So I have sent out my 30 queries in November. I have thus far received 13 rejections, 1 partial request, and three form replies telling me I won't receive anything else from those agents unless they are interested. I'd love another request or two out of this bunch, though statistically at this point I realize that is unlikely (based on my past experience).
Following through with my plan, I'm now back at work on my WIP, and have added around 2,500 words so far. My word count is getting very close to 40,000, and since I estimate the total length of this thing as barely cracking novel-hood (as in: 50,000-55,000 words), this means I'm much of the way through a first draft. In typical fashion, I've also done quite a lot of editing as I've gone through. I certainly don't think it is going to take me months and months of editing after my first draft to get it right. With some things, yes. But not with this.
Well, so as I continue to hobble forward on all fronts, I thought it might be a good idea to give myself (and, hopefully, my writing "career") a nice kick in the ass. So I decided to register for the 2011 Writers Digest Conference in New York, late in January. What really attracted me to the conference was the pitch slam, two hours in a room with 50 or 60 agents, where I'll have the chance to pitch my work to bunches of them. Having done pitches once before, at the AIW Conference here in D.C. in June, I know that it can be stressful, but also educational and very helpful.
the pitchWhile I did two pitches of 10 minutes each at AIW (though my pitch only took up about three minutes of each, and the rest was some feedback from the agents and some "small talk"), these pitches at the pitch slam are much shorter. I have 90 seconds to pitch, then the agent has 90 seconds to tell me how awesome my work sounds and how they want me to send them the full manuscript immediately. (Or something like that.) Chances are I'll be able to pitch to a dozen or more agents in the allotted time, even making sure I don't pitch to the ones who are only looking for nonfiction or YA or whatever.
Anyway, I'm only registering for the Saturday, but will still take Friday off from work to get my ass up to NY. I found an amazingly cheap rate on Amtrak, though. And my wife is coming with me, so we'll make a nice weekend get-away out of it. She'll wander around NY while I go to the conference. To make it a nicer time, we decided to shell out for a room in the conference hotel rather than commute in from my brother on Long Island (which I probably would have done if I'd been going alone, though since no one in my family knows about this whole writing thing, I'd have to come up with some BS story about why I was in town, not that this would be terribly difficult).
the slamAnyway, the conference is in late January and of course I'll let you all know how it goes. I certainly don't think I will be ready to query for my WIP by then (though I do hope my first draft is complete) but I can still identify people to approach with it when it's ready and use the conference as an entre (is that a word? did I use it properly?). Meanwhile, my focus remains on getting my first novel read.
Let no one say that the Lt. isn't expending blood or treasure ($$$) on this getting-published thing!
12 comments:
I did an online pitch slam once and I have to say, it was really helpful from the standpoint of shaping my description of my own novel -- the "logline" or what have you. The rule was the pitch had to be 100 words or less. At first I thought there was no way I could sum it all up in that few words but as is the case with many things in life, when you're forced to do something, it's amazing what you can accomplish. Necessity, invention... all that stuff.
Also, I think being in that room and pitching over and over again will get you over your own shyness about talking about your book. I still struggle with not lapsing into "My book? Uh, er, it's about...um...you know" if someone asks me about it. I wish there were some author's handbook on how not to sound like a schmuck when discussing your work.
Given your prior success with in person pitches, I think this is an excellent opportunity for you.
Your prior experience was one of the most positive things, right? Didn't it result in a request for a full?
Sounds like fun -- for you. I'm Mr. Tongue-Tied. There's no way I could do it successfully. Unless I'd had a lot to drink. I'm kind of like Raj Koothrappali on Big Bang Theory like that.
@KLM - I do like that it's such a short pitch for the reason you gave. A 3-minute pitch does not an elevator speech make!
@Sierra - Yes, one of my pitches at AIW did get me a full request, my only one so far. So I'm optimistic!
@Travener - I memorized my pitches for the last conference, identical except for a tweak or two for each agent. Those tweaks may be tougher to pull off/remember for a dozen agents than for two. But I'll do my best.
I just think that, even in the world of writing and publishing, there's no substitute for face-to-face contact.
With an investment of time and money like this hanging over my head, I can never lay in bed at night not sleeping while browbeating myself for not doing enough to make my dreams of being published come true.
Also, it's super easy for me to get to NY from DC. So I may as well take advantage of that, too!
We have sooo much in common ;^)
Good luck with the pitching at the WD conference. Speed pitching, like speed dating, can yeild results. I get most of my partials and fulls requests from the face-to-face pitches (including AIW!).
Thanks for visiting my blog. Yes, BMI CAN be a crock of crap, if taken alone. And yes, causality is everything. But this study was pretty decent, including a longitudinal cohort in a huge sample and controlling for many other biggie baddies. Peace...
Thanks Linda. I've had your blog in my reader for a while, and enjoy reading it.
Don't get me wrong, btw. I think for many people BMI is a nice proxy for health and something to keep in mind. I don't doubt that any study published in NEJM is quality. I just feel like BMI has flaws when applied to individuals rather than cohorts, especially to people who are health conscious and lift weights (since BMI is obviously making assumptions about body composition that may not apply to everyone). And it annoys me when people fixate on a simple measure like BMI instead of...well, looking at you (which has happened to me on occasion).
My BMI is down to 28.1 now. Still "overweight", but no longer "obese"!
Good luck in January! I once went to a pitch conference (all pitching for 3 days straight) and ended up with a sinus infection and a cloud of doom affixed to the air above my head. But then, i'm sort of shy and the novel I was pitching was "quiet" (Kiss of doom, evidently).
Let us know how it goes!
Welcome, Perri! Luckily, I'll only have to survive two hours, rather than three whole days (I can't even imagine). I'm actually pretty shy, too. I just over-prepare to try to compensate.
Am also going to the WD Conference in January. So funny what you said about your family not knowing about your writing career. I thought I was the only secretive one...lol
Am looking forward to it and being from New Jersey, it is an easy drive. Am also only going on Sat. and am interested to hear what the speakers have to say on the various subjects offered that day. But I am very nervous about the pitch slam. Have no idea what to say. Should it be the beginning of my query letter, or something completely different? I am totally confused.I guess I better figure it out since it's only two weeks away. Maybe I'll see you there...Good Luck
Anon - Welcome and good luck with the pitch slam. There is a lot of advice out there on putting together a pitch. I am no expert but put together some of the advice I thought was most helpful in an earlier post: http://skullcrushermountain.blogspot.com/2010/06/lts-advice-on-pitching-to-agents.html The post includes links to the original sources. I hope this will help you.
I've pitched once before but those were 10 minute pitch sessions (I spoke for about 3). At WD, the sessions are only 3 minutes and the pitch has to be 90 seconds or less. I still really need to sit down and figure out how I'm going to approach it this time.
Thanks so much. Read the blog piece you suggested and the other sites as well. Very informative and helpful. Now it just comes down to me basically condensing what is best about my book. Or what I think the agents will think is best about my book...lol
Again thanks, and good luck in NYC
Good luck to you, too, denisef!
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