Pounding heart, sweaty hands, shaking legs all mean one thing. It's time to pitch. You're excited because pitching to this agent could be 'it', but there is a fear that you're going to vomit all over their shoes.
What can you do?
Step One: Be Prepared!
Know your story. Know your characters. And know how to sum it up in two lines. Be thorough, efficient and fast. Impossible, right?
Welcome to the world of a writer.
Prepare to use words that will grab the agents attention and make them want to hear more. It is imperative to interest the agent in interacting with you about your story. Give them a teasing pitch line that will catch their attention. Do not forget to show your excitement.
Step Two: Do your research!
Research is imperative. It is also mundane, time consuming and well worth the reward.
In preparation for my own pitch session back in 2011 I followed the prospective agent's online presence in every format I could find. There was her blog, her twitter, interviews and pod casts. I sponged every word I could find before I found my unique way of being remembered.
Step Three: Be Yourself!
There is one unique thing you have to offer the world. Your individuality. There is no other person in this world like you, and that is the greatest tool in your writers arsenal. In my own pitch session I played to my strength and humor happens to be one of my best. Well, in my opinion it is. What is your greatest strength? Find it, be it, do it.
Step Four: Do no cross the line!
Do you know your ideal agent loves coffee? Or that they have a soft spot for cupcakes? That is great, it shows you've shown an interest in their online presence. But it may not be the best idea to send the coffee loving agent a mug with coffee beans and a bag of white powder. Sure, in your mind it's a generous gift, but in their mind you've either tried to murder or drug them. And if I have to explain why you shouldn't send a cupcake via USPS then...well... you lack common sense and need a dose.
Step Five: Be Professional!
I have seen people wear funny clothes with the hope they will be remembered by an agent. While your clothes may be remembered there may be nothing interesting about your pitch- it needs to be memorable, not your clothes. Please remember you are asking this agent to represent you and sell your book- not your funny hat or gaudy shoes. Sell your pitch, not your clothes.
How did I do it?
I am no expert when it comes to pitching to an agent. Nerves wrack my body just as they do yours, but I play to my strengths. After researching the agent, and cracking a few jokes during an online interactive podcast, the conversation turned a unique corner when we began speaking about toilet paper query letters.
Weird right?
No. Awesome is the word. When I went into my pitch session a few weeks later armed with a toilet paper query letter not only did the agent remember me, she posted my query on twitter and requested my partial manuscript. The pitch session was the best one I have participated in because we spent the first half giggling like little school girls and the second talking about my book.
Be prepared, do your research, be yourself, be professional, do not cross the line and...
Step Six: Don't puke on their shoes!
