you will need a Lawyer/Agent BEFORE you sign any deal. For that reason, it is imperative that you continue to pitch and query.

But who? Which Agent should you pursue? I would recommend jumping on Publisher’s Marketplace to find out about who was involved in the last few deals this Publisher completed. (Get the full subscription, it is only $25 a month and you need the pro version to search all of the contacts and deals. This is a tool every writer needs when you are searching for representation) You can start to track which Agents and Agencies are working with this Publisher regularly, and even see if who the Acquisition Editor has worked with. Once you have that list of Agents, do your homework on each of them. Are they building or expanding their list of Authors? If not, is there a new Agent at their Agency who might be. Do they work in your genre? Are they going to any upcoming conferences? Look for overlaps and tailor your pitch or your query appropriately.

You may find that your dream Agent hasn’t worked with this publisher. That can still be OK, but it is better to know up front, then to be surprised later. If you aren’t sure don’t be shy about asking. When you are in a pitch session make it a point to ask the Agent about their experience with this publisher or others. Their insights will be invaluable.

Remember, when you query or pitch these Agents, or others, it is important that you tell them that your work was requested by a publisher. Let that be part of your hook, but you should expect to get a follow up questions about who you submitted to and where you are in the process.

Publishing is a small world. Make sure you put your best foot forward at each step.

As a reminder I’m just a writer like you. I am not an attorney or agent. If you have been given an agreement or a request for an exclusive review make sure you understand the terms of your agreement. If you don’t have anything on paper and you aren’t really sure of what has been implied, but sure to ask and clarify.

Thanks for your question Janice! I hope that helps. If anyone has a follow up, feel free to leave it in the comments below or reach out to me via twitter or email.

October is full of amazing opportunities to pitch your novel, both in person and online. Listed below are 14 events that you should consider checking out. They are spread out all over the country (even in Canada!). Pitch appointments fill up fast, so if you haven’t signed up yet be sure to register right away!

Good luck and be sure to come back and share your pitch testimonials!

OCTOBER 2015:
Oct. 1-4, 2015 – Moonlight and Magnolias romance writers’ conference in Norcross, Georgia; http://www.georgiaromancewriters.org/mm-conference/ **Note Pitch workshop and appointments are limited to 100 people. Sign up early.**

Oct. 8-10, 2015 – Ozark Creative Writers’ Conference, Eureka Springs, AR – http://ozarkcreativewriters.com **Note – One Day of Pitch appointments. Sign up early.**

October 8-11, 2015 – Women Writing the West conference, Eagle Truest Resort, Redmond, OR. www.womenwritingthewest.org. **Note – 10 minute pitch appointments. Sign up early.**

Oct. 9, 2015 – San Diego Writers’ Conference, San Diego, CA http://sandiegowritingworkshop.com/

Oct. 10, 2015 – The Writing Conference of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA http://writingconferenceoflosangeles.com/

October 15-18, 2015 – Florida Writers Assoc. Annual Conference, Altamonte Springs, FL https://floridawriters.net/conferences/florida-writers-conference/

Oct. 16-17, 2015 – Put Your Heart in a Book, New Jersey Romance Writers Conference, Iselin, N.J. http://www.njromancewriters.org/conference.html

Oct. 16-18, 2015 – New York Fiction Writers Workshop, New York, NY http://www.newyorkwritersworkshop.com/fiction-pitch-conference/

Oct. 17, 2015 – #PitchSlam Online Pitching Event – Details at http://llmckinney.com/pitch-slam/

Oct. 24, 2015 – Indiana Writers’ Conference, Indianapolis, IN http://indianawritingworkshop.com/

Oct. 23-25, 2015 – Surrey International Writers Conference, Surrey, BC, Canada. http://www.siwc.ca/ 10 Minute 1 on 1 Pitch Sessions

Oct. 23-25, 2015 – Genre-LA: Memoir Writers Conference, Los Angeles, CA. http://www.wcwriters.com/ 1 on 1 Agent and Editor Consultations available

Oct. 29 – Nov. 1, 2015 – Killer Nashville, Nashville, TN. http://www.killernashville.com/conference/ Agent / Editor Round Tables

Oct. 30-31, 2015 – Indiana Faith and Writing Conference, Anderson, Ind. http://www.faithandwriting.com/ – Individual 15 minute consultations

A Note for Conference Organizers: If you have an update about your conference or pitch sessions please make a comment below. If you would like to promote another event or add an event please contact me  with more information.

Will you be in the NYC Area on September 16th? Don’t miss out on the next Pitchapalooza with The Book Doctors at the Brooklyn Public Library at 7:00 pm. Come ready with a ONE MINUTE PITCH! Details are here: http://www.thebookdoctors.com/the-book-doctors-bring-pitchapalooza-back-to-brooklyn-book-festival

Even if you aren’t ready to pitch, it is a great event to see what pitching is all about. Check it out!

Ok, I’ll admit it, I am a sucker for a good Rube Goldberg machine. The crazier the mechanism, the more interested I become. I am sure there is a screw loose somewhere that makes those things so attractive, but perhaps there is more to it. Fiction novels aren’t so dissimilar to a good Rube Goldberg. As writers we are trying to take something as simple as; ‘Girl saves Boy’ or ‘Man solves Mystery’ or ‘World is Saved’ and expand that simple idea into a fascinating story filled with drama, suspense, intrigue. In one sense we are all building these crazy Rube Goldberg Machines with our words.

Rube Goldberg machines are fascinating because they take simple everyday objects and use them together in unexpected ways, to achieve unexpected results. A really good Rube Goldberg machine is so interesting and curious that you can’t take your eyes off of it. Better yet, you want to see it again, and again. You want to show all of your friends. Doesn’t this sound like what we are all trying to do in our writing? Taking familiar language, characters, settings or even tropes and using them in unexpected and delightful ways to achieve unexpected results?

Instead of dismissing the Rube Goldberg, perhaps it is worthwhile to unpack it and learn a few things. Fast Company did a nice article with Hamster Wheel about how to design an Awesome Rube Goldberg Machine. You should read the article (and check out their awesome machine). I took their points below and applied them to creating a pitch for your novel. I think you will be surprised at how closely they align. I’ve even included a few Rube Goldberg Machines to show you how they work.

Take Stock

A great pitch is only as good as the sum of its parts. With limited time and limited word counts make sure you are assembling the most important parts of your book in your pitch, but you can’t include everything. One of my all time favorite Rube Goldberg Machines is Melvin the  Mini Machine by Studio HeyHeyHey. The whole machine fits into two suitcases. Your novel might fill a whole neighborhood or a whole world in your mind, but when you pitch you can only take a suitcase and a carry on for the trip. What would you pack?

Timing’s Everything

Rube Goldberg Machines are only really interesting when they are all fully set up and ready to go. Watching someone put dominos up for hours at a time, or finding the perfect balance between a bowling ball and a ball bearing is about as interesting as watching paint dry. It takes days, weeks, sometimes months to build one of those machines. Your novel surely took at least that long, and you will need to invest the time to write a great pitch. Once the machine is built and the action starts it has to be slow enough to follow and understand, but fast enough to keep things interesting. When you are writing and delivering a pitch the same rules apply. Your audience needs enough information to follow along, but the pitch has to move quickly and efficiently. Watching Honda’s The Cog commercial every moment almost feels too long, yet I keep going waiting for the payoff. The timing of that Rube Goldberg Machine is entrancing, and perfect.

Make Sure it works in One Take

There are no do-overs when you pitch. The appointment is finished, the bell rings, the elevator door opens, and your time is up. A great Rube Goldberg Machine works the same way. Practice as long and as often as you want, but when the cameras role, or you get in front of that Agent or Editor make it count. Be prepared to give your pitch as perfectly as you can. The team a Purdue knew they had to pull off one perfect take to get a world record with their Time Machine Rube Goldberg.

If you can make it repeatable

We all know that we won’t only pitch once. In fact, you should expect and hope to pitch many times. You will be telling this story to publishing professionals, but also to friends, loved ones, and to your audience (who will hopefully become fans) again and again. The pitch will transform based on the situation, but the guts of it should be the same. Get comfortable telling your pitch in a variety of situations.

Get outside feedback

The whole machine works! The marble made it to the end of the run! The match is lit! The postage stamp is one the letter! It works, but does it? Is it interesting? Is it fun? What could be better? Those lingering questions stick with designers just the way they do with writers. You will need feedback. We all do. When you are writing a pitch, build a feedback loop into your process.

While it is fun to see the finished product of all of these machines, take a look at this video on the Making of Honda’s The Cog. You’ll see the variety of people and voices that went into that Machine and that Ad. While this is a astray of the feedback you might get on your novel’s pitch it really shows the effort and care that went into creating that Machine for a great result.

Go out with a bang

I love this tip. Rube Goldberg Machines are well known for their big finish. Watching OK Go – This Too Shall Pass (Rube Goldberg Machine) I get lost in the video and can’t help but smile at their big finish. (I also love their story telling technique of giving a hint to the ending in the opening shot. Yes, watch it again, you’ll see it too.) Your pitch needs something that will grab an audience and make it memorable. Finishing the formal pitch strong is critical to cut through the noise. Bring the fireworks and the balloons and the Hollywood kiss. You’ll get some attention.

BANG

I had the pleasure of meeting Chuck Sambuchino at the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference this year and he has been gracious enough to give NovelPitch a few minutes of his time. Granted, it took every drink ticket I could scrounge, but his insights are worth it.

Chuck is a busy guy. He works for Writer’s Digest Publishing, his Guide to Literary Agents is one of the biggest blogs in publishing (you should be following it) and he is an accomplished author. Not many writers can boast releasing three books in the same month, but this September he is celebrating the release of 3 new books: the 2016 GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS, the 2016 CHILDREN’S WRITER’S & ILLUSTRATOR’S MARKET, and his new humor gift book, WHEN CLOWNS ATTACK: A SURVIVAL GUIDE (Ten Speed Press / Random House). He loves meeting writers and helping them get published. He hates clowns and garden gnomes.

Instead of three wishes, NovelPitch got three questions with Chuck.

NP. Do pitches really matter? What is the advantage of pitching an Agent or Editor over the traditional query route?

CS. The advantage is that you get to sit in front of an agent and let them put a friendly face to a name. It isn’t just the agent reading a cold letter — you get to engage in a valuable conversation. Talking about your book in person with an agent is great, but I’ve long said that just as valuable is what you say when you don’t pitch. If you can make the agent laugh, or chit-chat about a TV show that you both like, they will smile and remember you later. When you send the requested works to them, they’ll remember the pleasant conversation and actively hope your writing has something great.

Put yourself in an agent’s shoes with me for a moment, and we’ll examine an example real quick. Let’s say you’re a writer who has a big poetry blog. Every day, you get 15 cold emails that come in and say “Hi, please read my poetry for consideration of putting it on your big poetry blog.” You get those 15 cold emails day in and day out from countless people you don’t know and have never met. Then you go to a conference and have a sit-down with a poet. You have a nice conversation about writing and poetry. Then that poet writes you a few days later and says “Was great to meet you the other day! I am attaching some of my poetry here. Thanks for considering some of it for your blog.” I’m guessing that if you had a good conversation with that writer, you are going to give their work a longer consideration than an average cold submission — whether that longer look is based in true interest in the work, or just a feeling of obligation because you’ve met in person and enjoyed their company (i.e., instead of looking for a reason to say no, you’re looking for a reason to enjoy the writing and read on). If you show yourself to be a capable, passionate writer who has a handle on their book project and the pitch, that will register with an agent, consciously or subconsciously.

There is always going to be a percentage of agents out there who hate in-person pitches and speak out against the process, but the process does work. I myself found my own agent at a conference. After the recent Writer’s Digest Conference in NYC in August 2015, one agent and one editor who participated in the pitch slam both emailed within a week to tell me they found clients already. That was just after one week. A few years ago, I was moderating a huge panel of 12 agents at the San Francisco Writers Conference. I turned to the 6 agents on my right and asked all the agents who had found a client through a past SF conference in the past to raise their hands. All 6 raised their hands. That was a 100% success rate, and I only asked them about finding a past client at that specific SF event.

NP. You have the opportunity to attend many different pitching events throughout the year. Which events would you consider to be the ‘best’ opportunity for an aspiring author to improve their chances at finding a Literary Agent, and Why?

CS. Good question. When considering which event to attend to pitch agents, the two things I would look for, if I were in the writer’s shoes is: 1) how many agents will be present who represent my genre/category, and therefore would be an appropriate fit? And 2) how many of them seem to be actively building their client list? If one of your main goals at a conference is indeed pitching, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to attend an event where there are no agents (or editors) there who rep your type of book. By the way, I’ll be speaking soon at conferences (with agents) in Los Angeles, San Diego, New England, Houston, Florida, Atlanta and more. Find more information here.

NP. At pitch slams and similar events Literary Agents might hear up to 100 pitches in a single day. If you could give every author who pitches one tip on how to rise above the noise, what would it be?

CS. A good one-sentence hook or “X meets Y” can be effective. Like for example, if you start your pitch out by saying “It’s basically Die Hard on a space station,” then if an agent likes that hook line, they can remember that and not any more of the pitch, and still walk away thinking positively of the meeting.

After the recent WDC15 Conference, I approached a fiction agent and asked him how the pitches went. He said “Fine. It’s hard to tell until you see the writing, of course. But a few pitches sounded really interesting, especially [example example].” I won’t share the specifics of the example because that would be giving away the writer’s really good hook, but the point was this agent was impressed by the writer’s one-sentence summary of the hook/plot. If you have a really high-concept plot, such as a vampire who decides to be a vegetarian, or a disgruntled former president who decides to assassinate the current president, then a concise hook line alone can get an agent’s mind going because it’s short, sweet, and easy to remember amid all the pitches of the day.

If your book is not high-concept and cannot be explained quickly/easily, then my best advice, besides avoidance of a sprawling pitch, is to chat the agent up personally and just be warm and likable. Again, that will register with them. If they smile and like you as a person, they will want your work to be awesome later, and give it a longer look.

People who want to contact me can find info on my website, or reach out to me through Twitter. Thanks!

NP. And THANK YOU Chuck!

Chuck Sambuchino of Writer’s Digest Books edits the GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS and the CHILDREN’S WRITER’S & ILLUSTRATOR’S MARKET. His Guide to Literary Agents Blog is one of the largest blogs in publishing.

His 2010 humor book, HOW TO SURVIVE A GARDEN GNOME ATTACK, was optioned by Sony Pictures. His latest humor book, WHEN CLOWNS ATTACK: A SURVIVAL GUIDE (fall 2015), will protect people everywhere from malicious bozos and jokers who haunt our lives. His books have been mentioned in Reader’s Digest, USA Today, the New York Times, The Huffington Post, Variety, New York Magazine, and more.

Chuck has also written the writing guides FORMATTING & SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT and CREATE YOUR WRITER PLATFORM (2012) and GET A LITERARY AGENT (Jan. 2015).

October is CHOCK FULL of great pitching opportunities all over the country. If you are looking for a Literary Agent, or maybe even hoping to pitch direct to an Editor you should check out some of these upcoming opportunities the first half of October. Be sure to register early and SIGN UP for the Pitch Sessions, Agent / Editor Appointments or any other opportunities to tell publishing pros about your manuscript!

OCTOBER 2015:
Oct. 1-4, 2015 – Moonlight and Magnolias romance writers’ conference in Norcross, Georgia; http://www.georgiaromancewriters.org/mm-conference/ **Note Pitch workshop and appointments are limited to 100 people. Sign up early.**

Oct. 8-10, 2015 – Ozark Creative Writers’ Conference, Eureka Springs, AR – http://ozarkcreativewriters.com **Note – One Day of Pitch appointments. Sign up early.**

October 8-11, 2015 – Women Writing the West conference, Eagle Truest Resort, Redmond, OR. www.womenwritingthewest.org. **Note – 10 minute pitch appointments. Sign up early.**

Oct. 10, 2015 – The Writing Conference of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA http://writingconferenceoflosangeles.com/

October 15-18, 2015 – Florida Writers Assoc. Annual Conference, Altamonte Springs, FL https://floridawriters.net/conferences/florida-writers-conference/

Oct. 16-17, 2015 – Put Your Heart in a Book, New Jersey Romance Writers Conference, Iselin, N.J. http://www.njromancewriters.org/conference.html

Oct, 16-18, 2015 – New York Fiction Writers Workshop, New York, NY http://www.newyorkwritersworkshop.com/fiction-pitch-conference/

For the full list of Opportunities click here and come back often. The Pitching Opportunities page is updated regularly.