Pitch Perfect

By Natalie Bright

Perfecting a Story’s Pitch

At a recent Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators meeting in Oklahoma City, those attending had the opportunity to turn in a 60-word pitch, which were then picked at random and read out loud.  The conference faculty offered their thoughts and suggestions.

Based on the comments and feedback, I’ve compiled a list of the main instruction for making your pitch’s perfect for editors and agents:

* Informative

* Tell us about your story succinctly

* Be direct and concise without being cryptic

* Not too detailed

* “kid” perspective if you are writing a children’s story; be careful of word choice

* Not mysterious or extranious words, just get to the point

* Not too eloquent or flowery

* In a nutshell, what kind of journey

* Do not use cliché’s

* Not too vague

* Be careful with technology references; it becomes very outdated in a short time