Sunday, October 3, 2010

Holy Crap! I pitched to an Editor

Okay, so I had no idea on what to expect since I've never formally pitched a story to anyone. The one thing I can say is that Thankg God I was prepared and had some key bullet points listed on a notecard.

My elevator pitch went okay even though it wasn't exactly what I'd written down. I also discussed the bullet points I'd prepared and answered some questions. One of my bullet points was to emphasize my YA mystery had series potential and I shared the ideas for Book 2 & 3. My other bullet points included my hook, the key elements that I felt made my book unique, and why it would speak to a teen audience.

We only had 7 minutes and it was amazing how quickly they passed. There was a person with a stopwatch outside the meeting room and at the 6 minute mark, she knocked on the door.

The editor was so nice and she put me at ease, so I'm grateful for that.

I'm also proud of myself for going through with it. After the COFW conference, I realized that we writers should really applaud ourselves for following through on our dreams of becoming a full-time writer and on being persistent when it comes to trying to get published. It takes alot of courage and alot of picking ourselves up off the floor when we face the rejections that come with wanting to be a professional writer.

At one point, Suzanne Brockman, asked everyone who had completed a book to stand up and we received a round of applause. It's easy to dream about getting an agent or being published or being on the best seller list, but it all starts with finishing and polishing the writing.

So if you're writing, stand up and give yourself a hand.