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| March 2015 workshop, picture by Steven Langhorst |
Advice
on Pitching and Querying to Literary Agents and Publishers
By Brad
R Cook
In
March 2015 I gave the annual conference kick-off workshop to St. Louis Writers Guild titled Querying andPitching: How to Track down Literary Agents and Publishers. I wanted to share
what we talked about that day, and what I’ve written about before for the
Writers Lens, wrapped up in a single post.
In my
workshop I referenced two previous articles on the Writers Lens where I
discussed pitching. The first was The Mechanics of a Perfect Pitch and the
second was Lens On: Pitching. Just click on the titles to view the articles.
I’ll
let you read the articles – they repeat what I said at the workshop and then
definitely check out the SLWG Author Series interview where I discussed the
workshop.
SLWG Author Series interview with Brad R Cook
My
workshop is an amalgam of several other workshops and articles I’ve read or
experienced over the years. It started when I first heard Chuck Sambuchino at
The Writer’s Digest Conference in New York back in 2011 and mixes in advice
from Jane Friedman, literary agent Kathleen Ortiz and several other sources
with a few of my own experiences added in.
If you
are looking for query letter examples you can find hundreds of examples online,
but I highly recommend Chuck Sambuchino’s website where he’s posted successful
query letters. The best part, not only can you read the letter but you can also
see comments from the agents themselves. Click Here for Query Letters.
We also
discussed ways to “Track” down literary agents and publishers using the website
QueryTracker.net. I am a huge fan of the site and have used it for years. But
it’s not the only one, you may prefer AgentQuery.com or see if an agent is
listed in AAR, or one of the large literary groups, they often have lists of
approved publishers or agents.
Let’s
run over some of the basics –
These
suggestions are for fiction genres. Non-fiction has a different set of rules.
We touched on them in the workshop but I would recommend searching for tips and
examples online.
A query
letter should have three parts:
First an introduction where you
mention the title, word count, and genre. This is also the place to mention why
you picked the agent or if you’ve met them before.
Second a paragraph about the book,
include the hook, the main character, and the main theme and plot of the book.
Third is a short paragraph about the
author.
A log
line is a short sentence or two about the book. It can also be referred to as
an Elevator Pitch.
A
synopsis is a 1-2 page single-spaced document that outlines the entire book –
including the ending.
Don’t forget
fictional manuscript formatting is 12 point standard font, in black, with a one
inch border, and the first line of every paragraph indented.
There are now some online ways to pitch - but only at certain times - check out Pitch Madness on Twitter using the hash tag #PitMad.
Allow
me to leave you with this advice. It comes from literary agent Kathleen Ortiz.
I asked her, what was the best advice she could offer someone who was pitching
– “Keep it short, to the point, and deliver a good hook.”
Good
luck with your query or pitch!
