Rookie Mistakes

I was working with a client recently on a developmental edit and they shared with me a pitch they sent to an agent.

They thought it would be terrific to send the pitch in written in the voice of one of the characters complete with cheeky comments and all caps and exclamation points. They were so proud of their creativity.

Needless to say, it got immediate rejections.

I am not saying there has never been a successful atypical pitch, but this is not considered a good strategy.

Make sure you research the agents or acquisition editors you wish to pitch. Go to the Manuscript Wish List at https://mswishlist.com/, find an agent or editor, then further research them by visiting their website and social media. Find out what they like and what they hate. They are usually vocal about it. Follow their submission guidelines to the letter. It proves you will be an easy client to work with. They want to know you can follow directions and that you read their instructions. They don't want silliness.

Back to the pitch, it reminded me of my very early writer days. My first “finished novel,” boy was I green, was a love story called Jenny Kissed Me. I had read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and was in love with Scotland.

Upon finishing this masterpiece of silliness with its unhappy ending, I decided to mail out pitches. I thought, what would make my submission noticeable in the slush pile? This was back in the day when you mailed the manuscript via the postal service.

So I decorated the manuscript box with plaid fabric, painted the title in calligraphy, even added a pocket watch charm. Below is a mock up, not the actual box. It looked far sillier in person.

I added a bio with my Glamour Shots photo and cheerfully mailed it off. I didn't have to wait long for a response. They were justifiably pretty swift with the rejections, so it got noticed all right, just not in a good way.

My biggest problem was that I didn't know anything about Romance genres or expectations, the craft of writing a good story, or how to query agents. These are all things you can learn easily now thanks to the invention of the internet. There have never been more free resources to learn how to write a good book and a good pitch. You don't even need stamps and manuscript boxes to query.

We all make rookie mistakes. Stand up, dust off your pride, and learn how to really pitch. And leave the Glamour Shot at home.

Posted by Diana Hurwitz, author of Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of Conflict, Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict, Story Building Blocks III: The Revision Layers, and the YA adventure series Mythikas Island. Her weekly blog, Game On: Crafting Believable Conflict explores how characters behave and misbehave. Visit DianaHurwitz.com for more information and free writing tools. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.