I am attending the Los Angeles Writer's Conference this weekend and have signed up for two 10 minute pitch sessions with two different agents. It's my first time doing this and would love some advice on how an agent prefers these types of things to go. I don't want to be all business, but I also don't want to waste any time with chit-chat. My initial plan is to tell them a bit about myself and give a brief synopsis of the book's plot. Then explain why I think this would appeal to readers. Do I need to share the same info that we do in query letters such as comps? Thanks!
Tips for a 10 minute Writer's Conference pitch session
- Thread starter MrPinot
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It will go faster than you expect. The advice is to have a pat 5-6 minute pitch and leave 2 minutes before and after for questions and niceties. More or less.
Depending on the agent, of course.
I decided to skip this year, but a friend of mine is going. Have a great time!
ETA please keep us updated--I'll be curious if the 2 agents request fulls, if you run the gauntlet of 'writers got talent' (it's trial by fire! but educational) and all the rest.
Depending on the agent, of course.
I decided to skip this year, but a friend of mine is going. Have a great time!
ETA please keep us updated--I'll be curious if the 2 agents request fulls, if you run the gauntlet of 'writers got talent' (it's trial by fire! but educational) and all the rest.
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Hi! I went to a similar conference and wrote about my experience here!
I did a few pitches too. I usually started with a very small talk, and then jumped straight to my pitch. It’s important to practice your pitch out loud, and not read your query letter verbatim, because I find that (in my case at least) some written sentences sound unnatural when spoken out loud. Note their reaction / body language and slow down if needed. It’s not as scary as it seemed, and if you practice enough and let your passion shine through, it will get smoother and easier.
After the pitch I basically just asked if it’s something they would be interested in. If they asked question about me, I’d tell them about myself or why I wrote the book, etc. With a few we started chatting about the market. Almost everyone I talked to was very nice and asked to see the manuscript.
I also suggest to prepare some questions to ask them. In case they are not interested in seeing pages, at least make use of the time to get some insights instead of sitting in awkward silence.
Good luck!
I did a few pitches too. I usually started with a very small talk, and then jumped straight to my pitch. It’s important to practice your pitch out loud, and not read your query letter verbatim, because I find that (in my case at least) some written sentences sound unnatural when spoken out loud. Note their reaction / body language and slow down if needed. It’s not as scary as it seemed, and if you practice enough and let your passion shine through, it will get smoother and easier.
After the pitch I basically just asked if it’s something they would be interested in. If they asked question about me, I’d tell them about myself or why I wrote the book, etc. With a few we started chatting about the market. Almost everyone I talked to was very nice and asked to see the manuscript.
I also suggest to prepare some questions to ask them. In case they are not interested in seeing pages, at least make use of the time to get some insights instead of sitting in awkward silence.
Good luck!
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Yes writer’s got talent! Instant and valuable feedback. I recommend it too (I didn’t hand in my page but wish I had)
Definitely plan to do that. Both the agents I'm pitching are on the panel, so might be a plus if my page gets read/
Real life pitches are my favorite thing, probably because I worked as a pitch person for products professionally (say THAT five times fast - yikes). Some of my advice might contradict other people's advice. That's fine - we all have our own ways. But I'll be real with you -- I see people up above recommending five to six minutes pat on a pitch, and that's a ridiculously huge chunk of time - being talked at that long about anything by anyone gets boring/tedious/hard to follow. Even when it's well thought out, organized, and interesting. Literally time that out -- give it a try. It's exhausting.
I'd suggest having a significantly quicker pitch (60 - 120 seconds), talking points, and bringing a physical copy of your query letter, if they want to see it after your short / elevator pitch. They read faster than you talk, and less awkwardly, and I've yet to have an agent decline to do so.
Start with introducing yourself - don't jar straight into the pitch like the agent is a pitch listening machine. They're a person - hi, my name is, I'm excited to meet you, love the shoes. I wrote a category + genre novel. Would you like to hear my pitch?
A note card with bullet points will help you stay focused if needed - pitch, comps, questions, in descending importance.
Know your pitch, and practice it in a mirror. Practice your pronunciations, your stance, what you do with your hands.
Find other writers at the venue to practice with! A quiet room with a mirror is a very different environment than with other people! Honestly, this was the most valuable part of pitch conferences for me - networking with my peers, practicing pitches, refining things with newfound friends. You're all nervous, you're all excited, this is one of the few parts of writing that you aren't doing entirely alone.
When it comes time do to your pitch, remember the agents WANT you to do well - it's way less awkward for them if you do well and have a premise they can get excited about. They don't want to crush your hopes and dreams right in front of you, y'know? A lot of agents are ALSO introverts and just as nervous as you are. They're book people too, a lot are introverts.
Agents are people. Treat them like people. If you love their earrings, you can say it instead of staring awkwardly at the earrings (yep, been there, done that). If you're nervous, they won't suddenly turn into a dragon and swallow you up for admitting it.
If you're uncomfortable in your outfit, you won't be able to focus on the pitch. Clean, tidy, and comfortable is better than clean, tidy, and stressing out about your leggings or hair.
If you really love your book, you have a solid pitch, and you know your market, you're already doing better than three quarters the people you'll meet.
Oh, and do try not to be late!
I'd suggest having a significantly quicker pitch (60 - 120 seconds), talking points, and bringing a physical copy of your query letter, if they want to see it after your short / elevator pitch. They read faster than you talk, and less awkwardly, and I've yet to have an agent decline to do so.
Start with introducing yourself - don't jar straight into the pitch like the agent is a pitch listening machine. They're a person - hi, my name is, I'm excited to meet you, love the shoes. I wrote a category + genre novel. Would you like to hear my pitch?
A note card with bullet points will help you stay focused if needed - pitch, comps, questions, in descending importance.
Know your pitch, and practice it in a mirror. Practice your pronunciations, your stance, what you do with your hands.
Find other writers at the venue to practice with! A quiet room with a mirror is a very different environment than with other people! Honestly, this was the most valuable part of pitch conferences for me - networking with my peers, practicing pitches, refining things with newfound friends. You're all nervous, you're all excited, this is one of the few parts of writing that you aren't doing entirely alone.
When it comes time do to your pitch, remember the agents WANT you to do well - it's way less awkward for them if you do well and have a premise they can get excited about. They don't want to crush your hopes and dreams right in front of you, y'know? A lot of agents are ALSO introverts and just as nervous as you are. They're book people too, a lot are introverts.
Agents are people. Treat them like people. If you love their earrings, you can say it instead of staring awkwardly at the earrings (yep, been there, done that). If you're nervous, they won't suddenly turn into a dragon and swallow you up for admitting it.
If you're uncomfortable in your outfit, you won't be able to focus on the pitch. Clean, tidy, and comfortable is better than clean, tidy, and stressing out about your leggings or hair.
If you really love your book, you have a solid pitch, and you know your market, you're already doing better than three quarters the people you'll meet.
Oh, and do try not to be late!
The 60 - 120 seconds pitch might be better than what I recall, which is actually fairly sketchy since I've only done this conference the one time. 
But I dug up the pitch I used last year, and it was 393 words, whatever that equals time-wise. (I also had a two-sentence hook.) Basically, FWIW, I worked through these prompts ahead of time. Is that page still accurate guidance? I don't know. The 393 word script I wrote was for prompt number 2.
One agent I pitched left a horrible taste in my mouth and the other I pitched was absolutely wonderful. My friend and I both were invited to submit fulls. Neither of us did, in the end, for various reasons.
Have fun!!!
But I dug up the pitch I used last year, and it was 393 words, whatever that equals time-wise. (I also had a two-sentence hook.) Basically, FWIW, I worked through these prompts ahead of time. Is that page still accurate guidance? I don't know. The 393 word script I wrote was for prompt number 2.
One agent I pitched left a horrible taste in my mouth and the other I pitched was absolutely wonderful. My friend and I both were invited to submit fulls. Neither of us did, in the end, for various reasons.
Have fun!!!
Brief small talk, little bit about yourself, give your manuscript's wordcount/genre, short pitch, then stop and let the agent take the lead. The two agents I pitched both asked some questions about the manuscript and my other writing before requesting the full.
I went to the Writer's Conference yesterday and overall, a really good experience. I didn't really learn anything new at the panels, but having a chance to ask agents questions in person and hear how they responded put things in a better context. The Writer's Got Talent panel was fascinating. They read anonymously submitted first pages and the agents would put their hand up if there was a point where they would have passed on the submission. If two agents did that, they stopped reading and discussed the pro and cons of the page. They ready about 22 pages and only a handful made it all the way without being stopped. None of the pages were badly written. They usually got stopped because the agents either a: felt the author tried to put to much in the page like switching scenes after the first paragraph b: there wasn't anything that was hooking them or c: the character didn't know who they were (amnesia or disoriented and they/we have to figure out who they are (cliché!) or they were waking up from a dream (also cliché). They all agreed that was a sure-fire pass.
I had two agent interviews scheduled and the first called out sick for the day but the second went really well. The person scheduled after me didn't show up so I got 20 minutes rather then 10. The agent seemed to really like the pitch and asked for a full read! One thing I thought was interesting. She had a pre-printed form that she gave me (and the woman before me) that thanks the writer for their presentation and gave me a special link on Query Tracker that would put my manuscript on the top of her queue and her email to let me know I'd sent it. But then she hand-wrote a note telling me to send her a full. I think she was giving those to every author and depending on how she felt, would hand-write if she wanted three chapters, 50 pages, or a full. That's my theory at least. But a very positive thing for her to do.
I had two agent interviews scheduled and the first called out sick for the day
but the second went really well. The person scheduled after me didn't show up so I got 20 minutes rather then 10. The agent seemed to really like the pitch and asked for a full read! One thing I thought was interesting. She had a pre-printed form that she gave me (and the woman before me) that thanks the writer for their presentation and gave me a special link on Query Tracker that would put my manuscript on the top of her queue and her email to let me know I'd sent it. But then she hand-wrote a note telling me to send her a full. I think she was giving those to every author and depending on how she felt, would hand-write if she wanted three chapters, 50 pages, or a full. That's my theory at least. But a very positive thing for her to do.
