Writing resources: Pitch critiques
In an earlier post, I mentioned in passing the blog for the BookEnds literary agency. Now I’m here to direct you to something specific and invaluable on that blog: “Perfecting Your Pitch.”
Back in October, Jessica asked readers to submit pitches for critique. The first great thing about this is that there are now about 250 real-world examples of the kinds of pitches literary agents receive sitting in the comments to that post. (And if you don’t realize how useful it is to know how people are pitching their books to agents, then pffft. Go clean out your fridge or something. Seriously—what are you doing here?)
The second great thing about this is that Jessica, who originally intended to do “as many as she could,” has so far done 124 of them and seems set on forging through many more. By the time she’s done, you’ll have access to perhaps as many as 250 pitch critiques—250 opportunities to see see what worked, what didn’t and why, straight from the literary agent’s mouth.
If you’re writing a novel, set aside fifteen minutes once a week to read through some critiques. Be sure to read the reader comments to the critiques, too—there’s good stuff there. And write your own pitches! Heck, write one now before you even read the first round of critiques. Then revise, revise, revise based on what you learn. This is no doubt going to help you pitch your book to an agent later, but it also just might help you tighten up the book itself.
You can access the critiques she’s done so far here, with the most recent at the top: Pitch Critiques
