Pitching Your Novel to Agents – Jodine Turner

Writers should attend a writing conference at least once in their writing career. The networking, experience, and information presented enhance our craft, and these riches transfer into our written words. I had the pleasure of recently attending the Willamette Writer’s conference in Portland, Oregon. Attending was a last-minute opportunity and I grabbed it, even though my manuscript has only gone through its first revision. It was a chance to, yet again, get my feet wet in the world of craft, pitching your novel, queries, agents, publishers, and self-publishing.

Something exciting having to do with Visionary Fiction happened at the conference. I tried my hand at the Pitch for the Prize event where authors pitch their novel in front of a panel and audience to receive feedback and be entered into the contest for best Pitch. Yes, it was somewhat terrifying. I couldn’t help but be reminded of one of my favorite T.V. shows, the So You Think You Can Dance contest, and how excited and scared the contestants are before they audition. I related. Despite my fears, I felt ready to move forward with my novel’s birth into the world, since pitching is part of what’s required when engaging in the writing industry. Particularly if your goal is to publish with a major or small publishing house. As a bonus, your Pitch can be repurposed to become a substantial part of your query letter or back cover blurb.

Back to the exciting synchronicity for the VFA. The Pitch for the Prize panel consisted of two agents and two authors, all well-known experts in their field. As the panel introduced themselves, I was amazed and pleased to hear Eric Witchy (multiple award-winning, prolific author) announce how his latest novel Littlest Death: An Afterlife Fantasy, had just won an award in the Visionary Fiction genre for 2018 International Book awards. He admitted it was his publisher who had entered the novel in the contest, and Eric didn’t know what Visionary Fiction was all about. I secretly smiled and prepared for my turn to present.

When I addressed the panel, my first comment was to announce that I was one of the founders and administrative members of the Visionary Fiction Alliance. To my, and the audience’s delight, Eric’s face lit up and he shouted, “We have to talk!” followed by the question all VF authors are faced with – “What exactly is Visionary Fiction?” Perfect. I used the opportunity to describe our genre. What tremendous exposure for Visionary Fiction. Eric and I also met up afterwards to further discuss VF.

Character, Conflict, Change

 

The primary advice gleaned from the feedback for my Pitch, as well as the feedback for 20 other author Pitches presented that evening, is that there are three elements of importance in a Pitch. The panel ardently agreed upon and often reiterated these three elements as: character, conflict, and change. Character refers to protagonist characteristics and fatal flaw. Conflict alludes to the stakes at risk in the story (and hopefully how the protagonist’s flaw plays into the conflict). Change relates to the transformational arc. These elements are what excite an agent, and every successful Pitch addresses them. It’s similar to when we write, in that the more emotion shown and elicited the better the chances for spurring the interest of your reader… and an agent.

There were several interesting storylines pitched that evening. Some pitches were brilliant and evocative. There were also some lifeless ones where my mind wandered halfway into the Pitch. Nevertheless, every Pitch was offered a constructive critique, giving us all the opportunity to revise and polish our Pitch to its best version.

The Pitches that garnered the rapt attention of the panel and won the prize were concise and had an emotional hook. For example, there was a pitch from an Army veteran who’d served in Afghanistan. He’d written a fantasy novel that featured a young girl as the protagonist. He began his pitch by describing how his harrowing war experiences led him to cherish his young daughter and family. He then launched into his novel’s storyline about a dying father giving his young daughter three pieces of advice, one of those being to ‘Never trust a Faery.’ The audience and panel emotionally aligned with this man’s personal story, relating it to his novel’s storyline. We were all curious, wondering exactly what a Faery had done to the story’s dying father to compel him to pass this advice on to his daughter. This pitch won second prize.

The panel had more guidance for creating a compelling Pitch. They suggested keeping the pitch focused on the main or the ‘A’ storyline, leaving out sub-plots. This is a challenge for any author, and especially those who have written a story set in two different centuries, like myself, or authors who have written a time-slip novel. Still, this can definitely be accomplished and is a critical guideline if you want to hold the attention of an agent.

Other helpful tidbits the panel recommended were to always include a list of two ‘comps’ in your pitch. Comps are well-known novels comparable to your own, listed so that the agent can get an idea of similar stories and the readership/market for your novel. You can put your comps and Bio at the beginning or the end of your pitch, usually the end. The panel suggested starting with the genre of your novel. After that, say something that hooks an agent’s interest and emotion. Instead of a synopsis of your novel, summarize the story essence and include the afore-mentioned character, conflict, and change elements. You may want to add something personal about how you came to write your novel. This helps an agent to feel your heart and inspiration. The agents I pitched to responded positively to my personal story and relationship to the setting of my story, mentioning its importance to my Pitch and my novel.

One encouraging sideline to my panel pitching experience was that a rather shy audience member approached me after my Pitch presentation to tell me she would definitely read my novel. These kinds of interactions are always reassuring, especially after presenting a Pitch in need of revision!

Helpful Formulas

 

I used a few formulas in both writing and revising my pitch. They helped me to encapsulate the crux of my novel. For example, this formula by Dwight V. Swain:

Sentence one: A statement that establishes the situation, character and objective.

Sentence two: A question that nails down the opponent and disaster.

 

Or, Nathan Bransford’s simplified formula for a one-sentence pitch:

When [opening conflict] happens to [character(s)], they must [overcome conflict] to [complete their quest].

 

Another formula, specific to Pitch format, is recommended by blogger Brenda Drake:

1. the hook
2. the book
3. genre, comps and word count
4. Bio (the order of 3 and 4 can be switched)

The hook is the succinct, engaging, overall core of your storyline (see the first two formulas above). Make sure it is not theme and not a synopsis. Craft your hook to reflect your unique writer’s voice and gear it to capture the curiosity of the agent, compelling them to want to know more. The book is the mini-synopsis, usually one paragraph long.

The verbal Pitch should only be approximately 1 ½ minutes long. That leaves room for the agent to ask further questions and for you to ask questions of the agent. Time yourself before your actual Pitch session. Pitching sessions at a writer’s conference are usually anywhere from 4-10 minutes long, depending on the conference.

After the Pitch for the Prize panel critiques, and in preparation for the one-on-one pitches to agents the next day, many of us stayed up late that night revising our Pitch. I will share my revised pitch, crafted and refashioned from the feedback of my Pitch for the Prize experience. The agents I pitched to the following day told me how complete, clear, and compelling my revised Pitch was. I know I will probably continue to refine and revise my Pitch. But hopefully it will give you just one example of how to craft your Pitch. The result of this Pitching experience? My good news is that three agents asked to see my material.

 

My Pitch

 

My novel, The Hidden Abbey is a visionary fiction fantasy in a historical setting.

What happens when a Pagan Priestess of Avalon and a Christian monk of the Glastonbury Abbey, secret lovers with a shared destiny, are tragically torn from each other and reborn in the 21^st century to rectify the mistakes of their ruinous past life?

 In the 16^th century main story, Marissa is a young, headstrong, impetuous priestess of the mystical and legendary Isle of Avalon. She must learn to be a wise and responsible leader if she is to one day inherit the title of High Priestess. She and her secret lover, the monk Michael, are tasked with safeguarding the Creation Bowl, the sacred vessel containing the wisdom of the ancient Goddess tradition, imbued with the power to catalyze compassion to help heal darkness in the world. When King Henry VIII confiscates and destroys all of England’s Abbeys, the Creation Bowl is endangered. As Marissa and Michael fight to protect it, they are irrevocably separated, and their quest is thwarted.

 Interwoven, is the story of these same two lovers reborn in the 21^st century where they get a second chance to fulfill both their ill-fated love and their shared destiny.

 The Hidden Abbey has the priestess flavor of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon, as well as the magical Elvin/Faery realms similar to Terry Brook’s The Shannara Chronicles.

 I lived in Glastonbury, England for a year to immerse myself in its myths and legends, and research the setting of my story. I met and married my husband during that time. I’ve published three multiple award-winning novels with a small press, and two Indie published novels. I wrote an article describing the genre of Visionary Fiction in Writer’s Journal and am one of the founding members of the Visionary Fiction Alliance. The word count for The Hidden Abbey is 160,000.

 Share your Pitch

 

 I invite you to share your Pitch, at any stage of its development. Let’s offer each other feedback to help polish our Pitch. (Of course, if you’d like, that includes feedback on my Pitch. It’s always in progress!)