As authors, we want people to buy our books, read our books, and like our books. To make this happen if we want to be published traditionally, we need to write an effective query letter. And if you’re lucky, you’ll also be able to pitch your book to an agent or publisher.
What is a Book Pitch?
A book pitch is a brief presentation of your book and a hook to engage an agent or potential reader. I’m planning to pitch my book—specifically, Diaspora—at the Maryland Writers Association Conference. A book pitch requires you to entice an agent or publisher—or a potential reader—with very few words, often fewer than 50. And for many of us, that’s a challenge!
Who Are You Writing For?
If you’re going to pitch your book, you first need to know your audience. This may be tougher than we think. But as my colleagues at Vermont College of Fine Arts told me, making your book pitch fit your audience is key. For one thing, if you want to pitch your book to an agent, the words you use will tell them how much you know about your audience. The same applies to pitching to a potential reader: if you use terms and scenarios that fit the genre and audience, you’re at least in the ballpark. For example, if you have a middle grade book and plan to pitch your book to an agent, do you really think talking about political alliances is going to fly?
Your Logline
You may already have an elevator speech or logline for your novel. If so, that’s great! We generally define a logline as a one or two sentence summary of your novel. These generally include the hook—the item that catches their attention—and something about the main character. But don’t just name the character, as you pitch your book, share their main goal or something important about them. In the case of Diaspora, my main character Mitchell Street might be described as a still-grieving ex-cop, or an ex-cop haunted by personal tragedy. Both of those descriptions provide a glimpse into Street’s character, and something crucial about him.
A logline should also highlight the conflicts, and often address an inciting incident in the book and what’s at stake. In other words, why would someone want to read this entire book?
Your Synopsis
I’ve always viewed the logline as the statement that compels an agent or reader to say “tell me more.” Once you’ve hooked them, you really have the chance to pitch. Your synopsis provides more of the plot, more about your main character and about a main antagonist. Most important is to give the reader a taste of what the novel contains, where the tension arises, and the struggle the main character goes through to bring about a resolution. But most of the times when you pitch your book, you won’t tell the agent or potential reader the final resolution. Knowing what to leave out of a synopsis is as important as what to leave in.
Practice Makes Perfect
I’ve spoken about query letters before, so I won’t repeat that here. When it comes to verbal pitches—when we’re front and center with an agent—practice does indeed make perfect. Many suggest that you practice in front of a mirror. To pitch your book while looking directly at yourself sounds odd, but it may help you identify little tics or distractions in your delivery that can hurt your chances. I’d suggest you practice in front of friends, or better yet, working colleagues. They may know a lot less about your writing, so they’re like agents who are seeing your writing or your pitch for the first time. Some authors even suggest crafting and working on your pitch before you write your book, as a way of focusing on what matters while you write.
Take the time to know your audience and genre cold. Then, with a compelling logline, and a crisp synopsis, when you pitch your book, you’ll have the best chance of seeing you book in print, or selling one more title.
