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Pitch Sessions

One-on-one pitch sessions with agents—tips and procedures

1. Sign-up procedures
2. Do I have to have a book done before I can pitch?
3. What happens in a pitch meeting?

1. Sign-up procedures

There are pitching opportunities on all three conference days. (See conference schedule)
Each attendee is limited to one time slot when they first register. This policy enables more writers to have a chance to meet with an agent. Call 608-262-7942 now to reserve your spot.
You may call after March 7 for any time slots remaining open. After March 7 there is no limit.
You must be registered for at least one day of the conference to qualify for a pitch meeting.

2. Do I have to have a book done 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 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, and phone at the top.

Have a great logline—that one-sentence summary of what your book 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 writers (ex. biographies and memoir), 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 manuscript, 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.

For all types of nonfiction books, be able to talk about “why this book at this time in the marketplace.”

Know your word count and page count. They might ask for either or both.

Good luck!

Department of Liberal Studies & the Arts
610 Langdon Street, Rm. 715.....Madison WI 53703
Phone: 608-263-6320 or .....877-336-7836
Fax: 608-265-2475.....E-mail: liberalarts@dcs.wisc.edu

Liberal Studies & the Arts | UW Madison Continuing Studies