Pitch Sessions with Agents
The Writers' Institute offers you direct access to accomplished literary agents who are looking for both fiction and non-fiction related materials. You have the opportunity to pitch your ideas to these agents via 8 minute pitch sessions. You may sign up for 2 sessions before March 8. (After March 8, if space is available, you may sign up for additional pitch sessions-no limit). See tips and instructions below.
Agents John Bolger, Joelle Delbourgo, Linda Konner, Laurie McClean, Andy Ross and Gordon Warnock will be present to take your pitches. Please visit the agents’ page for detailed information about their backgrounds and agencies and plan accordingly to pitch your novel or non-fiction proposal directly to them.
Sign up when you register.
PRACTICE PITCH SESSION-GENERAL (Thursday night only)
This year we have a terrific opportunity for you to practice your pitches in a FREE (yes, free) Practice Pitch Session that will take place on the eve of the conference, Thursday 4/12/12 at 5:30. Settle into Madison's charm and head on over to the Lowell Center where the Continuing Studies staff will conduct a group Practice Pitch Session. Receive feedback on your pitch (this is especially important for those of you who are pitching first thing Friday morning at the conference), gain confidence, and be ready to excel with your official agent pitches. This event is a good way to break the ice and move wholeheartedly into this year's event. You don't want to miss this opportunity to hone and define your perfect pitch!
PRACTICE PITCH SESSIONS-PERSONAL (Friday through Saturday afternoon)
We are also offering continuous opportunities for you to practice your pitch through Practice Pitch Sessions. These very affordable sessions ($10, you sign up when you register) will allow for 15 minutes of one-on-one meeting time with our experts. Deliver your pitch, receive feedback, continue to perfect your pitch and then see your agent and/or editor and provide a stellar pitch. No need to be nervous (or at least these pitch sessions will help put you at ease just a bit). To participate in a personal practice pitch session, see the registration form.
One-on-one pitch sessions with agents—tips and instructions
- There are pitching opportunities on all three conference days.
- Each attendee is limited to two time slots when they first register. This policy enables more writers to have a chance to meet with an agent. Call 608-262-2451/ 800-725-9692 now to reserve your spot.
- You may call after March 8 for any time slots remaining open. After March 8 there is no limit.
- You must be registered for at least one day of the conference to qualify for a pitch meeting.
Free Document: 10 Things to do Before Pitching to Agents for all who register
As a thank you for being a part of this year's Writers' Institute, we will send you 10 Things to do Before Pitching to Agents. This document outlines 10 steps you should take to prepare for agent pitches and may help some of you as you plan to attend our conference.
We are looking forward to Spring and to seeing all of you at the Pyle Center on the UW Madison campus for this year's Writers' Institute so register now and receive your free document 10 Things to do Before Pitching to Agents.
2. Do I have to have a book completed before I can pitch?
For nonfiction writers: Please have a fleshed-out book proposal (includes a brief overview of the book, chapter outline, author statement/platform, and potential market including what else is already out there and why the market needs your book).
For fiction writers: Please have a completed novel manuscript. Please do not pitch “ideas only.”
3. What happens in a pitch meeting?
Agents or managers want to hear about your characters and plot, or nonfiction book in a “nutshell.”
Please don’t bring your manuscript with you, but you can bring along a one-page synopsis or notes. Agents cannot read manuscript pages during a pitch meeting because of their professional rules of conduct.
Prepare a one-page, single-spaced synopsis of your entire plot (or short outline for your nonfiction book). This is for you to refer to during your meeting. On rare occasion agents might ask to take it with them. Have your name, email address, and phone number at the top.
Have a great logline—that one-sentence summary of what your book (or other project) is about. Read it out loud before you get here; revise it a couple of times. This logline usually opens the discussion in your pitch meeting. If this is your first pitch meeting and you’re nervous, write down the logline and read it from your notes. The agent is here to hear your idea, not to judge you on memorization or presentational skills.
For novelists, and for writers of narrative nonfiction (ex. biographies and memoir) and screenplays, your pitch meeting might go into more about the structure of the story and the character’s fatal flaw or weakness, strength, and what’s learned by the end. Know your major plot points (also called turning points) in your structure: inciting incident, first plot point, midpoint crisis, climax, resolution.
Be able to talk about at least one big memorable scene from your story or project, sometimes called the “set-piece scene.” This is the type of scene that might say “everything” about the main conflict or theme of your book or screenplay.
For all types of nonfiction books, be able to talk about “why this book at this time in the marketplace.”
For novelists and nonfiction book/proposal writers, please know your word count and page count. They might ask for either or both.
Good luck!