Writing an article for a popular blog has long-term value that far outlasts the effort, and offers an engaged audience within a focused niche. But my favorite perk is seeing my own work alongside that of an influencer in my niche that I’ve come to respect and admire!

It’s true, blog readers don’t turn into the cross-traffic they once did, but it will still bolster your credibility and SEO from the affiliation with these influential, established websites.

I still get comments on social media and even email about articles written years ago that were helpful or inspiring to readers. I’ve even been queried for events based on the guest posts I’ve written on the topic they’re looking for. And best of all, I get to put my favorite skillset to work (writing, hello) for my author platform.

All in all, I still find a few hours of effort to draft a post to offer years of value (think evergreen topics, not timely hooks, for the best results).

So how do you get guest blogging opportunities? For me, a simple query template has done the trick over and over, for years, consistently scoring me opportunities, even before I had any credentials to back up my request.

Here’s the tried-and-true method I use for guest blogging:

Step 1: Identify your target websites

Consider your audience. What is your book about? What type of readers are you trying to reach? Research blogs that focus on these topics and align with this target audience.

Hopefully, you already know some of them, because the topics in your books likely align with your own personal interests. Bonus points if you’ve commented on posts on the blog in the past or tagged the blog in shares of its content—showing your support for a blog in these ways can help you build rapport even before you pitch.

If you’re looking for new opportunities and feel stuck, look at the other recommended blogs cited in the content of your favorites—some even have a list of recommendations in a sidebar. Or, ask your social media community!

Step 2: Read the guidelines

Before pitching, make sure the blog you have in mind accepts guest posts. Many do—in my experience, more do than don’t. But always confirm before pitching.

To do this, look at the blog’s recent content and see if any are by guest posters. A blog that accepts guest posts on a regular basis will likely also have a page with its submission guidelines. That’s where you’ll find important information about who to address in your pitch, what information to include, and what types of content they accept.

Read them. Know them. Love them. Double-check them.

Step 3: Brainstorm possible topics

When I send a guest post pitch, I always include a few topics for the blogger’s consideration. The magic number is generally three unless the guidelines specify otherwise.

Why three? It keeps the email short but allows for some variety. That way, you’re not all in on a single topic. What if the blog just accepted another post on your one big idea? There’s no way for you to have known, but they can’t accept a second post on the same topic. Sharing a few different ideas gives you more opportunities to pique the blogger’s interest with that perfect idea.

I package each topic with a catchy title—something designed to match other titles on the blog’s recent posts! You want it to be easy for the blogger to see your work fitting into their usual content. Under the title, I share one to three sentences of descriptions about what the post will include: A personal experience that demonstrates a lesson learned? Top tips? An expert perspective? Be clear and specific, and let your natural blogging voice show.

Step 4: Write your email

Finally, draft your email. Be professional, friendly, and concise. Introduce yourself, and be sure to mention anything that gives you particular expertise on the topic. Make your ask clear and mention that you’ve included a few initial topic ideas below, but are open to feedback to make sure it’s of value to their readership.

Before sending, check those guidelines again and make sure your pitch aligns with them.

Then, you wait! If you haven’t heard back in a couple of weeks, it’s generally appropriate to check back.

Guest Blogging Offers Value

When reaching out to blogs, remember: blogs need you too! When you approach a blog with quality content, you’re offering them something of value. After all, blogs need content—constantly!

When you show up in their inbox professionally and articulately, with well-aligned ideas ready to go, you’re showing that you’re not just another person trying to get in front of their audience—you’ve got insights and value to share. You might even make the blogger’s job a little easier.

Follow these steps and I’m confident you’ll be on your way to guest post bylines in no time. Good luck!

Tell us in the comments: Have you ever tried guest blogging? How did it go? Any words of wisdom to add?

By day, E. J. Wenstrom is a digital strategy pro with over 10 years at communications firms. By early-early morning, she’s an award-winning sci-fi and fantasy author of the Chronicles of the Third Realm War novels, starting with Mud. She believes in complicated characters, terrifying monsters, and purple hair dye.

The post Start Guest Blogging to Build Your Author Platform appeared first on DIY MFA.

Writing for a magazine might not be the first thing on your mind when you think of your next food book. However, Nigella Lawson, Anthony Bourdain, and Toni Tipton-Martin were journalists or magazine writers before they released celebrated and award-winning culinary books. Then there’s Food 52’s Amanda Hesser and the iconic Ruth Reichl who both snagged jobs at publications after their debut books came out.

Pitching to a culinary magazine requires an intense knowledge of a subject, a reason you’re the one who is meant to write that piece and a seed of a larger story aka your book. Here’s how to get to your book idea with your next magazine pitch.

Explain Your Idea in A Sentence or Two

Be it screenplays or full-length novels, the elevator pitch stumps writers more than the work itself, and the food world is no different. Culinary pitching may be more difficult because everyone is an expert in the kitchen now. Also, when you pitch to agents and publishers, you’ll need a quick sell in your back pocket as you talk up your book.

In the beginning, there may be this inkling of what the story is and how you’ll write it. People probably ask how the book is going, and you give a lengthy response that’s met with enthusiasm. You may have journals and notebooks with ideas and have even spent some time in the kitchen developing some recipes. The idea isn’t quite there, but you feel like you’ll be able to describe your book when it’s complete. So, you’re on a good path, right?

Not quite. If you can’t sum up your idea into a sentence or two, you don’t have a book — yet.

Pitching to a magazine though forces you to think about the essentials needed to describe your story. It eliminates the fluff and vagueness, so people know what your story is and why they should care immediately. 

Have a Bold or Unique Culinary Angle

With the rise of the celebrity chefs and influencer home cooks, you don’t have to go far to see how saturated the culinary market is. Not that you shouldn’t pursue your book idea, but you need to be intentional about why it should exist.

In improv, a performer shouldn’t enter a scene unless they have something to add to it. It’s the same with writers. There should be a reason you’re writing the book you are. Food writing is tricky because the majority of readers have access to full kitchens where they can experiment with millions of recipes on the internet. 

So, ask yourself: What’s my solution or point of view for a common problem or topic?

It was Bourdain’s article “Don’t Eat Before Reading This” in The New Yorker that shot him to notoriety and contained much of what you’ll find in Kitchen Confidential, which was published a year later. He was spilling secrets most restaurants or kitchen staff didn’t want you to know. This was probably a conversation he had hundreds of times with colleagues and decided one day to bite the bullet and put the not so tasty truth out there.

Know Where the Story Will End

There are two kinds of writers: Those who write by the seat of their pants and those who plot their work before they begin.

In journalism, you have an idea of a story, and it may turn into something unexpected, but for the most part, you know what the conclusion will be. With book writing, it’s easy to brush off the need to know where the story will end. Most writers believe they’ll figure it out along the way. More often than not, the pages are more freewriting than structured, with many scenes happening for no reason. 

Food writing trips people up because they believe universal experiences, like eating and cooking together, don’t require a full narrative. Readers will just “get it”. However, Amanda Hesser’s Cooking for Mr. Latte chronicles her year long courtship with her now husband. There’s an expiration date on the story starting in the introduction. It’s also not just a book about food, but about how her relationship transformed her time in the kitchen.

Giving yourself a light structure for a pitch allows you to keep some guardrails on. Your book can’t contain every story you’ve ever imagined. There has to be some discernment. 

Focus On the Benefit It’ll Bring Readers (and Publication)

You can’t have a successful pitch without thinking of the person on the other side. Writers make the mistake of focusing on how writing for a publication will help them, but fail to address how it will add value for the editors and readers. 

How will someone’s life be easier or better by reading your work? Is there a common myth you want to dispel? What will a reader lose by not taking your advice? Is this the right story for this publication? 

Even if you’re a well-known food writer, editors want there to be a meaningful takeaway for their readers. People share impactful ideas. So if your story creates a clear benefit, chances are readers will want to share your work, which will increase the publication’s website traffic.

Working through each of these elements will not only help you figure out the story you want to write, but it will give you an edge for every story moving forward. Knowing how to pitch your work is essential for every writer, and if you can nail a solid pitch for your next food piece with a magazine, you’re well on your way to the next mountain — your book.

Amanda Polick is a book coach for food and entertainment professionals based in Nashville, Tennessee. When she’s not eating her way through her newest stack of cookbooks, this former actor and improviser can be found looking for her next favorite performer. Her work has been featured in Cooking Light, Food & Wine, and Time and is now a regular columnist for DIYMFA. To reach out or learn more, visit her website for free inspiration and book writing guides.

The post Why Your Next Culinary Book is in a Magazine Pitch appeared first on DIY MFA.

Whether you’re pitching to a literary agent by email or in-person, the whole process can be nerve-wracking! But agents and editors get it. They’ve been in your shoes, and now they’re looking to acquire new talent, so ultimately, they want you to succeed. To help keep your nerves at bay so that you can deliver an excellent pitch for your next groundbreaking book project, here are some key tips:

1) Don’t be a writer

I know, I know, that’s a weird thing to ask of you, but this is the best advice I can give you for when you’re pitching your book to an agent. As a writer, it’s your natural inclination to show off your linguistic chops, but your pitch is not the time to use big words or flowery language. Instead, get right into it and get right to the point. If you’re pitching to an agent in-person, you likely only have ten minutes to convince them that they need your book in their arsenal, so don’t waste time inserting superfluous adverbs. They’ll get to read how beautifully you can weave language when they dig into your manuscript… after you’ve won them over with a killer pitch. If you’re querying by email, do your research and structure your query letter to the traditional format, trimming off the excess, keeping it to one page.

2) Address the agent/editor directly

You want each agent and editor you pitch to know that you’ve done your homework. We know when you send us a general query letter that hasn’t been tweaked but used as mass mailing agent bait. Editors and agents want to know that you’ve researched their agencies, that you understand why your manuscript will fit in with their catalogue, and why you think they are a good fit to represent you. Establishing a positive working relationship with your potential agent is just as important as having a great manuscript to pitch to them!

3) Write a great hook

A hook is a one-line description of your book that compares and/or contrasts it to other commercial successes. For example, when pitching my women’s fiction novel, I touted that it carried the psychological atmosphere of Stephen King’s Dolores Claiborne intersected with Susanna Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted. A hook lets an agent know where your book might fit in the marketplace, thus if it might fit in their catalog. A great hook will linger in an agent’s mind and make you memorable.

4) Don’t brag

You are a fantastic writer. Amazing. But even if you’re the next J.K. Rowling, agents don’t need to know that. They’ll figure it out all on their own if they accept your query and read your manuscript. Be humble and be patient when you submit a query or pitch to an agent. Don’t brag about how much money your book will make or how famous you might potentially become, because you don’t want to come off as motivated by those things. Believe in yourself, yes. We all believe in you too! And agents are already extending a branch of faith by considering your pitch, so rather than talk about book sales, talk about inspiration. Tell your agent who your idols are and why, where your ideas come from, and why writing excites you. Thinking like this will also help you write a killer hook!

5) Be you

That’s it. Just be you. If you’re pitching through email, use the same tone in your query letter that you write with. If you’re pitching in person, use your natural demeanor. Embrace who you are so that an agent can embrace it too. Authenticity is your best friend when pitching an agent, and I know it’s hard to be totally genuine when you’re nervous. The tendency is to be formal, astute, and polite. Still be polite, but let your guard down so that agents can see your passion through your anxieties. I can’t say it enough that agents are looking for authors they can relate to, authors they can build a great working relationship with, authors who inspire them. Because, after all, agents are readers too.

The best way to implement all of these tips and to temper your nerves is to practice. Practice your pitch on your friends, your spouse, fellow writers, your mom, anyone who will listen, and be open to constructive criticism. If you’re querying by email, query in small chunks. Send out eight to ten queries at a time and wait to see what types of responses you get. If they are all rejections, then you know you need to adjust your query letter and try again! But above all, know that you are an amazing writer with an important message whose voice deserves to be heard (and read), and that we are all rooting for you!

Amanda Filippelli started her career as an associate editor for the Oyez Review in Chicago. She has worked internationally and has studied under a number of industry titans, including Stuart Dybek and Melissa Pritchard. An award-winning writer herself, Amanda has done it all from freelance to copyediting to content editing to ghostwriting and book coaching, and as Editor-in-Chief for One Idea Press, she helps authors realize their true voice.

The post #5onFri: Five Ways to Perfect Your Pitch appeared first on DIY MFA.

Not too much…other than writing it is one of the best ways to excite your publishers and readers. It will “serve you well for the entire writing project,” and likely target the ideas working well in your novel, and the ones that don’t.

Sweet Moses, that’s a lot of pressure on a small chunk of description – one hundred and fifty to two hundred words, to be exact. Hence, why I’d like to dedicate this article to strengthening a crucial part of your novel—The Pitch—which can, not ironically, influence your back cover.

Let’s Talk Books 

Objective:

Write a one hundred and fifty to two hundred word pitch that illustrates a character to root for, large canvas of emotions, incidents, and high stakes.

Discussion Questions:

• How do I make my readers care about my protagonist?
• What are the stakes? Are they high enough?
• Do I avoid arcane backstory and plot?
• What is my inciting incident? Is it obvious in my pitch?
• Does my pitch excite me? Will it excite others?

Resources:

James Scott Bell’s Revision and Self Editing for Publication and Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Writing Your Pitch

Before writing your pitch, examine the back covers for books in your novel’s category and genre – at least ten. Go ahead, grab them. Hop on Amazon. Do your research. Sit down. Relax. Read them over. Take your time. Don’t worry, I won’t go anywhere.

All set? Awesome! Now, did you find a back cover that struck your interest more than the others? Take it out again. What do you notice? Is there a character you want to learn more about? Do the stakes feel exciting and impossible to pass up? I bet there was – and here’s why.

What Strong Back Covers Include

Back cover should provide about a paragraph or two of your story’s protagonist, what they yearn for, and the obstacles that are certain to get in their way.

What Strong Back Covers Don’t Include

Lots and lots of backstory! You don’t want to drag down exciting hooks with arcane plot and other unnecessary details. Keep your back-cover copy in the moment. Doing so will keep the reader excited, which will sell your book!

How Can You Write a Strong Back Cover?

Writing a strong back cover is – yes; I’ll say it – impossible, without examining dust jackets from successful novels, that is. It’s why I’ve pulled the back cover for Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven for us to examine.See if you can pin what works well in this description, and that would work as a killer pitch!

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

“Eddie is a grizzled war veteran who feels trapped in a meaningless life of fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. As the park has changed over the years – from the Loop-the-Loop to the Pipeline Plunge – so, too, has Eddie changed, from optimistic youth to embittered old age. His days are dull routine work, loneliness, and regret.

Then, on his 83^rd birthday, Eddie dies in a tragic accident, trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. With his final breath, he feels two small hands in his – and then nothing. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is nut a lush Garden of Eden, but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of them changed your path forever.

One by one, Eddie’s five people illuminate the unseen connections of his earthly life. As the story builds to its stunning conclusion, Eddie desperately seeks redemption in the still-unknown last act of his life: Was it a heroic success or devastating failure? The answer, which comes from the most unlikely sources, is an inspirational glimpse of heaven itself.”

Why This Description Sells

Take a second to look back at this blog’s discussion questions. Does Mitch Albom’s back cover copy meet all the proposed standards? Heck yes! I’ll tell you why in three smart steps…

1) It Gives Us a Reason to Root for the Protagonist

Notice the first paragraph describes Eddie, an eighty-three year old “grizzled war veteran who feels trapped in a meaningless life” and his day-to-day work. What makes this description so striking is that a) he’s super relatable and b) he creates empathy.

I mean, the poor guy is eighty-three and still working at an old amusement park – he feels trapped in his meaningless work. He’s lonely, he’s regretful. Who hasn’t doubted his self-value before? Who hasn’t felt trapped at some point in their life and would die for a way out?

Unfortunately for Eddie, dying is his exact way out. If not in the way he expected…  

2) It Suggests Potential for Lots of Emotions and Conflict

We move on to paragraph two, entering our first major plot point – in other words, the inciting incident. What happens to poor Eddie? He enters heaven after trying to save a little girl from a terrible accident. He enters, let’s say, an unordinary world and leaves the first act’s ordinary one.

Quick notes on some details that make this second paragraph a major success: a) we have even more reason to love and root for Eddie: he gives his life to save an innocent child, and b) we don’t know if he saved that child.

Remember, all great stories thrive on a secret that is mentioned in the first act of the book. What is your secret that takes a novel-length book to answer? How do you draw this out in your back-cover copy?For Albom, he mentioned that the last thing Eddie feels before death is “two small hands in his”…but whose hands are these? And did he save them, or not? Two very captivating questions that will take several pages to answer.

3) It Raises the Stakes

We come to it at last: the third paragraph, the whipped cream on this back-cover copy’s ice cream sundae, the sweet hook that raises the stakes and motivates readers to purchase the book. By the third paragraph, we know this story’s lead character – Eddie – and we have a reason to root for him – he finds his life meaningless, and he sacrificed his life to save a little girl…who we don’t know if he saved or not. If we read on we know we’ll also learn (as Eddie will) the meaning of his life, told by five people he meets in heaven. A meaning that he questioned as meaningless when he was alive.  

Is he right?

Great pitches like this one crank up the tension on the previously stated question or secret and excite the readers by – that’s right – raising the stakes. Act Two, which is quickly summarized in the last two paragraphs of this pitch, is a muddle of incidents and obstacles, of decisions and reactions, of snatching what the lead character yearns for the most over and over again.

We see this in Albom’s back-cover as Eddie “seeks redemption in the still-unknown last act of his life”. In the last lines of his back-cover, Albom is strategic by proposing a question – was it a heroic success of devastating failure? Questions inevitably make readers think about the character and story more and more.

Writing Challenge

Write your own back cover copy and share it in the discussion section for other column readers to give feedback. Ask yourself:

• Do I open my copy with my protagonist, and do I give my readers a reason to root for her? Like her? Relate to her?
• Do I include the inciting incident in my novel but avoid arcane plot details and heavy backstory?
• Do I propose an unresolved dilemma for my protagonist? Something to excite readers and publishers? That excites me?

The last of these questions, of course, you won’t know unless you share it with other readers. Lucky for you, we have the discussion column below. Use the hashtag #LetsTalkBooks to get conversations rolling! Have fun with it, and good luck!

Abigail K. Perry is a commercial fiction writer living in Massachusetts where she teaches creative writing and film production. She received her B.S. in TV, Radio, and Film from Syracuse University and her Master’s in Education from Endicott College, and has worked as a creative production intern in for Overbrook Entertainment and as a marketing and sales intern for Charlesbridge Publishing.

In addition to writing, Abigail plans to teach screenwriting at An Unlikely Story (the priceless local bookstore owned by Diary of a Wimpy Kid’s Jeff Kinney) in Plainville, MA. This class is in development and will launch soon!

Abigail is a member of the DIY MFA street team and a loyal follower of Writer’s Digest. You can read more about her work on this website or follow her on Twitter @A_K_Perry 

The post Writing Back Cover Copy: A Secret for Your Novel’s Success appeared first on DIY MFA.

Today I’m delighted to have literary agent Mark Gottlieb on the show.

Mark is an agent at Trident Media Group, where he has worked with the agency’s chairman. He is now working on building his own client list because he wants to help manage and grow authors’ careers using the amazing resources Trident has available.

In our interview, Mark and I discuss the topic that both excites and terrifies writers: The Pitch.  Mark gives us the inside scoop on how to work the Pitch Slam and what makes (or breaks) a an elevator pitch for your book.

In this episode Mark and I discuss:

• How to craft the perfect pitch and to use a Pitch Slam to your best advantage.
• The framework for a killer query letter, and how to craft a creative hook and strong pitch that will make agents want to read more.
• Why using comp titles can strengthen your pitch, and how to weave them together with your book’s details, with example pitches from Mark!
• How studying current titles in the marketplace can place your query a step above the crowd.

Plus, Mark’s #1 tip for writers.

About the Agent

Mark Gottlieb attended Emerson College and was President of its Publishing Club, establishing the Wilde Press. Mark’s first position at Trident Media Group, Publishers Marketplace’s #1-ranked literary agency, was in foreign rights, later he was executive assistant to Trident’s Chairman and ran the Audio Department. Now he is working with his own client list, helping to manage and grow authors’ careers with the unique resources available to Trident.

If you are interested in querying Mark head over to the agency website, read through the submission guidelines, and send him your query. Don’t forget to mention that you heard him speak on DIY MFA Radio!

Link to Episode 149

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 149: How to Pitch Your Book — Interview with Mark Gottlieb appeared first on DIY MFA.

Of course, with the conference just around the corner, my team and I have been getting some questions what a pitch actually is, why writers need one, and–most importantly–how to do it right. That’s where this post comes in.

In this #5onFri round-up, I thought I’d explain a little bit about the pitch session at #WICon2015 and how it will work. Then I’ll share a round-up of five DIY MFA articles that are all about pitching and how to craft your pitch. This way, whether you’re attending #WICon or you’re going to another conference that has a pitch session, you’ll have all the info you need to pitch your book and put your best foot forward.

5 Articles to Help you Pitch Your Book

From Zero to Pitch in 24 Hours

by: Kayla MacNeille

In this great recap of the pitch sessions at the Writer’s Digest Conference, Kayla MacNeille digs into the do’s and don’ts of crafting an awesome pitch. Read on to see how she went from zero to pitch in twenty-four hours and check out the fantastic pitch she came up with at the end of the process.

How to Write a Killer Logline

by: Gabriela Pereira

In 2013 I attended critique session on loglines. These are a one-sentence nugget or pitch that encapsulates your book’s hook and story, and producers use loglines to sell book concepts to movie-makers. In this article, you will see a pitch go from average to awesome, and all the intervening steps that got it to the final result.

The DNA of Your Story

by: Kent Bridgeman

Columnist Kent Bridgeman describes about the pitch as being like the DNA of your story, a microcosmic sentence, “a solid 15 – 20 words that details the core drama of your story.” He also talks about how this pitch can not only benefit your writing process, but how you market and promote your book as well.

Pitching on Twitter: How to Circumvent the Slush

by: Robin Lovett

The fabulous S.A. Lovett shares the nuts-and-bolts details of how Twitter pitches actually work, and how to do it right. In this article, she gives tips on how to make your pitch awesome and unique so that it stands out from the crowd.

Crafting the Perfect Twitter Pitch

by: Vicki Leigh

Just because your pitch is the size of a Tweet, doesn’t mean it can’t pack a punch. In this article, author Vicki Leigh shares insights on how her Twitter pitch helped her land an agent and a book deal. Read on to find out how to craft your own super-powered Twitter pitch.

This is it! Everything on DIY MFA on how to pitch your book. We’ve also had two #5onFri round-ups on this topic, in addition to this one. Check out 5 Awesome Things About Pitching Your Book from columnist Leanne Sowul, and this article from web editor Bess Cozby on the 5 Benefits of Pitch Sessions.

Want to try your hand at pitching?

Check out the DIY MFA online writing conference.
We still have a few spots left in the pitch/logline session
where you will get feedback on your pitch from agents!

Writer Igniter Con 2015
October 24-25

Use the coupon code wicon2015speaker to get $50 off the registration price!
Click the link to learn more or register.

Want more info? We’re doing another FREE Webinar and Open House next Monday, Oct. 19 at 8pm.

The post #5onFri: Five Articles to Help You Pitch Your Book appeared first on DIY MFA.

I got through the live pitch session successfully, leaving with five manuscript requests. Though none of the submissions panned out, the critique I received from those excellent agents put me on the road to revising my entire novel. Just when I’d begun to query the revised version, I read about Twitter pitching on this very website (Robin Lovett’s article on #PitMad). When I read the article, I decided to go for it. It was only two days away, so I spent every spare minute drafting and scheduling 24 tweets to fill the maximum requirement. And it paid off, big-time. I got eight requests from agents and one from an editor. I didn’t expect such a bounty of “favorites,” but that wasn’t even what excited me most about the day. I realized, as I watched my tweets appear on the screen and helped re-tweet other writers’ pitches, that I was completely wrong to dread pitching. Pitching is exhilarating. Pitching is fulfilling.

Pitching is AWESOME.

Here’s why:

1) Preparing for the pitch gives you perspective on your project.

If you’ve never pitched before, or if you haven’t pitched in that format (talking and tweeting require very different strategies) you’ll be forced to dive deep into the soul of your story and answer the question: What is this really about? This exercise can be a lot harder than it seems at first. It’s easy to come up with something existential that doesn’t really tell an agent what they’ll be looking at. On this one, I suggest looking for advice on creating a pitch before you attempt it on your own. For my first live pitch, the workshop held before the pitch session at that conference was invaluable; I left with a completely revised pitch and much clearer message. (It was the Writer’s Digest Conference Pitch Slam; the pre-slam workshop was taught by Chuck Sambuccino. I highly recommended both.)

A note on creating your pitch: If you’re finding it impossible to distill your story down to a 90-second verbal pitch, or those 140 characters? That’s a good indication that your book might not be cohesive enough to pitch just yet.

2) Agents Are Showing Up to Talk to You

Most of the time, when you send a query, you have no idea whether you’ll get a response. You don’t even know for sure if the agent is accepting new authors, or if the information on the web is accurate. But when you pitch, you can feel confident that every agent out there is looking for something new, or they wouldn’t be there at all.

3) You Finally Get to Share Your Great Idea!

You’ve had this great idea burning a hole in your heart for– well, years, probably. This idea has belonged only to you, and you’ve worked for hundreds of hours trying to reproduce it in a way that can be communicated with the world. Pitching an agent is the first step to sharing that idea and all the dreams that go with it. It’s like releasing a balloon: heady, buoyant and free, with just a tinge of fear about where it will end up.

4) You Can Get Multiple Invitations to Submit in a Single Hour Or Day

That would be impossible by traditional means; you’d have to send out dozens of queries that all came home to roost at the same time. The worst thing about querying is the waiting. Often, you don’t even know whether it’s been read unless you ask again. But with live or Twitter pitching, you get an immediate response. Even if your pitch isn’t accepted, it feels good to know that you’ve crossed someone off the list and can move on.

5) You Can Network With Other Writers

This was a benefit I didn’t consider at all, and by far the most “awesome” of this list. At my first in-person pitch session, we were all so nervous that it felt natural to try our pitches on each other. I made some great friends just standing in line waiting to go in. And in some ways, Twitter pitching was even better. I got to read and re-tweet some brilliant ideas, and connect with the writers behind them. I gained at least 50 followers in the aftermath of the Twitter pitch alone, and made connections I’d never have been able to seek on the same scale otherwise.

Whether live or via social media, pitching sessions are events that all writers should seek out and try for themselves. You’ll receive the awesome benefits of connecting with writers and agents, sharing your ideas and refining your work. And who knows? Maybe it’ll even lead to the most awesome thing of all: getting your book out into the world.

Leanne Sowul writes historical/literary fiction and teaches music from her home in the Hudson Valley, NY. Although she generally hates talking to strangers and using social media, she’s grateful that being a writer has forced her to get better at both. Her blog Words From The Sowul is a haven for writers, readers and lovers of words. Connect with Leanne at her website, via email at leannesowul(at)gmail(dot)com, or on Twitter @sowulwords.

The post #5onFri: 5 Awesome Things About Pitching Your Book appeared first on DIY MFA.

I knew ahead of time that I was going to force my driving buddy into helping me practice the pitch for my book upwards of a thousand times before we even hit the Lincoln Tunnel. Come rain or shine, smooth roads or car trouble, she was stuck with me. And by the time I stepped foot in the Roosevelt Hotel, my pitch would be ready to go.

Lucky for my driving buddy, my pitch was already awesome.

Sure, I had never pitched before, but I had read many a chapter on how to put one together. They say it’s hard to summarize your book in less than a minute, but I was under the impression that “they”—you know, the entire writing community—were exaggerating.

I had crafted a beautiful, 98 word pitch that would take me just under a minute to recite, and only highlight the most important parts of my story. By the end, you knew my character. You cared deeply about his success. You felt the tension on every page, nay, every line, and you were hooked. Take that, cornered agent! Represent my book. Do it now!

Butterflies filled my stomach as I hurried through my first recitation of the pitch. It sounded good, didn’t it?

Remember how I said my driving buddy would be stuck with me come rain or shine? Well, down came the rain—the downpour of follow up questions and suggestions. Actually, it felt more like lightning than rain to me.

“You didn’t mention your genre. What’s your word count? Is it completed? Agents want to know that. What’s your theme? Your high-concept? I’m not sure I really care about your main character.”

That’s when the drive started feeling more like a speeding roller coaster. I was faced with the reality that in less than two hours I would be mingling with writing professionals who had every right and inclination to send my pitch to the guillotine. And all my writing books had failed me.

Pitch Lesson #1: Experience and Human Interaction are Better than Books

Books on craft are excellent, but supplementing them with networking and workshops in the real world is priceless. Sometimes we readers and writers forget that real people have a lot to offer, too!

By the time I walked into the hotel, I knew the answers to the questions, “What books would surround your book in a bookstore?” and “Is your book a series?” (That’s a scary one. More on that later.) My confidence restored, I handed my luggage over to the front desk people and skipped along to my first workshop of the conference. “Pitch Perfect,” presented by Chuck Sambuchino.

Okay, Chuck, teach me.

That workshop was a truly humbling experience. I was given a handout that inspired more joy than a box of chocolates (the highest honor any handout could be awarded). Chuck gave a fantastic outline of what to do and what not to do in a pitch, and sentenced me to a late evening of pitch drafting. Here’s what I learned.

Pitch Lesson #2: Treasure Your Ending

I had heard a lot of talk about agents wanting to know about the tension and stakes in the story. Of course they do! They want to know what will keep the readers hooked. What are we writers going to put our characters through? But would I have to expose my ending to prove my stakes? I would have to pull my treasured denouement out of witness protection and throw him to the wolves, wouldn’t I?

But Chuck calmed these fears by reassuring me that this was not the case. In fact, don’t do it! Ever! Protect your ending. Agents still want to have a fun surprise when they finish reading your manuscript. Instead, discuss the high stakes that drive your poor, mangled protagonist toward their end, and leave the agents with a catchy cliffhanger. Chuck called it an “unclear wrap-up.” After reworking my pitch, the end looked like this: “As his understanding of the prophecy grows, so does Damian’s urgency to prevent its repercussions from destroying him, his friends, and eventually his whole world.” This closing sentence leaves us wondering if the Lead, Damian, can fully understand his mission before the prophecy wreaks havoc on everything he cares about. Will he win? What will happen if he doesn’t?

Pitch Lesson #3: The Shorter, the Better

Already we have a lot to do. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. The pitch also has to introduce our main character, explain why he or she is unique, introduce the plot, and explain why it is complicated. Oh, and we have 3-10 sentences to get all of this done. Naturally, I started counting the elements of the pitch and noting that 3 sentences was a nice mythological dream.

But Chuck went on to explain that one sentence can do more than one thing. For example, “After finally escaping from an abusive home, Damian begins to establish a suave, independent life. Just as he starts to gain control, an unearthed mythological prophecy reveals that he has an unexpected calling.” Okay, so that was two sentences. But look at everything we’ve done! By the end of the first sentence, Damian has an identity and a uniqueness that comes from his abused past and the fact that he pulled off an escape. The second sentence introduces the plot and explains that it has been complicated by a prophecy that takes control away from Damian again. I did it in two sentences, but you may be able to do it in one. The more we can cram into as few words as possible, the better!

Pitch Lesson #4: You are NOT Writing a Series

One of the lessons that rang most true to me was how to pitch a series without making the agent’s face turn purple. Chuck noted that instead of coming into a pitch, guns blazing, throwing around the words, “My book is part of a series!” I should say, “My book is a stand alone, with series potential.” Speaking agent is like speaking a different language. To a writer pitching a potential series, this phrasing is as important as is the question, “¿Dónde está la biblioteca?” to a writer who wants to travel to Mexico. And this isn’t just sneaky wording. It should be true that your novel wraps up its main conflict at the end. Agents want to know that the book can stand alone so they aren’t committed to publishing sequels if the first book doesn’t sell. On a happier note, we can and should still leave hints of conflict at the end in case the book breaks out. A lot of agents actually like series ideas—they just don’t want to be tied to them.

Pitch Lesson #5: Just Keep Learning…Just Keep Learning…

The best part about the conference was that it did not stop with Chuck. Over the course of the next two days I learned about the diverse templates for pitches. I heard varying ways to convey big stakes in small amounts of time. I learned about log lines: the art (and curse) of summarizing your 78,000 word darling in one sentence.

Basically, I learned the art of learning. I learned just how lonely and deceiving it is to write without a community of learners who help you improve. I learned how to never be that lonely again. As writers we are always learning, just as there is always something to learn. That’s what makes our stories great, isn’t it?

The pitch for my current work in progress, Dead Perfect:

Dead Perfect is a 78,000 word YA fantasy novel. After finally escaping from an abusive home, Damian begins to establish a suave, independent life. Just as he starts to gain control, an unearthed mythological prophecy reveals that he has an unexpected calling. Now he must struggle between the life he wanted and the life his destiny chose for him. As his understanding of the prophecy grows, so does Damian’s urgency to prevent its repercussions from destroying him, his friends, and eventually his whole world.

Kayla MacNeille is a YA fiction and fantasy writer out of Hershey, Pennsylvania. She is fueled by teaching, staying active, being adventurous in the kitchen, and working on her current fantasy novel–especially when writing is coupled with a nice cup of hot chocolate and some snow. Follow her on Twitter , Instagram , and on her blog.

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As writers we are from time to time forced to face the dreaded question:

“So, what’s your story about?”

I don’t know about you, but for me, that question has often sent me into a cold sweat. I’ll mumble something about it being hard to explain and hope that satisfies their curiosity. Usually, that’s not good enough, so, I’ll hem and haw and mention something about “Die Hard meets Farscape.” The asker smiles politely while giving me a sideways glance.

But as a reformed shy writer, I’m learning to enjoy that question, and to field it with new gusto. Why? Because the act of condensing down your story into a bite size nugget, is an extremely valuable one, both in terms of storytelling and marketing. It helps you tell a better story and piques the interest of curious friends and hopefully agents and potential readers.

The benefits of the Microcosmic Sentence.

A solid 15 – 20 words that details the core drama of your story is what we’re looking for here. I have found that a strong sentence that summarizes your story is valuable in every step of the writing process. I’m focusing on the marketing aspect here, but briefly here are a few of the benefits of honing in on the core of your story with one sentence:

Pre-writing

The one sentence summary, or Log Line as it’s known in screenwriting slang is an ever evolving, guiding compass. It’s the starting point of your journey and can work as an infinitely expandable map and plan. From one sentence you can expand your idea into a paragraph, page, a full treatment, and eventually a rough draft.

Writing

Here, that one sentence is a lighthouse that shows you the way through the tempestuous seas of drafting. That DNA sentence might change as you plow through the rough draft, and that’s totally fine. But more often than not, the sentence helps you stay on point and avoid unnecessary blind alleys, by knowing what the story is really about.

Editing

Here our sentence is an anchor that keeps you from going out with the tide of emotions. It’s really hard to kill your darlings. But it is completely necessary. With the anchor sentence in hand, you’ll know you are tossing the right baggage overboard.

Marketing

Now here’s the bit I’m most concerned about today. By being able to pitch your story in a sentence, you are able to connect your story to the right audience. It only takes a few moments for us as readers to decide if we want to read something.

Consider skimming through Netflix on a comfy Friday evening at home. You skip through movie and television titles at break neck speed, stopping only at an interesting cover picture. Then you read the little blurb in the corner. Either it connects with you, you press play, or you say “meh” and keep looking.

This isn’t good or bad, it’s just how people decide how they want to spend their time. In the case of your book, the more concisely you can communicate the value and interest of your story, the faster you can connect with potential readers and also dismiss the ones who aren’t interested.

Going back to the analogy of the curious friend, which of these descriptions are stronger?

Hey Kent, what’s your story about?

(Mopping cold sweat with sleeve)

Response #1: Well, it’s kind of like a sci fi post apocalyptic sort of thing. You know, kind of like uh… well… you know… Total Recall I guess, but it’s also underground, but moving above ground, like exploring you know. Heh.

Response #2: In the last outpost of humanity after a nuclear holocaust, Olivia discovers a secret plot to engineer a catastrophe and risks everything to stop it.

In Response #2, that sentence is a little long, but still it cuts right to the heart of the story. And it accomplishes what a good DNA sentence should do.

The goals of a good DNA Sentence

1. Spark interest and resonate with potential readers.
2. Hone in on the core of the story.
3. Introduce the main character and their problem.
4. Create a clear image in the mind of reader (or listener).

How to do it

Okay, so we know now that it’s really good to find a strong sentence that tells our story. But just how exactly do you do it? Many novels are 80, 100, or 200 thousand words or more. Where do you even begin?

A good starting point is the protagonist. What’s their deal? What are they struggling against? Write it down with a much space as you need, a paragraph or even a whole page. Then start cutting.

Shoot for 15 words or less. You don’t want a huge run on sentence, but you do want to be as specific as possible.

Homework:

Check out the New York Time Bestseller website. All of the descriptions are very solid (and very short) sentences. Browse through them for inspiration.

Kent Bridgeman is a freelance writer and marketing strategist who also writes short stories, screenplays and poetry.  He helps his clients clarify their marketing messages and craft potent content. He lives in Chicago with his lovely fiancée D, and a grumpy parrot named Poncho. Check out his work at thewritejazz.com

The post The DNA of your Story: How to Pitch Your Story in a Sentence appeared first on DIY MFA.

Query letters are strange and intimidating beasts.  They are the much obsessed, much abused, much scorned part of the marketing process.  Essentially they are like movie trailers for your book; they create the urge to see more.  Somehow, by some feat of magic, you are forced to describe your 80,000+ word novel in a page, really just a few brief paragraphs.

How the heck do you do it?

You’ve already written a novel (or you’re working on it), so the hardest part is over.  By connecting to the fire, what you love about your story, and using the algebra of a query letter, the form, you can craft a compelling and highly readable query.

I’m assuming you have the fire covered, so I’ll focus on the structure of the letter, the algebra.

Parts of the Query Letter

A Query can be divided into four basic parts:

1.  The Introduction, aka “The Hook”
2. The Body
3. The Tag
4. The Bio

Each section has a unique function designed to engage the reader by sparking their interest and helping them envision how to sell your story, which is, after all, an agent’s job.

One nice thing about Query letters is that each part can be customized and rearranged, depending on what makes the most sense for your story.

One core thing to remember is this: Don’t lose your fire.  Use your style, your voice, to tell the story, even if it is only a couple paragraphs.

1. The Hook – 2 – 3 sentences

Agents read a lot of these things.  You’ve got to grab their attention pretty quickly.  There are a couple ways to do this.

The meaningful connection

You mention some connection you have to this specific person you are querying.  This works very well if you have met the agent at a writer’s conference and had a chance to describe your work:

Dear Mr. Olsom,

 I was thrilled to have the chance to met you at The Writers Digest conference last august.  I’m even more excited to have finished the novel I pitched you then, The Awakening of the Socks.

Other meaningful connections might include following the agent’s blog or really enjoying a book that they landed a deal for.  This tactic involves a bit of homework, but can really get your foot in the door right off the bat.

In Medias Rey

 Another method that works well, especially if you don’t have much of a connection to the agent, is to launch into the story.  For example:

Dear Ms. Mesler,

 Brie has a problem.  Not only do her socks not match, but they seem to be… alive!

 This technique works to grab your agent reader right off the bat, and help them get a feel for your voice

2. Pitch (3 – 10 sentences)

The Pitch is notoriously the hardest part of a Query Letter to write.  It’s here that you actually tell the story.  So, how do you sum up 60,000 – 100,000+ words in ten sentences or less?

The good news is, you don’t.

A pitch is a lot like the text you’ll find on the back of a paperback or in the inner flap of a hardcover book.  It’s a teaser, a lot like movie trailer.  It gives you enough to want to see more (like all great movie trailers).

You’ll want to focus on the first third of your story, the first act in other words.  Starting with the Plot Catalyst or the inciting incident you’ll then kick into other key details about the story.  You might cover some backstory, character insights; plot points or a mix of all three.

The key is to answer the important questions about your story:

• What is the book about?
• What makes this story unique?
• Who are the major players?

Let’s add to our example:

Brie has a problem.  Not only do her socks not match, but they seem to be… alive! [Catalyst]  After a strange dream of aliens visiting her room (at least she thinks it was a dream), Brie’s socks start disappearing.  Next, the remaining ones start talking to her telepathically! [Backstory]  Brie thinks she going nuts until one night her socks guide her to the crash site of a UFO. [Character insight/Plot Point]  With only her socks to guide her, Brie is charged with getting the aliens back home and saving the world in the process!  She’s gonna need more fabric softener.

This isn’t a treatment or a synopsis.  You don’t need to spill the ending or even get into the second act.  Just focus on giving a succinct and compelling description of the first part of your book.

Remember; use your voice to tell your story.  Let your fire come through, especially in this part.

3. The Tag – 1-2 Sentences

The tag is a brief thumbnail of your book.  It tells the title of the book, how many words and the genre with a word or two about target audience.  This is really pretty easy, think of it as telling someone where your book belongs in a book store:

The Awakening of the Socks is a 80,000 word YA novel that blends Sci Fi and humor in the spirit of Douglas Adam’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. 

This is also a good place to mention if this book is part of a trilogy or series of books.

4. Bio 2 – 4 sentences

It’s not uncommon for new writers to admit the Bio.  And that’s fine; it even gives you a little more room to add to your Pitch.  This section is really just about vetting you and showing why you are the best person to have written this book.  Some things you could mention:

• Who are you?
• Qualifications
• Published books, short stories or articles
• School or training
• Awards
• Platforms, promotional processes
• Where you live, who you live with and pets

Example:

I am a full time novelist and Mom.  I live in Toronto with my hubby Jordan and vengeful hamster Morgan.  I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from NYU.  My short stories have been published in Tin House and The Atlantic.  My first book, Journey to Hamsterville, received a Critics award for best new comedic novel. 

Wrap Up 

Here are the key points to take away when setting out to write your kick ass Query:

• Write in your voice; let the reader feel the heat of your fire through the algebra of the query.
• Hook your reader with a meaningful connection or by jumping into the story.
• Pitch your story by focusing on the first act of your story.
• Tag your story: let the reader know how to sell your story by clearly defining what the story is and who will like it.
• Show why you’re the best person to write this story by including a pertinent bio (or omit and focus on strengthening your pitch)

In case you’re curious, click here to see the full Query we used as an example.

Dear Mr. Olsom,

I was thrilled to have the chance to met you at The Writers Digest conference last august.  I’m even more excited to have finished the novel I pitched you then, The Awakening of the Socks.

Brie has a problem.  Not only do her socks not match, but they seem to be… alive! [Catalyst]  After a strange dream of aliens visiting her room (at least she thinks it was a dream), Brie’s socks start disappearing.  Next, the remaining ones start talking to her telepathically! [Backstory]  Brie thinks she going nuts until one night her socks guide her to the crash site of a UFO. [Character insight/Plot Point]  With only her socks to guide her, Brie is charged with getting the aliens back home and saving the world in the process!  She’s gonna need more fabric softener.

The Awakening of the Socks is a 80,000 word YA novel that blends Sci Fi and humor in the spirit of Douglas Adam’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. 

I am a full time novelist and Mom.  I live in Toronto with my hubby Jordan and vengeful hamster Morgan.  I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from NYU.  My short stories have been published in Tin House and The Atlantic.  My first book, Journey to Hamsterville, received a Critics award for best new comedic novel. 

All the best,

Cynthia Small

………………..

Kent Bridgeman is a freelance writer and marketing strategist who also writes short stories, screenplays and poetry.  He helps his clients clarify their marketing messages and craft potent content. He lives in Chicago with his lovely fiancée D, and a grumpy parrot named Poncho. Check out his work at thewritejazz.com

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