Photo by Cara Lopez Lee I’m living a double life: promoting the new edition of my memoir while also pitching my novel to agents. In one life, I’ve arrived at a pinnacle. In the other, I’m standing breathless on a false summit, staring up the steep slope ahead, wondering if I’ll ever reach the top. The view always promises to be better up there, but I find it important to pause and appreciate the climb. Back in 2006 to 2007, I began researching my historical novel. I explored East LA and El Paso from my grandmother’s and father’s point of view; interviewed family, locals, and historians; read books about Chinese-American and Mexican-American history; and studied archival photos and articles. That same year, I sent fifty queries to agents to pitch my recently completed memoir, They Only Eat Their Husbands . In 2007, I registered a synopsis of the novel I planned to write, Daughter on the Borderline , with the Writers Guild of America, West. That same year, I landed an agent...

This article first appeared on The Blood-Red Pencil on January 26, 2010. A logline is a very short description of a script. If you’re going to pitch a script, you have to have a logline. More and more, though, writers will include a version of a logline in their query letter. Writing a logline for your novel forces you to get to the core of your book, to the nugget that will excite an agent, lure a publisher, and sell a reader. In general, a logline should be about 20 words long and should capture your storyline. The problem is that you rarely see actually loglines that short. Here's one I saw as a sample on ScriptShark : A college freshman girl's arrival to campus spawns mysterious killings revolving around the football team. Okay, from that we know the protagonist, where it takes place, and that it's probably horror ("mysterious killings", "spawns"). But we don't know what the protag's goal is or who the antagonist is. It fits the word c...

What is considered a great pitch? Recently I took part in the Amazon Breakthrough competition, but unfortunately was not selected to go through to the second round. The initial selection was based on the pitch submitted. Since my story didn't go through to the second round, I'm fairly sure there is something wrong with my pitch. I've attached the pitch for your convenience and I was wondering if you could tell me where I went wrong. This might help me with future submission to literary agents. Thank you, Conny Manero Author of: Waiting for Silverbird Kitten Diaries http://www.helium.%20com/users/380634/show_%20articles http://connymanero.%20blogspot.%20com/ Dear Connie, while your story sounds interesting, the material you submitted as a pitch reads more like the back cover promo blurb. There is a difference and for many of us getting them right is a bigger challenge than writing the book. You wrote: Voice of An Angel will touch the hearts and reach the souls of women reade...