I am skilled at many things, but I recently learned I am an expert at one thing in particular – not landing a literary agent. It’s not for lack of trying. I have studied the literature, gone to writer’s conferences, taken webinars, and had one-on-one consultations. All of these things led to a wealth of information, tips, and suggestions. I was ready! So, I set out to land an agent. Armed with this knowledge, I proceeded to make EVERY MISTAKE these wise people warned against.
That is the impetus of this blog – sharing my mistakes, my new-found expertise, with you. I will mostly do this with anecdotes of my mis-steps and my bad decisions. It should be fun. I can’t wait to relive some of this with total strangers. It’ll be great. Like lemon juice in a paper cut kind of great.
Doing it Wrong…
I realized my writing was turning into something more than a hobby when I had about half of my novel complete. This was spring of 2019. I wasn’t sure what to do next. My background was in engineering and this was all new to me. The first thing I did was bought a copy of Writer’s Market 2019. I spent at least two days with my nose buried in that book. That’s where I learned about writing conferences. Between Writer’s Market and some online research, I found several conferences in my area to consider. I also thought hitting a major conference would be a good idea too.
The first conference I attended was the 2019 Writing Workshop of Chicago at the end of June, held at the Congress Plaza Hotel. One of the add-ons they offered was a 10-minute one-on-one session with an agent to pitch your project. I had read about pitching to an agent and thought I should learn how to do that. I read through the bios and picked an agent. Then I thought it made sense to book this agent for two back-to-back pitch sessions. That way I would have extra time to pick her brain about anything and everything I could think of. It made sense to me so I went with it.
I worked up a pitch for my project after researching how to do it. Then I did a little research on the agent’s company so I would be able to ask intelligent questions and whatnot. I thought I was prepared… but so did the captain of the Titanic.
It was horrible…
The setting was a conference room with a dozen or so little tables with a seated agent and an empty chair. Each of the tables had small name signs to help find the correct agent. I located my agent, introduced myself, and began my pitch. I could see her eyes glassing over. She appeared to be in pain, or at the very least in discomfort. She even made an unconscious scowl. But she was a pro, she was there to do a job and she muscled through.
I have to paraphrase her comments because I don’t remember them word for word. She said the pitch was too long, that it needed a hook and I didn’t have one, and that she had no interest in the book whatsoever.
Oh yeah, I nailed it.
She looked down at her notes and was jolted by what she saw. “I have you for two sessions?” she asked.
She glanced around the room, looking longingly at all the talented and prepared writers giving their pitches to the other agents. Then she looked back at me. The light in her eyes started to dim. I think she died a little inside. She might have been questioning her life choices. There was a prolonged awkward silence. I asked her about her company and she responded politely. She was a pro. I was not. I considered another question but thought better of it. I thanked her and excused myself.
Conventional Wisdom…
Read as much as you can find about preparing your pitch. It’s your 90-second elevator speech to sell an agent on your book. Once you get it the way you want it, practice it over and over. Know it inside and out. You can write it out on note cards and have them with you in case you freeze or go blank. It can be nerve wracking to pitch your project to a stranger.
Most resources available about pitching your book in person advise to have a completed and edited manuscript BEFORE pitching to an agent (I wasn’t even close). If they like your pitch, they may ask to see some or all of your book.
Doing it Write…
(The play on words is super cheesy. I am embarrassed I included it but it’s my first blog post and I’m sticking with it.)
Jane Friedman is a great resource for all things about getting published. Here is a link to her post on pitching agents at a writer’s conference:
How to Pitch Agents at a Writers Conference
Here is a helpful post from author Tomi Adeyemi about pitching agents in person:
https://www.tomiadeyemi.com/blog/how-to-pitch-a-literary-agent-in-5-easy-steps
I referenced Writer’s Market 2019 in this post. The book is updated annually, so pick the current year. It is an excellent resource that I strongly recommend. You can find it at Bookshop.org or your local independent bookseller.
DJ O'Toole 