Some Dos and Don'ts for Pitches and Blurbs

By Suzanne Purvis 

Part of The Writer’s Life Series 

JH: Pitching is part of being a writer, so it's a skill we should all develop early. Suzanne Purvis is here today to share tips on what to do--and not to do--in our novel pitches and blurbs.

Suzanne Purvis is a transplanted Canadian living in the Deep South, where she traded “eh” for “y’all.” An author of long, short, flash fiction, and poetry for both children and adults, she has won several awards including those sponsored by the University of Toronto, RWA, Bethlehem Writers, and Women Who Write. You can find her work in print anthologies, magazines, ezines, and ebooks.

She leads workshops at Lawson Writer’s Academy and for Romance Writers of America, including her popular Sizzling, Scintillating Synopsis, Potent Pitches and Brilliant Blurbs, Revision Boot Camp and now she’s honored to be teaching Margie Lawson’s Deep Editing, Rhetorical Devices and More class.

Her next class, Potent Pitches and Brilliant Blurbs, begins November 1st.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads

Take it away Suzanne…

Here’s the Pitch—It’s a Hit! Crafting Your Novel's Pitch Line

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

A great pitch line is useful for more than just selling your novel.   

Pitching your novel makes most writers cringe, but it's actually one of the first things we learn to do. Telling someone what our story is about happens even before we write it. A pitch is just a more professional version of that.

I’ve chatted about pitches before, so let’s cover some new ground today.

A pitch means several things (the terminology is used interchangeably), so let's clarify what I mean first.

A one-line pitch is the elevator pitch.

It's what you say when someone asks "what's your book about?" A pitch paragraph is the entire description of the novel (and the bulk of your query). A query hook is the same thing. I'm talking about one-lines pitches in this article. They can be either spoken or written.

Now let’s look at what makes a good one-line pitch.

Twitter Pitch Like You Mean It!

By Alex J. Cavanaugh, @AlexJCavanaugh

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: Pitch parties have grown more popular over the years, and many a writer has found an agent through one. Alex J. Cavanaugh takes to the podium today to share just how these pitch parties work.

Alex J. Cavanaugh works in web design, graphics, and technical editing. A fan of all things science fiction, his interests range from books and movies to music and games. Online he is the Ninja Captain and founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, which hosts #IWSGPit every January. He’s the author of Amazon Best-Sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, CassaStorm, and Dragon of the Stars. The author lives in the Carolinas with his wife.

Website | Insecure Writers Support Group | Twitter

Take it away Alex…

8 Secrets to Pitching Your Novel Like a Pro

By Laurence MacNaughton, @LMacNaughton  

Part of the How They Do It Series (Contributing Author)

When you get the opportunity to pitch your novel face-to-face to an editor or literary agent, you need to know exactly what to do – and what mistakes to avoid.

Even if you've written the world's greatest novel, no one will know it unless you can get an someone to read it. But persuading a busy industry professional to risk their valuable time on your unpublished manuscript is no picnic.

But you can do it right. Prepare yourself for novel pitching success by avoiding these deal-breaking blunders.

Mistake #1: Trying to Tell the Whole Story

The moment you sit down to pitch, you may experience the almost irrepressible urge to tell your entire amazing story from beginning to end in intricate detail.

Three Things to Know Before You Pitch in an Online Pitch Event

By Roseanne Brown, @rosiesrambles

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Pitch Wars and other online pitching events are all the rage these days. While more options for getting our work to agents and editors is good, the public nature of it comes with its own share of downsides (as well as benefits). Please help me welcome Rosanne Brown to the lecture hall today to share some tips on surviving an online pitching event.

Rosie Brown is a graduate of the University of Maryland, a former editorial intern for Entangled Publishing, and an alumnus of the Pitch Wars contest. She is represented by Quressa Robinson of Nelson Literary Agency. She can be found on Twitter @rosiesrambles, where she is usually yelling loudly about Star Wars or complaining about how much she hates the cold.

Take it away Rosanne...

Birth of a Book Part Three: The Idea Stage: Clarifying the Idea

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Part of the Early Stages of a Novel Series


In this series, I’ll be analyzing the early stages of writing a novel. Part One is the Idea Stage, focusing on my own four-step process of developing an idea enough to turn that idea into an actual novel. First, we went through step one of the process, The Inspirational Spark. Last week, we discussed step two with Brainstorming the Idea. Today, let’s move on to step three, take what we brainstormed, and clarify the idea.

3 Key Elements of Successful Pitching

By Vivian Conroy @VivWrites

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Pitching a novel can be a terrifying experience, but if you prepare before you pitch, you not only settle the nerves, but increase your chances of success. Please help me welcome Vivian Conroy to the podium today, to share her thoughts on pitching a novel series.

Hooked on mystery since she read her first Agatha Christie at thirteen, Vivian Conroy writes the Lady Alkmene Callender 1920s' mysteries for an imprint of HarperCollins. Book 1, A PROPOSAL TO DIE FOR -- described by reviewers as 'a cross between Downton Abbey and Miss Marple' and 'an exciting, humorous and fabulously witty voyage'-- was released on September 19 and is available through Amazon, BN.com, Kobo, Ibooks, and Google Play.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Take it away Vivian...

Pitch, Please! – Three Tips to Improve Your Elevator Pitch

By Tiffany Reisz, @tiffanyreisz

At seemingly random intervals on Twitter, a PitchFest will break out. Agents and editors are on the alert that aspiring authors will be pitching their books via Twitter. It’s the new version of the elevator pitch.

What is an elevator pitch, you ask? It’s your book summed up in about 30 seconds or less, twenty-five words or less, or in the case of Twitter PitchFests—140 characters or less.

The problem with these PitchFests is that most writers don’t pitch very well. THERE! I said it. Your book might be fabulous, but if your pitch is boring it'll go splat. You’re trying to get an agent’s attention in 140 characters or less, so it’s going to have to be good. So good that when the agent or editor reads it, they hear the “IN A WORLD…” voiceover guy reading your pitch to a crowded movie theater and an ominous DUN-DUN!!! at the end.

Guest Agent Sara Megibow: Is the Agent Pitch Session an Effective Tool or Could it use a Tweak?

By Sara Megibow, @SaraMegibow

I'm shaking it up today with a guest agent instead of an author, so join me in welcoming the ever delightful Sara Megibow to the blog. She's here with a different view (and thoughts) on something most of us dread--the pitch session--and some ideas on how to make it more effective.

Sara has been with Nelson Literary Agency since early 2006. Her first responsibilities included reading query letters, sample pages, and full manuscripts, and she was promoted to Associate Literary Agent in 2009. From sexy romance to epic fantasy, Sara has loved reading since picking up her first copy of The Hobbit. Sara earned a B.A. in Women’s Studies and a B.A. in American History from Northwestern University. She loves to ski, hike, kayak, and hang out with her beat-boxing husband, adorable son, and fuzzy cat. You can find her on Twitter and on Facebook.

Take it away Sara...

Writing a Selling Query or Pitch in Four Easy Steps

By Elle Strauss

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Queries are the bane of many writers, so I'm always delighted to offer advice on how to write one. Today, Elle Strauss is here to give us her tips on dealing with these often difficult letters.

Elle writes time travel and merfolk chic-lit, light SF and historical YA fiction. She has one husband, four kids and two cats. She’s fond of Lindt's sea salt dark chocolate and hiking in good weather. CLOCKWISE is her first YA release. You can find her on Facebook,twitter @elle_strauss,and her blog at www.ellestraussbooks.blogspot.com. Come say hi!

Take it away Elle...