Your Prep Kit for Pitching Agents at Pitch Events
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PITCH EVENTS: HOW TO PREPARE FOR PITCHING literary AGENTS IN PERSON AND WHAT TO EXPECT IN A PITCH session.
If you’ve found yourself here, you’re thinking about signing up to pitch an agent in person (or you’ve already done so!). As a literary agent, I’m going to tell you how to prepare for pitching agents and what you need to know about how to use the time you have for your pitch effectively.
Pitching in person (or virtually) can be daunting. I get that! I’m not here to tell you not to be nervous because I’m sure everyone in your life has already told you that. But what I will tell you is that I personally find that the best way to reduce my anxiety about something is to be very prepared for it. This post will act as your prep kit. It will cover what you need to know, what to expect and how to navigate your pitch.
Friendly Reminders
Let’s start with a few things I think are useful to remember going into your pitch.
Agents are people too. Like you, sometimes I’m also nervous going into these pitch sessions. I’m a naturally introverted person, as I’m sure a lot of other agents are, which means I, too, have to hype myself up before taking tens of pitches and speaking to that many people in the span of a few hours. Which is to say, be nice to agents!
Even if we’re not on the same page in terms of nerves, we’re definitely on the same page as you in terms of hopes. Like you, the agent also wants to be there and wants to get something out of this experience. We are hoping to find something we love and someone we want to work with too.
No one wants to have a conversation where they are being talked at. Both the agent and the author should be trying to have a human conversation. We all want to be treated with kindness and respect. Ask the person you’re pitching how they are before you dive into your pitch. I know you don’t have a lot of time, but a simple “how are you today?” goes a long way.
This is a business interaction. If an agent doesn’t request your manuscript, it’s not personal. It also doesn’t mean your manuscript is bad or that the next agent won’t like your book. If you get a pass, be cordial and remember that it’s not personal. It’s part of the game, baby!
If you’re a fiction writer, only pitch your book if it’s finished. You want to have something to send out if you get requests.
Before the pitch
Preparing for your pitch is essential for it to go smoothly. It shows that you’re professional and taking this opportunity seriously. Here are a few things you need to do to prepare for your pitch:
Research the agent(s). It’s better to sign up to one pitch session with an agent you truly think would be a good fit than multiple pitch sessions with agents who you can tell won’t be. Make sure you look into what they don’t represent. It’s better to avoid the awkward moment where you’re in front of someone, pouring out your heart about your memoir then have them say “I’m sorry you went through this, but I don’t rep memoirs.” That’s a pass you could have easily avoided! Remember to look at the agent’s wishlist through MSWL, and browse through their website and/or agency website. Look at their socials if they are active too! All of this will give you a sense of their taste and what they’re looking for. Or at the very least, you’ll have something to bring up if there’s a lull in the conversation.
When you’ve identified which agents you want to pitch at this event and done your research on them, the next thing you want to do is to practice your pitch. I recommend writing down your talking points and timing yourself to see how long it takes you to get through your pitch. Try to also practice your pitch on people in your circle. Your friends or family will be able to point out if some things don’t make sense or if they’re confused about how point A leads to point B. Practice will also help you be more comfortable on the day of the pitch. You can be confident that you are familiar with this pitch now. You know how to get to the next talking point even if you momentarily fumble along the way.
But what if you’re not a natural public speaker? Some writers have read their query letter or pitch letter out loud to me in these events. While that’s not necessarily what I would recommend, I think it’s okay! I’m of the opinion that it’s unrealistic of me, and other agents, to expect that everyone is a natural-born public speaker. If reading out your pitch is the only way for you to be able to do it, then I’d rather you do that than panic and give a half-hearted pitch that you and I both can tell could have been better. I want you to be comfortable, because if you’re not, I’m not either. The one thing I will say, though, is that if you’re going to read out your query letter, make sure you edit it so it sounds smooth and natural out loud. This means using less complicated sentences and practicing reading it in a natural voice to make sure that when you’re reading out loud, your pitch doesn’t sound like you’re emulating a text-to-speech feature. I say this because I know we’ve all been in a situation where someone has read something out loud in an unenthusiastic tone that caused us to zoned out. You know what I’m talking about. You want to avoid that in a pitch session, because there’s nothing worse than the agent losing the thread of your plot because it just sounded dull.
What I do recommend, if you’re able to do it that way, is having a cue card with your talking points so you can easily reference what you need to say should you need it, without having to read out loud your full pitch.
What to bring to your pitch
You do not need to bring printed sample pages or a written query letter. If the agent is interested in your material, they will give you instructions on how to send them your query and a set number of pages. Sometimes the agent will request 10 pages, sometimes it’s 50, and sometimes it’s a full manuscript or proposal. That will be dependent on the agent and their system.
What you do need to bring:
Paper and pen. You will likely need to take notes on any feedback or instructions on what materials to send to an agent.
Your talking points or questions you want to ask agents.
A good attitude!
During the pitch
In an in-person pitch, the agent is looking for your elevator pitch. That’s somewhat different from your query letter. For one, it’s shorter! What they’re looking for here is your hook and longline.
Avoid the same things you would avoid in a query letter:
Don’t focus on themes. Focus instead on a hook.
Don’t tell us the full synopsis.
Don’t drag on. Pare your pitch down to what we need to know to intrigue us.
Like your query, your pitch is all about intrigue. The agent wants to hear an intriguing concept, so try to focus on what makes your story different from anything they’ve heard before. The agent also needs to have an idea of who your main character is and what’s at stake for them. Conflict makes for intrigue, folks!
This one is important: Leave room for conversation!! Make sure your pitch does not take up the entirety of the time you have. Instead, leave room for the agent to ask you questions.
They might ask clarifying questions about your pitch, such as:
Can you tell me a little more about your book’s point of view?
What’s motivating X character to do Y?
How many words is your manuscript?
If that’s the case, don’t despair! It’s totally normal, though you can make a mental note that maybe those are things you need to work into your pitch or clarify in the future. The benefit of these pitch sessions being conversational is that it makes sense in a conversation if I need to clarify things (as opposed to a written query letter where things need to be clear on the page from the get-go). If you forgot to mention your word count, it’s okay. I’ll ask!
An agent will also likely ask other questions. Some of the questions I tend to ask are:
Who is your ideal reader?
What other books do you imagine on the shelf next to yours?
What inspired you to write this?
What books do you like to read?
What do you do outside of writing?
Again, these things have a conversational nature, so be prepared for these types of questions.
You should also ask the agent questions! I fully expect that you would have a few things you’d like to ask me about too. These don’t have to be specific to your book, but can also be about the industry in general or what you’d like to know about an agent’s specific approach to something. Some questions writers have asked me in the past include:
Do you see a market for this type of book?
I heard agents hate prologues, is that true?
Agents want to connect with your book, but they also want to connect with you as a person. Remember that in an author-agent relationship, you actually have to interact with the person… a lot. So these pitches are an opportunity for both agents and authors to get a sense of what that working relationship might look like.
What if an agent isn’t interested in my book?
If you’ve pitched the agent and they’re not interested in seeing pages, you can use your remaining minutes to ask for feedback on your pitch. You’ve signed up for that time, so feel free to use it! Agents are happy to give feedback on your pitch. They will be happy to share what parts of your pitch they found effective and what they found missing. And that will likely help you with your next pitch.
Paths to pitching: Pitch Events vs Querying
And finally, I’ll leave you with my somewhat unpopular opinion (or what I assume is an unpopular opinion, I guess). I love a good hot take, so here it is: I’m of the opinion that pitch sessions aren’t about getting requests. Getting your material requested is great! Do not get me wrong, you should absolutely be setting yourself up so that you do get requests. But focusing on that as the ultimate goal of this experience can distract you from all the other things a pitch session can offer you. Keep in mind that you can get a request on your book by also going through the slush pile and querying an agent. It might take longer, but the same agent is likely to like your query letter too. The benefit of a pitch session and what sets it apart from going through an agent’s submission inbox is really the one-on-one time: it’s the conversational nature, the ability to suss out what a professional relationship would look like, and whether the person in front of you would make for a good business partner.
I hope this post has helped you understand what to expect and how to prepare for your next pitch. Good luck pitching out there!
