Pitches aren't that scary, I promise

Last weekend at the Emerald City Writer's Conference I did my first agent and editor pitches, both were in the group format. Leading up to the conference I wasn't very nervous for a couple of reasons: 1) A lousy pitch isn't going to break my career and a good pitch probably won't make it; 2) I work in public relations and pitch media all the time so I should feel comfortable with it by now (I don't and probably never will, but I digress).

I also thought that getting my first choices were slim. My view of pitches were jaded after not even getting one this past RWA Nationals. But, after I checked into the hotel and got my registration packet I found that I had been given both of my top choices. And the nail biting began.

The agent is in my top three list of dream agents. Talk about pressure! I kept telling myself, it's just a pitch. No big deal. But we as humans have illogical reactions to things. My brain told me not to be nervous, but it did nothing to control the tremors in my hands.

The first workshop I went to was pitch practicing. That made me even more nervous, hearing some of the great pitches that other people had. Also hearing some of the things I should be prepared to answer made me squirm - I'm not an on-the-fly thinker. That's why I'm a writer - I can think, revise, edit.

After the pitch workshop was a workshop by the agent I was to pitch to, it was about tips for getting an agent. I hoped I would pick up some good tips on pitching to her for the next day's pitching. I got even more from that workshop. I got piece of mind and the ability to sleep well that night. She said that she hates the pitching process. We're writers, not TV producers. Our writing is what sells us, not our ability to make our 90,000 word novel sound like the best thing since sliced bread in under two paragraphs. Wow. Talk about a light bulb moment.

I'll be honest, I was still nervous but on a smaller scale. So I went in to pitch to the agent. I had practiced my two paragraph pitch, which I wrote using the format Diana Peterfreund suggests on the Romance Divas forums, under the AOTM thread. (check it out!) When we sat down she said she just wants two sentences from us and most likely she'll ask us all for three chapters anyway. So up from I knew I was going to succeed. I knew my length was right for single title, it's a fairly interesting concept and that she was accepting my genre. I was in the clear.

That pitch was 100% a piece of cake. I'm not lying to make you feel better, it was. Ask Paty, she saw me come out of there smiling like I just won a million dollars. I practically had, I conquered a fear of mine and was successful.

The next pitch to the editor went fine as well. I wasn't nervous at all.

So, to sum up my very long story. Don't be frightened of pitches. They aren't going to make or break you.

Here are also some good tips to make you look good in a group pitch session - don't be a pitch hog!
1) If they say pitch under two sentences, keep it under two sentences. They want to know you can follow directions.
2) If they open it up for questions, don't ask question after question after question. Let others ask questions too, after all it is a GROUP pitch.
3) Don't pitch a second book or find a way to talk about something that leads them to ask you about a second book. Once again, this is a GROUP pitch. Meant to be informative for the good of the group.
4) If reading your pitch off a notecard will keep you from rambling, then read off the card. Just look up to make occasional eye contact. I noticed that a lot of people rambled, but did very well when the read off a card.
5) Write down a couple of good questions ahead of time. Good questions impress agents, particularly if you ask about one of their clients or something they've done, it shows you've done research.

I've shared my pitching experience. Tell me about yours. The good, the bad, and the ugly.