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.

As I was trying to figure out what my next column would be about, I got a bit of a promotion here at DIY MFA. I am now the Web Editor (among other responsibilities). While reviewing the contact page and submissions guidelines, inspiration struck! I could write my next column about how to pitch to a publication.

Without further ado, here are tips for pitching a guest blog. And while I use DIY MFA’s policies and procedures as examples, this advice is definitely applicable across the board for any online publication. 

Research Before Pitching

This should be pretty obvious, but unfortunately it isn’t. We get a lot of pitches for do-it-yourself plumbing projects and other home renovation topics. People see the DIY in the site title and they don’t even click to read what we’re about. 

Assuming you actually visit the website, take the time to read a few of the more recent posts or articles. You don’t have to go through the entire archive, but check out what is current. This will give you an idea of what kind of topics they post about, who they feature, etc. It also clues you into the format of guest posts, so you can determine if your voice and style are a fit. This knowledge will help you pitch the best, most relevant piece you can. 

Search for Submission Guidelines

Some publications make them easy to find; others like to play hide and seek. A good starting point is the contact page. At DIY MFA, our contact page lists the email for general inquiries. But if you look at the whole page, we have a section for Guest Submissions. We even link to our Guest Article Submission Guidelines, where we spell out the A-Z of pitching for DIY MFA. 

The New Yorker  and New York Times both have their submission guidelines on their contact page. The Write Life and ProWritingAid blogs offer links to the guidelines in the website footer.

Follow the Directions

But in those cases where the publication makes it a bit harder to find the submission guidelines, use the all-seeing Google. Enter “(name of publication) submission guidelines” or similar query in your search bar. You might have to look through a couple of pages, but they should pop up if the publication accepts pitches.

I cannot stress this enough—follow the directions. 

Our guidelines specifically say where to email pitches for guest posts, yet we still get a bunch that go to the general email account. We also give specific instructions for everything to include in the pitch, yet we still get incomplete submissions. When we see these blatant disregards for following instructions, we delete the emails with no response. This is how the vast majority of publications operate.

If an editor is constantly responding to pitches that don’t follow directions, that’s time they’re not spending on finding the right writers to serve their audience. By not following directions, you also show you won’t be easy to work with and will likely ignore further instructions for a full submission. 

Proofread Your Submission and Accompanying Email

It’s cringe-worthy to receive a pitch with tons of grammatical errors, some even starting in the subject line. This doesn’t inspire confidence for an editor that you can piece together a coherent article. Blog copy editors are amazing, but they have other stuff to do than fix your misspellings.

In your pitch email:

• Be personal: Address the email to the right person. You’ll probably find their name if you look for the guidelines. Also, if there is a connection, mention it. Maybe you met the editor at a conference or you know someone else on the team who gave you the editor’s email. Starting with a personal connection is a great way to break the ice.
• Be specific: Tell them exactly what you are pitching. Ideally, you’ll send 2-3 ideas that are vivid enough the editor knows what your post is about and whether it will serve the audience.
• Be concise: At the same time, be concise. Don’t write out your entire article in the email unless a full submission is requested. 
• Include links to your work: Writing samples are great. It gives us an idea of how you typically write, so we can tell if you’ll be a good fit. If you don’t have any professional credits yet, don’t worry. You can link to your personal blog.

Double-Check the Directions

Once you’re done double-checking that you followed the guidelines—triple check! Seriously. You don’t want to wind up in the trash box simply because you failed to follow one tiny step. If it says email a particular account, email that account. If it says to include a particular subject line, include that subject line. If you’re reading this blog, then we know you’re a better writer than folks who don’t do their homework or follow the guidelines.  

There you have it, some simple tips on how to write a pitch from someone who has recently dealt with a lot of them. Fortunately, it really can be as simple as following the directions. Yes, you have to have writing skills, but the rest will get easier with practice. Promise!

Lori Walker is the Operations Maven at DIY MFA. Though she’s fallen off the wagon as a writer, she’s hoping to return to writing essays (perhaps even a novel!) through her involvement with DIY MFA. She also teaches yoga part-time in Smalltown, Oklahoma, where she lives with her husband and their cat, Joan Didion. You can follow her on Instagram at @LoriTheWriter.

The post How to Pitch an Online Blog (from a Web Editor) appeared first on DIY MFA.

Save the Cat is a book written specifically for screenwriters so it’s really about pitching your movie to big screen executives, but what applies to big blockbusters applies to mainstream fiction. It’s all about communicating your idea in a logline, elevator pitch, one-liner, whatever you call that one sentence.

Yes, we all want to write the book of our heart, but we also want editors to publish our work and readers to read it. We can’t hope for either of those things if we don’t know how to pitch our stories.

We need that one sentence to hook someone into reading our work. Which also, incidentally, helps us focus our ideas. You need it every time you open your mouth to talk about your book whether it’s to you friends, your family, your writing buddies, or hopefully, your agent, your editor and for marketing to readers! Without a good pitch, the chances of a book selling well get much smaller.

Here are the four vital ingredients to a pitch, according to Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat:

What’s it about?

The number one thing Blake Snyder says a logline must have is irony. Irony highlights the struggle, the conflict. It incites the big question in our minds of “well, how is that going to work?” which makes us want to read it. It’s the hook, to pique our interest.

It helps, according to Snyder, if the logline creates a mental picture. If the listener can visualize how/where/when it takes place based on the pitch, that’s an added bonus. “A good logline, once said, blossoms in your brain.”

What’s the title?

Snyder calls the title and logline a “one-two punch…a good combo never fails to knock me out.” The title must have irony, like the logline, but it also has to tell the tale without being too corny or on the nose, while not being too vague either.

Titles are hard. I’ve spent days with hundreds of failed options thinking of book titles, but it’s worth the work to search for just the right one. It’s the number one marketing tool of your book.

Snyder admits to sometimes thinking of the title first, before even coming up with the story concept—just to highlight how important title is to pitching. He recommends writing the logline and title before even writing the story.

What’s the genre?

Giving the book context for how it fits in the wider genre, is simply polite, Snyder says. Referencing other familiar books or stories that resemble your story or even other authors in the same genre who write work similar to yours helps your work context and find its audience.

Snyder devotes a whole chapter title to, “Give me the same thing…only different!” In other words, knowing where your book will fit in the market, how it relates to what’s come before it, how it’s similar and how it’s different is important.

This also brings up the concept of tropes. Snyder lists a page of 10 story types which he claims every story falls under. Every story has tropes in it, types of characters or storylines that have been seen in other books, but yours won’t be exactly the same. It will give that trope a twist. Know which tropes you’re using and how you’re altering them uniquely in your story to help others understand what it’s about.

Who’s it about?

Audiences grab onto a character to usher them into an idea. The main character is the point-of-view every story is told from and that POV is the readers window into the world you create in your story.

Here’s a place Snyder indicates we can play with irony. Whatever character would have the most conflict with the location or situation in your idea will create the most interesting, gripping story. Whether you think of a story idea first or character first, Snyder talks about having it be about a character the audience will root for.

Snyder recommends having the main character’s goal be attached to a primal urge: survival, hunger, sex, protecting loved ones, fear of death, etc. The basics he lists for whoever your story is about, are: someone we can identify with and learn from, someone who gives us a compelling reason to follow who we believe deserves to win.

That’s the summary for Save the Cat’s three chapters on pitching an idea. After that, it goes into beats and plot structure.

I do have one caveat: The book is full of story examples that are of a sexist nature, and the discussions of who the story is about were entirely directed at the male gender, but looking past these flaws, it had very helpful details to say about pitching your story.

Robin Lovett is a romance writer of erotic sci-fi and dark thrillers. She’s published with Entangled Publishing and SMP Swerve. She loves to chat on Twitter @LovettRomance and every Sunday evening you can find her with other romance writers at #RWChat. She is represented by Rachel Brooks of BookEnds Literary Agency.

The post Pitching Your Book With Help From Blake Snyder’s Save The Cat appeared first on DIY MFA.

There are the skeptics, those writers who want you to think that the world of writing is closed to outsiders, that you might as well not bother pitching prestigious magazines. Others have been burned by glossies a few too many times, and think that because they couldn’t get into a magazine no one else can either.

So what is aiming high? It’s attempting to get your foot in the door at your dream publications even if you’re worried that large submission inboxes and lack of  literary pedigrees will prevent you from being accepted.

Here’s the truth: while it’s sometimes a longshot to pitch high-end publications like the New York Times or Tin House, it’s always worth the effort to pitch and submit your work to these outlets. Here’s why.

Submitting Helps You Grow

This is practically my motto. After enough rejections, you tend to get used to hearing No. And it’s not as bad as it seems. Editors won’t judge you if your pitch or submission doesn’t land perfectly. Just because they pass doesn’t mean your pitch was the worst email on the face of the earth, despite the sinking feeling in your stomach. Sometimes editors say no because they just ran something similar, have a specific editorial vision, or they already commissioned enough pieces for the section.

Sometimes editors will give you feedback. No, they probably won’t read through line-by-line, but editors will likely give you a jist of why they passed on your submission. It’s helpful to know if an editor you respect enjoyed reading your piece even if they can’t commission it. And you’ll go forward thinking of yourself as a serious writer because you’ve sent your work to these publications. Submitting your work to prestigious outlets has a way of making you feel that you’re putting in the proper dedication to it.

There’s Always a Chance You’ll Get Accepted

Don’t believe me? It’s true! Jamison Hill writes about what it was like to write, submit, and receive an acceptance from the New York Times Modern Love editor Daniel Jones, who called his essay “lovely” even though he was rejected in the past. Since there’s a lot of talk about the Modern Love column changing writers’ lives, it’s no surprise that Hill was shocked and pleased to receive an acceptance he never saw coming.

To increase your chances of getting accepted, it’s always a good idea to have multiple people read your piece before you send it to a dream publication. While they won’t judge you negatively for a strong submission that doesn’t quite make the cut, you want to make sure that every sentence pulls its weight, your word count matches what the section requires, and you don’t have embarrassing typos that make you look lazy. For an essay of any magnitude, it can’t hurt to find a workshop group or take an online class to work with others also trying to get a stellar byline.

You May Regret Not Trying for A Dream Publication

What if you decide not to go for your dream publication and instead submit your work to a journal that you’re not proud to be a part of? You may receive an easy acceptance, but your work may not garner the readers you hoped for in another outlet. It’s likely, especially if this is a story close to your heart, that if you don’t try to submit your work to a prestigious outlet, you might wonder if it would have been accepted if you were less afraid. Don’t let this be you.

Take a chance on your writing and submit. You never know.

Kayla Dean has written for publications like Electric Literature, Ploughshares online, Darling, and Bella Grace. She has an MA and BA in English. You can find her on Twitter @kayladeanwrites.

The post Why You Should Aim High When Pitching Nonfiction Essays appeared first on DIY MFA.

OMG DIY MFA Radio is 200 episodes old!

Whether you’ve been with me since the beginning of this journey or are just tuning in now, thank you for listening.

Since this is our 200th episode, we’re doing things a little bit differently. Instead of being the interviewer, my producer Marielle Orff takes over the show and puts me in the hot seat.

In case some of you don’t know her yet, Marielle is the content strategist at DIY MFA. As such she as her fingers in pretty much every piece of content that gets sent out by us. She edits the podcast and helps curate the lineup, manages the articles that go up on the website, and helps curate the newsletter and our social media. As such it seemed only natural to have her interview me for your 200th episode extravaganza!

Listen in as Marielle and I geek out about podcasts, platform building, and give you an inside look at what’s coming up in DIY MFA.

In this episode Marielle and I discuss:

• Getting from no to yes with publishers, agents, and podcasts.
• Pitching faux pas, and how to avoid them.
• Sustaining a huge project for the long haul.
• Putting yourself out there while still finding your voice.
• An inside look at the wish list of DIY MFA Radio!

Plus, both of our #1 tips for writers.

Writer Igniter Thriller Summit

Start your summer off with a bang by finding your next fun and action-packed read by listening into DIY MFA’s Writer Igniter Thriller Summit. Over the span of two weeks you’ll be able to hear nine awesome interviews with some of the biggest and up and coming names in the thriller genre. You’ll hear authors including Steve Berry, K.J. Howe, and David Morrell discuss the craft of writing, their own techniques, and get awesome tips on how to write thriller or any genre.

This event is coming up fast so keep your eyes peeled for announcements so you can start listening as soon as the Thriller Summit goes live. Follow us on social media for updates, or if you want the best and most reliable information sign up for our newsletter at DIYMFA.com/join. Our newsletter is always filled with exclusive goodies, and is the first place we announce upcoming events. Join now and be one of the first people to hear when the Thriller Summit begins!

Link to Episode 200

(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 200th Episode Extravaganza — Featuring Marielle Orff and Gabriela Pereira 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.

However, while pitching can be an incredibly rewarding experience, it does have a few pit-falls. Most of them can be avoided by being prepared, polite and simply following the guidelines posted on the conference website. In the past few years, because I work as an editor and write on the side, I’ve been on both sides of the pitching table. Today, I’d like to talk about some typical rules for pitching, and the reasons behind them. If I miss any, leave a comment, and I’m happy to talk through them!

Only Pitch One Project at a Time

It can be tempting, when you’ve only got ten minutes with one person, to give them all you’ve got. Show them all your books, because they might like one better than the others. But it’s really difficult to pitch more than one book well in the time that’s allotted at most pitch sessions. What ends up happening is a writer spends all time talking about his or her projects, and there’s no time for questions, or feedback.

An agent or editor is only going to be able to sell or buy one project at a time (even when books are bought as part of a multiple book contract, it’s usually based on the first book). Having a strong, single pitch shows that you know how to follow the rules, are confident in your work, and are eager to interact with the agent or editor. One of the great benefits of pitch sessions is the time, after you pitch, to just talk and ask questions. Taking too long to pitch, or pitching multiple projects, cuts into that!

Don’t Bring Pages

It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal: a few pages are not that bulky, and they don’t take up that much space. But here’s the thing: an editor or agent isn’t just going to tuck said pages into a suitcase. She will have to carry them around all day. Make sure coffee doesn’t get spilled on them. Remember which author they belong to. The reality is, most agents and editors aren’t going to do that. They’re going to throw them away.

At one of my first pitch sessions as an editor, a writer gave me the first one hundred pages of a manuscript, neatly and professionally bound. For me, working as an editor is a constant battle against guilt. I think this is probably true of most editors and agents. We don’t enjoy rejecting things. It’s the worst part of the job. But it’s something we have to do. At the time, I couldn’t bear to do it without at least reading the pages. But I didn’t have a purse big enough to hold them, and I didn’t have time to run up to my hotel room to drop them off. So, I carried those pages around with me for the entire day, growing grumpier and grumpier. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t do that again. I’d give the writer my card and ask them to email me, same as everyone else. Printing pages is really just a waste of time and money, and it gives an editor or agent the impression that a writer doesn’t respect the rules or them.

Read Up on an Editor or Agent’s List

I work at a company that is known for science fiction and fantasy, but acquire historical fiction and contemporaries. Writers pitch me awesome sounding epic fantasies that might be wonderful, but are totally wrong for my own list. While I’m always perfectly happy to look at pages and pass them on to a coworker who might enjoy them, or to help a writer hone a pitch, I’m not going to be the most productive use of that writer’s time. Also, in taking up one of my slots, a writer is taking the space of another writer who might have the sort of book I acquire. It’s really in everyone’s best interest to sign up for editors and agents who want the type of book you’re going to pitch. So always be sure to read the bios included in the conference materials. It’s why we write them!I

Another great resource is to check out agents and editor’s #MSWL pages, or search their tweets and interviews. It takes a little extra time, but it shows initiative, resourcefulness and respect for our time. And hey! You may discover that your book is absolutely perfect for someone.

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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.

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This morning, I’d like to talk about a common feature at writing conferences–pitch sessions. These are a fantastic way to get face to face time with an agent or editor, pitch your book and get immediate feedback. It may be a request for pages or a rejection, but either way, it’s valuable information that will help you hone your book and your pitch. I’m such a big fan of pitch sessions that I didn’t think I could cover the full scope of it in one post, so I’ve broken it down into two. This week, I’m going to highlight the top five reasons you should take advantage of pitch sessions, and in a few weeks, I’ll be talking through five tips to make sure your pitch is perfect.

Five Reasons to Attend a Pitch Session

1) Creating a Pitch is Valuable to Your Writing Process

Kent Bridgeman has discussed this at some length in his marketing column, and I can’t agree enough: crafting a pitch is an important part of the writing process. In his seminal structure book, Save the Cat, Blake Snyder argues that you should develop a logline before you write a word. Not every writer likes to craft a pitch that early, but I do think it’s a valuable exercise at some point, whether it’s before you’ve begun, when you’re in the trenches or after you finish. I actually like to do all three, because I find that it helps me stay focused on the core of my story.  A pitch boils your plot down to its essence: In V world, X character wants Y, and is thwarted by Z.

In a tyrannical future America, Katniss wants to protect her family, but to do so must survive a televised fight to the death. 

Being able to boil your story down to these three points will help you as a writer to stay on track. It’s something you can refer back to if you ever feel like you’re getting off course.

2) It’s Also Valuable to Your Marketing Strategy

A fiction writer’s marketing strategy is rather straight-forward: you’re trying to sell your story. But doing that can be a lot harder than it seems. We’ve all been faced with the dreaded question: What’s your book about? Having a well-honed pitch gives you a ready answer, no matter who’s asking the question. The rest of a book’s marketing comes out of this, from the query letter to the copy on the back of the book. It starts with a pitch, so having one that’s strong is an absolute necessity.

3) Face Time With Editors and Agents is Priceless

Here’s the problem: there’s just no way to know if your pitch works until you try it out on people. You can practice on your family and friends, and often get good feedback. That’s doubly true with writing friends. But what could possibly be of more value than a real-time, face-to-face reaction from an expert in the industry? Agents and editors hear pitches all the time. Seeing what their reaction is to yours can be . . . well, terrifying, but also incredibly useful. Often, at pitch sessions, editors and agents will give feedback, letting you know what worked and what didn’t. And you can use that to make your pitch even stronger.

4) You Could Just Score a Book Deal

At most pitch conferences writers receive either feedback, a rejection, or a request for pages from an agent or editor. All three are valuable. Of course, the third is the outcome we’re all looking for. If an agent likes the pages, he might request more. This could lead to an offer of representation and a book deal. It truly does happen. The thing is, though, that the same is true of simply querying. You could “pitch” an agent through a query letter and end up on the same path. So while a book deal might be the end-goal, pitch fests aren’t the only path to it. I personally think the real value in a pitch session is in how it helps you to hone one of the most valuable tools in a writer’s arsenal: the pitch itself.

5) Pitch-Crafting is a Process

Jumping off that last point, no matter what the outcome of a pitch session, whether you’re getting a bajillion requests or none at all, being open and responsive to feedback will ultimately help you, your writing and your book. You’ll leave the pitch fest with a plan to make your pitch stronger. As writers, we are all going to be faced with the question: what are you writing about? The first questioner will be the book itself, asking “What the hell am I?” A writer has to be able to answer that question to craft a good story. And once the story is crafted (and usually while the writing is happening!), people will be asking the same question. Then agents. Then editors. Then the sales force at your publishing company. The marketers. The publicists. The book sellers. Then, ultimately, the readers. A pitch makes the journey from pitch session to the back cover of your book. Pitch sessions are another way that you can make yours as perfect as possible.

Have you ever done a pitch session? What did you find valuable about it? Let us know in the comment, or tweet us using the hashtag #5OnFri!

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