  For Authors
This week: "Pitching" your book or manuscript Edited by: Vivian  
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Someone asked me to share some promotion ideas. Therefore this issue will concern making a pitch. A pitch in the book world is a quick presentation of your book to an agent, a publisher, an editor, or a group.
The suggestions below can be adjusted for different time limits, but the basis is for a three minute pitch.
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Making a 3 minute book pitch
I had an appointment with an agent, and as I prepared for that few minutes to “pitch” my book in a way that she would want to know more, to read it, maybe to represent it, I wrote notes and practiced my speech so that it flowed smoothly but still seemed spontaneous.
Knowing how to prepare and present a three-minute pitch should be a tool in an author’s selling kit, to be used for agents, editors, and public presentations. If a writer has more than three minutes, everything can be adjusted accordingly.
1. Start with an attention-grabber. This is a must. If you lose the audience, whether one person or 100, at the beginning, you can’t get them back. Just as the first paragraph in a story, article, or novel must attract the reader, the first words out of your mouth must do the same.
I started my spiel with the statement: “When life steals something important from a person, she either gives up and dies, or she finds a way to rebuild her life.”
2. Don’t give a complete summary of your book. Give just enough information that the audience/agent/publisher/editor wants to know more.
I continued my pitch by saying, “Torri had things stolen from her life over and over including her marriage destroyed by an unfaithful husband and her best friend by cancer. Each time she gathered her courage and rebuilt her life. However, when her children are taken by their biological father and not found, she didn’t know if she could continue.”
I gave a bit more information from the book. For an agent or editor, the ending for the book may be required. For a presentation to a group, the ending should not be revealed. Also if presenting to a group and more than three minutes should be used, read a portion of your book to create interest.
3. If asked, be prepared to tell why you wrote the book – be sincere and know who the intended readers are.
4. Rehearse so that you don’t ramble. You don’t want your speech to sound memorized, but you need to know the main points and the order in which to present them.
5. If the book is already released (which if the pitch is meant for an agent or editor, it will not be), be sure to let the audience know where and how they can buy your book.
6. If the presentation is for a group after the book is released, be sure to take copies of the book to sell and autograph.
Be prepared for any questions from the agent, publisher, or audience. |
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Words from Our Readers
olga777
Thank you very much for your lessons. They really help me.
billwilcox
Fragments: those annoying sentences of 'frag'. Another good one Viv. 
vbrandon 
Marvelous as they are, I know I use fragments far too often because of my fear of pronoun abuse. Something in me refuses to restate the pronoun. I'm trying to stop using semi-colons, but my pinky just keeps jabbing at it. What's a better method of getting that full stop without starting a whole new sentence? Especially when describing a scene or asking a question? Or adding modifiers to questions? Or asking unlike questions? Wanting a pause for clarity (that's me), I am unsure how to move forward. Sorry.
Let's see, I believe I stated that sometimes fragments work. A semi-colon joins independent clauses, just as a comma with a conjunction does. Sometimes if the independent clauses contain commas, a semi-colon and conjunction are used together.
atwhatcost
You included this in your lesson on sentence fragments. " A side note, sometimes writers will use an occasional sentence fragment for effect, but only occasionally. The effect is easily recognized by the reader when this practice is used. Otherwise, avoiding the problem is best." Any chance of a lesson on when they are acceptable? I don't use them as often as the example for your newsletter, but now that I've read it, I worry I use them at the wrong time.
Perhaps I'll include that sometime, but the last issue dealt with avoiding sentence fragments and recognizes them. A fragment is usable for emphasis. However, if a writer doesn't know when and where to use fragments, then avoid the things.
miller.ck
Yeah, but fragments are a great for concision. Same for run-ons. Avoid repetition of subject and verb. Read the Pulitzer-winning "Shipping News."
Concision means concise. So you say fragments are a great for concise? A great what? for concise? Also, Pulitzer-winning works are not always well written or well-read. I always suggest people learn how to write correctly before they start breaking rules.
Please read the comment above yours, which quotes something I wrote in that newsletter.
Zeke 
I trusst it's okay when there is a sentence fragment in a piece of dialogue.
Yes, you trust correctly.
GWFrog
Usually, sentence fragments are not a good thing. Sometimes, however, they can be a useful tool, offsetting a phrase or breaking up a long sequense. But, care must be taken when using this device, and the writer must be aware both of his/her intent and the effect of the usage upon the reader.
I believe I wrote that fragments can be used, if used correctly and not too often.
KingsSideCastle 
Sentence fragments always seemed to be straightforward enough for me.I guess that is because my sentences tend to be rather lengthy. The grammar correction that always drove me crazy was the comma splice. I could never figure out why my commas were out of place. Anyway, thank you for writing a great newsletter. ^_^
Comma splices are using commas to join two independent clauses (two sentences). Compound sentences never correctly have independent clauses connected only with commas.
alfred booth, wanbli ska
An excellent presentation of a concrete problem with clear examples to follow. You have written. We can all learn.
Oh! I meant: You have written an excellent presentation of a concrete problem with clear examples to follow, thus allowing us serious readers to learn from your experience.
Very good. 
Thank you for joining me this issue. See you again in four weeks. Be sure to stop by because you never know what I'll write about.
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For Authors: August 03, 2011 Issue [#4529]
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