Pitching a Fit

Today, I woke up nauseated. No, not from too many roller coasters or too many drinks. It's because I have pitches this morning. Back to back pitches. Like ripping off a band-aid, I guess I should be pleased its relatively early (10:20 and 10:50 AM) and will be over quickly. Of course, that will just leave me time to worry about my workshops tomorrow. :)

I've worked on my pitch ad nauseum. I'm pitching the same book to both an editor and an agent. Hoping my quirk will catch their eye. I've reviewed Instigator's Pits of Pitching Hell article. Now all I can do is get dressed and wait in the lobby with all the other high strung people.

Here's a couple tips I have for pitching:

1) Don't arrive too early. You don't want to be late, by any means, but arrive exactly 15 minutes ahead of your appointment as instructed. If you're nervous about being late, go almost to the area, but not inside. Inside the waiting area is worse than the lobby of the free clinic. Everyone is panicky. Everyone is nervous. The energy in there is awful. The longer you sit the more you'll absorb. Just arrive 15 minutes ahead, check in, get a seat and review your pitch cards. Don't let it all get to you.

2) See if anyone you know has a pitch around the same time. I think Angel or her sister have a pitch right around mine. We can sit in the waiting area together and chat. It helps the nerves and if you wait for eachother after the pitches, you can share your good news after its done.

3) Schedule yourself some free time before and after the pitch. Mine is early, so I've pretty much written off going to any workshops before. And right after, I'm going to either go back to my room and collapse on the bed in an adrenelin crash, or I'm going straight to the bar. (Yes, I know it will be 11AM.) Don't rush out of a workshop, pitch, then run to the next event. Give your brain some space.

4) Remember you've got 10 whole minutes. They will manage to crawl by and fly by all at once. My point is that you don't have to shake hands and immediately launch into your spiel. Introduce yourself. Thank her for seeing you. Ask how her conference is going. Tell her a little about yourself and your writing. Then go ahead with your pitch. Let her ask questions. When the business is wrapped up, if there's still time left, thank her again, and gift her with the extra two minutes to do whatever she needs to before the next person comes. Being courteous and friendly will help her remember you.

5) It's just a pitch. The editor knows you're a writer, not a public speaker. She knows the pitch could be great and the book could be awful. She also knows an awful pitch could still mean a good book. Do your best, but remember, in the end, its the product you send her that will make or break the book. You could have a stellar pitch that makes them leap for joy and request the full, but if it shows up and its obvious you've spent more time on the pitch than the manuscript, you've got trouble. Once you get home from conference, you really need to focus. If you haven't already, get that partial or full to shine. That, more than anything you say or do (short of vomiting on the editor's shoes) will make you memorable and get that project some forward momentum.

Ok, hope that helps everyone. I need to take my own advice and chill out for a while. I'll post later with my results. If you're pitching today or tomorrow, share your good news and we can all squeee together!

SP

The View from the Pitcher's Mound

(1) Pitcher, a playing position in the game of baseball or softball. See also:
Starting pitcher, the pitcher who pitches the first pitch
Relief pitcher, a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher has been removed
Middle relief pitcher, relief pitchers who commonly pitch in the 6th or 7th innings
Setup pitcher, a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer
Closing pitcher, a relief pitcher who tries to get the final outs in a game to secure victory for his team
Power pitcher, a pitcher who relies on the velocity of his pitches
Control pitcher, a pitcher who relies on the accuracy of his pitches
Groundball pitcher, a pitcher that relies on getting hitters to hit into ground outs











(2) Pitcher, a container with a spout used for pouring its contents.





(3) Pitcher, a very nervous writer who had less than seventy-two hours between being named as a finalist and having to answer questions from a New York editor.



Last week I announced in my blog that I'd been picked as one of eleven writers to pitch a novel to the editor of Silhouette Special Edition. I got the word on Monday afternoon and then learned the day before the pitches that I was second in the line-up. That meant I had to be ready to go into the eHarlequin chat room at about noon Central time.



I emailed everyone I knew who'd ever done an online pitch and got some great advice (thanks to the Brainstorming Desireables!). I also emailed a couple other friends who are multi-published and got even more good advice. I was advised to be able to hone in on the characters' conflict, to be able to verbalize what made my book perfect for Special Edition and to be able to rattle off the hooks used in the story.


Someone told me they'd been asked what authors they read and what Harlequin/Silhouette lines they liked. "Tell them what else you've written," one person said. "And let them know about all the stories you've sold to the confessions magazines." "If she asks, let her know you're involved in RWA," another suggested.

Smarty Pants read the first three chapters for me in case I got asked to send a partial. Lynn Raye Harris read them too and even met with me at the coffee shop to drill down the conflict to its core. And one of my RWA chapter mates read the entire book for me and offered some very constructive criticism that will make the story stronger.



Because there were so many of us, we each had ten minutes with the editor. "Let her take the lead and ask questions," we were told. So that's what I did. I also took all the other advice and I made a cheat sheet -- a Word document open in another window so I could cut and paste if applicable.



After telling me she had a giggle over the title (and adding she hoped I wasn't offended by that -- and I definitely wasn't) the editor said she loved the premise and it was "classic SSE."



Score one for the home team. I'd studied the line just like I'd been told to do.



"Can you tell me a bit more about the characters and conflicts?" she asked next.



Score two. I had that on the cheat sheet and was able to cut and paste. Thank you again, Lynn.



She then asked me to clarify a bit of the external conflict and I answered that one off the cuff.



Score three when she said it made sense.



Next she asked about a turning point in the book and I answered that one off the cuff too because it's one of my favorite parts of the book. "They seemed to have such an intense emotional connection I wondered if this was about the sex or the relationship, but I see you just answered that! :) His plan adds an interesting subtext."



Score four despite not knowing I had interesting subtext. Sometimes you just get lucky.



After she asked me what the hero did for a living and I explained, she said, "Well, I would definitely like to see the full ms for this, since it's got so many classic elements which do well for SSE. Can you send it to me at the New York office?"






Uh... well... mmm... er...



Sure!


Score five!


And if they buy it and let me design the cover, it'll look something like this. Don't you just love my hero? ;-)

I'm editing and polishing and working to make this the best story I can send her. So if I'm a little bit absent for the next week or so, don't worry that I've fallen off the edge of the earth. I'm just busy and nervous and anxious and still completely gobsmacked that I got this far. The Playfriends have been a big part of this -- explaining things I didn't quite understand, brainstorming, helping me with the story board I put together, reading some sample chapters and just being all-round terrific cheerleaders. I'm buying them all new pom-poms for Christmas because they wore theirs out rooting for me and holding my hand.

I also felt all those good vibes I asked you to send last week. I had a whole army behind me, and I thank all of you. I could tell you believed in me, and that helped me believe in myself.

Now I'm going to put y'all on the pitcher's mound and ask the question I didn't get asked: What are your favorite Harlequin/Silhouette lines and why?

Back in the Saddle Again

You may remember that I participated in National Novel Writing Month back in November. And on November 29, I hit the 50,000 word mark. NaNoWriMo was one of the most rewarding things I've ever taken part in (I think labor and delivery rates a little higher). It was also intense and exhausting (kinda like L&D too).

After I hit that 50K mark, I shut down my laptop, put it in my car and walked through the shopping center where the Barnes and Noble was. They'd decorated for Christmas and the air was clean and crisp. I looked down and my feet were on the ground but it sure felt like I was floating.

Then came December 1st and I woke up sick with a cold. It took me a good ten days to recuperate from that. And then of course I had to do some serious Christmas shopping, wrapping and mailing. The house needed to be decorated and I had a couple parties to attend. And somewhere along the way, the WIP fell by the wayside.

"I'll get back to it in January," I said. But first I had to un-deck the halls. Then I had my yearly physical. My hair needed a cut and I made a visit to the orthopedic surgeon who operated on my foot last year. And because the DH and I were taking a vacation the last week of the month, I had to get ready for that. And there went January.

"February 1st," I said. "I'm going back into NaNo mode on February 1st. Well, on the 1st we were still flying back from Curacao because the airline changed their schedule. And on February 2nd I woke up with another cold. With my head and chest full of congestion, I could barely think, much less create.


But on Monday of this week, I pulled out the manuscript, opened the files on my computer and made all the corrections my sister had noted when she read the chapters back in November. That got me back into the story and I'm happy to say I'm back in the NaNo saddle again. It's not always smooth riding. Sometimes the characters buck like the horse in the photo above. I hang on for dear life and see where they take me. Sometimes I end up on my arse in the dust, but other times I hear the eight-second buzzer and know I've survived the ride.

This writing rodeo is not a moment too soon because eHarlequin is having an editor pitch session for the line I'd planned to submit this book to. I have to have a finished manuscript by March 4th. That's the deadline for sending in my one-page single-spaced synopsis to enter the contest. On March 9th they'll announce five finalists, and those five will chat with the editor in the eHarlequin chat room on March 12. Keep your fingers crossed for me, pardners.

Motivation -- that's what drove me to write 50,000 words during November and that's what's driving me to finish the damn book. Lord only knows how many other folks I'll be competing against, but I know one thing for sure: if I don't enter, I stand absolutely no chance of finaling.

I'll keep you posted on my progress, and y'all keep nagging me to write. You, our readers, will be my accountability partners. I certainly don't want to disappoint you, and I know you'll be wonderful with your nagging encouragement.

What motivates you to do whatever it is you do? In case I get tired of being thrown on my fanny, I could use some good ideas.