I recently had a fascinating week; Nine agents (including the ones who weren’t interested in my work) shared industry insights and offered suggestions for improving my pitch.
No agents/publishers will ask you to put your own money into marketing.
Pitch in person/virtual whenever you can.
This post is the first in a three part series on what I learned. The agents provided info on marketing (publishers won’t sell you marketing schemes, that was a big one), the need for a social platform when you’re starting out (you don’t. The agent and publisher will help you build one), and of course, what a proper pitch should look like.
About a year ago I paid to have my pitch professionalized. That pitch had a 3% success rate. I scrapped it, wrote my own, listened to what each agent told me about making it work, and hit 66% success rate.
This installment of I Pitched Nine Agents in Two Days – Six said Yes! Here’s What I Learned deals with Do’s and Don’t’s. The next installment (available starting 21 Oct 2020) goes over a conversation between myself and agents who’ve been authors and worked in publishing houses. The last installment (available starting 28 Oct 2020) details the evolution of my pitch based on their suggestions.
Enjoy!
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