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Jul

ONLINE GROUP PITCHING

By Tess MacKall with Contributions by Zetta Brown

There are basically two kinds of pitches—in person and online. A pitch is a brief sales pitch—not a synopsis. A synopsis is a detailed account of your manuscript. E published authors have been pitching books online for quite some time now. The in-person pitch is definitely different in that you don’t have the luxury to keep refining until you get it right. The editor is, after all, sitting right there and you MUST deliver. In-person pitches usually occur at conventions or conferences where editors take appointments to specifically hear an author’s pitch.

Today I’m going to address online pitching only.

I’ve noticed a blog or two here and there taking two or three sentence pitches to editors, and most recently, a Yahoo group I am familiar with, Publishing Trove, http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/publishing trove,has begun accepting online group pitches. Authors simply post their pitch to the group and editors, agents, and publishers read these pitches to determine their interest. Authors are contacted individually, usually off group, in order to request a manuscript.

It’s a wonderful idea, and I applaud the group owner, Trinity Blacio, and her vision. However, the online group pitch process, while working, is still being refined, and I spoke to Trinity about offering this workshop on AWH to possibly help define this unique venture a bit further.

To do so, we must first equate the process to what we do when following a publisher’s submission guidelines. What does that include? Query, synopsis, and manuscript. Well, we don’t need all that for an online group pitch, but what about looking at those big three and narrowing it down to just what we do need? For instance, we’ll take one of the most important parts—the specific data with regard to the manuscript.

The specifics will include: Title, Author Name, Genre, Word Count, Completion Status, Sensuality Level, Pairings, Previously Published or Not, Availability, Contact Information, and Website information. Note: In the case of the online group pitch, you should also include whether the work is erotic or non-erotic, and if it is romance, something other than romance, or simply contains romantic elements. After all, we are in Romancelandia and a great many online publishers invest heavily in erotic works.

Note: While you can’t specifically target a particular font an editor would want used as you are pitching to several different publishers at once, please use an easy to read 12 pt. font such as: Times New Roman, Book Antiqua, Georgia, or Constantia.

DO NOT pitch your book if it has been previously published and you cannot offer proof that your rights have been returned to you. DO NOT pitch a book that is NOT available. If the book is already contracted with a publisher, it is simply NOT available. And it also stands to reason that if YOU as the author are not ready to send your manuscript—not finished with self editing, etc.—that it should NOT be pitched. When an editor contacts you to request your book, they will expect to see it in a very short time period. And in the case of this group online pitch, I’d say they would expect to hear back from an author within 24 hours. It’s the nature of this whole online process—instant access.

So what else do we need? Something that grabs the editor’s attention—a tagline. Just one line that really pops!

Then comes the heart of the matter—the manuscript’s blurb or pitch. The actual pitch can be one, two, or three paragraphs which does two things. 1) Tells the editor/reader about the story, and 2) piques the editor’s interest, pushing them to request more.

Now we come to the closing of the pitch. Remember to thank the group for its time, just as you would in a regular query letter, and include your contact information. DO NOT reveal your phone number or address or your real name if you use a pen name—that information can come later if the editor/publisher/ agent decides to contract your work. Simply post your email address and your website or blog address (Editors and publishers want to see your online presence if any—not to worry, though, if you don’t yet have an online presence. It’s not a deal breaker. It’s the story that matters first and foremost.).

The Publishing Trove group asks that you upload your posted query in the group files section to the file entitled Pitch Day. Remember to include all the needed information at the top of your file so an editor doesn’t have to go searching through the members’ section for an email address or a ton of posts on the group. Some individuals upload a complete synopsis of their manuscript, which is fine. But I feel compelled to caution authors against this. A synopsis is a detailed and sometimes lengthy—two to five page account of your story. It should include the beginning, middle and end. And in most cases, a twist and turn or two as well. You are, in essence, exposing your entire book—idea—on a public group. So, if you do upload your synopsis, please remember to list your copyright information along with your author information. Your pen name, or real name if you don’t use a pen name, should be included with the copyright date. The copyright date is the date you first set pen to paper—or fingers to keyboard—to create your work. It is NOT today’s date or the date you finished the book. It is the date you came up with the idea for your book and started writing. List the year of creation only, not a specific month and date.

If you prefer not to upload your entire synopsis, simply state in the pitch information you offer that a synopsis is available, just like the full (or partial) manuscript, upon request.

Two things you need to remember:

First, when a publisher requests your manuscript and you have placed it elsewhere for consideration, please inform the publisher/editor. Not all publishing houses will consider simultaneous submissions. Let the editor decide if they still want to look at your manuscript. Or you decide if you’d like for that particular publisher to have an exclusive first look.

And second, when you are contacted about your work by a publisher or editor, always reply, even if you aren’t interested in publishing with that particular house. All you need do is simply say: “I’m sorry, but I’ve already placed the manuscript. Thank you for your time and effort in contacting me.” Be professional at all times. It goes a long way.

Also, for the purpose of housekeeping, Publishing Trove requests that once your manuscript has been contracted, remove your pitch from the group files. This saves confusion down the road.

Below is a sample online group pitch. Everything you need to include will be noted in RED.

Title: Sunlight and Magnolias

Author (Pen name or real name as desired): Tess MacKall

Genre (cross genre if any): Historical Western—Erotic Romance

Word Count: 80K projected

Completion Status: 50K into the projected 80K

Sensuality Level: Highly erotic. Sensual, but racy. Graphic and detailed sex scenes

Pairings: M/F

Previously Published: NO

Availability (subject to change, of course.): Manuscript has not been requested at this time. First offering. Partial manuscript and full synopsis are available upon request.

Contact: tessmackall@ gmail.com (Since Yahoo deletes most of an email address you should offer it this way: tessmackall at gmail dot com.)

Website: http://tessmackall. com

Next comes the formal information about the manuscript and copyright information (Yes, you should include the copyright info on that blurb as well—not just the synopsis).

Sunlight and Magnolias

By Tess MacKall

Now, that all important tagline that should grab an editor’s attention right away!

Tagline:

The road to love can be long and lonely…

but two hearts meant to beat as one will always find their way.

Next is the actual blurb. Pack it with words that punch! (Excuse mine, it was written when I was quite tired and hasn’t been critiqued—it’ s just an example. LOL)

Blurb:

In the aftermath of the Civil War, CELIA MONTAGUE faces life alone, her independence stifled by the rigorous religion of her benefactors and schoolmarm position. A decade passes, and with her spinster status firmly in place, she’s given the opportunity to move west and marry a man she doesn’t know.

LAWSON MACCORMAC fought for his beloved South and returns home to find the streets filled with blue bellies and carpetbaggers. Adding to his anguish, the woman he loves turns her back on him. In search of a new beginning, he moves his family to Texas, consumed with building a legacy from the wilderness.

Joined in holy matrimony out of necessity, each looking for a place they belong, neither is willing to acknowledge that beyond the passion they share, love waits. Haunted by the past, they struggle to forge a life together. Shared lust begins their bond, but will those sinfully erotic nights be enough to sustain love? Only danger and the threat of losing each other can bring them together and end their journey on that long and lonely road to love.

And finally:

I’d like to thank all the editors, publishers, and members here on the group for taking the time to read my pitch for Sunlight and Magnolias. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it.

Tess MacKall

So your pitch, when posted, should look similar to this:

Title: Sunlight and Magnolias

Author: Tess MacKall

Genre: Historical Western—Erotic Romance

Word Count: 80K projected

Completion Status: 50K into the projected 80K

Sensuality Level: Highly erotic. Sensual, but racy. Graphic and detailed sex scenes

Pairings: M/F

Previously Published: NO

Availability: Manuscript has not been requested at this time. First offering. Partial manuscript and full synopsis available upon request.

Contact: tessmackall@ gmail.com (Since Yahoo deletes most of an email address you should offer it this way: tessmackall at gmail dot com.)

Website: http://tessmackall. com

Sunlight and Magnolias

Blurb:

~***~

I’d like to thank all the editors, publishers, and members here on the group for taking the time to read my pitch for Sunlight and Magnolias. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it.

Tess MacKall

That’s it! Well, not exactly. LOL What happens when an editor contacts you?

Once the manuscript is requested, remember to tell the editor if you intend to send to more than one publisher. That needs to be taken care of right away. It saves a lot of time in the end.

If the editor is fine with you sending to more than one publisher, or if you and the editor decide that you will allow that particular publisher an exclusive first look, then it’s okay to send the requested material.

So, send your synopsis and manuscript (completed or partial just as you have noted in the pitch information) .

With regard to a synopsis, I hope you’ve done your homework. Your synopsis should be no more than 1 to 2% of the overall length of your book. For instance: If your book is 25K then your synopsis should be no more than 500 words or a page and a half to two pages. If your book is 80K then your synopsis should be no more than 1600 words or two to five pages.

In addition to word count—number of pages—your synopsis should a detailed summary of your book. Make sure you include the actual ending and do not “tease” the editor/publisher with a cute little cliff hanger. Now is not the time for cliff hangers. It’s “down to business” time.

Make every word in your synopsis count, pack it with punch. Get to the point, but “show” the editor exactly what you’re trying to convey with your story. The emotion. The action. And it’s always a good idea to have a critique partner go over your synopsis, just like your manuscript, for anything they might see out of place or lacking. They can even tell you if it’s too much of one thing or another. Hit the high points—only those things that are an absolute must to telling your story to the editor.

And again, don’t forget to thank the editor for their time. And it’s fine to ask when you may hear back from them too. Good editors and publishers are never upset by questions.

Okay, that’s really IT this time. LOL. I do hope this has helped all of you who plan to pitch online. Many thanks goes out to Zetta Brown, one of our AWH moderators and Logical Lust publisher, for her invaluable contributions to this lesson.

The workshop is open to questions or suggestions.

Thanks!

Tess MacKall
Senior Editor, Passion in Print Press
An Imprint of MLR Press, LLC.

And AWH Moderator
http://passioninpri nt.com