So the Perfect Your Pitch Workshop is taking place in our forums right now! You can click on the YA Pitch Critique Board or the MG Pitch Critique Board to join in on the workshop, and Perfect Your Pitch!
As part of that feature of this Pitch-Fest, we’re offering some words of wisdom from our participating agents, as well as some links from some of the best from around the web.
Up today, we’re taking some advice from Kathleen Rushall, literary agent at Marsal Lyon Literary. Here’s what she has to say about building your pitch:
You’ll hear this a lot: your pitch should grab your reader immediately and make them want more.
You can accomplish this by jumping right into your story. Start with something unexpected. Show us a bit of who your characters are and the set up, and then lead us straight to the hook. Remember, you don’t need to share the ending. I love when a pitch synopsis ends with a cliffhanger or mystery. You want to set up who your MC is, why we should care about him or her, and, most importantly, what’s at stake. Make the reader wonder what’s next. We should want to request the book to find out what’s going to happen!
Basically, the goal of a pitch is to make your plot sound as appealing as possible and to show an agent that you write well. Another thing to keep in mind (I know, as if you needed more, right?) is to try to stay authentic to the feel of your book. You want your pitch to reflect the tone of the manuscript. If it’s a thriller, the pitch should be punchy and especially fast-paced. If it’s more literary, the pitch should show off your prose and plot layers. Is it funny? If you can make me laugh just by reading the pitch, that is fabulous!
Stay focused on your plot and what makes it unique. Know your own book inside and out before trying to write a pitch. Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Pitches should be as simple and clear as they are intriguing. Good luck! I can’t wait to see what you’re going to come up with.
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There you go! Go forth and Perfect Your Pitch!
Thanks for the advice, Kathleen. You make it sound so simple. I love the quote by Einstein. It so fits queries.
Just the info I needed as I’m tweaking my pitch. Thanks for the practical tips!