If you’re a writer, you probably dream of getting published. I know I did. (And yes, it really does feel as good as you imagine it will, the day the editor rings you up and says ‘I want to publish your book.’)
But it is really hard to get your book past the gate keeper. More publishers are saying they don’t take unagented submissions and it is hard to get busy agents to look at your work.
One way to get your work in front of an agent or an editor is to Pitch your Book at an event specifically designed for this. Pitching opportunities occur at conferences and festivals. On Saturday I ran a Pitching workshop to help people prepare for what can be a very nerve wracking experience. And I promised to provide a list of pitching opportunities. So here they are:
There are online pitching opportunities such as:
To pitch in person attend conferences. These vary from year to year. I know the Brisbane Writers Festival has had pitching opportunities. So check out your local writers festival and see what they are offering.
Childrens and Young Adult Conference
New York and Algonkian Conferences
Here is a UK agent’s blog dedicated to the art of pitching.
And keep an eye on the agent and editor blogs. They often offer advice on pitching. Every now and then and agent will announce that they are open to pitches via their blog, so it is worth finding s few you like and following their blogs.
Kristin Nelson from Nelson Literary Agency.
Nathan Bransford from Curtis Brown.
So that should be enough to get your started. Let me know if you have any questions.
Meanwhile, there were some questions about agents, so I’ve done a post here, for anyone considering approaching an agent.
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Hey Miss Daniells,
First off, I would like to apologise for formatting this like a letter or an e-mail, but honestly, I had no idea how else to write it.
I’m a year 12 student at Everton Park State High School in Brisbane, and recently we had to write a short story for an English assessment piece. I’ve always enjoyed writing, so I really didn’t think of it like work when I was typing it, but hate to say that I went grossly over the word limit.
Anyway, my teacher, Ms Kristen Isbester, suggested that I enter it into the Young Writers Award 2010, but as I’m not 18 yet, I can’t enter it. She also gave me the web address for this website, and said to take a look at your work, and just read a bit about you, because she said that you are very involved with young writers.
After getting my story back from her, it occurred to me that beyond teachers, friends and family, no one has ever read anything I’ve written. So I was wondering if it would not be outside the realms of possibility to get in correspondence with you, and send you the story I wrote, to get your opinion of it. I’ve never done anything like this before, and I honestly have no idea whether what I’m requesting is considered blasphemy in the writing community, so feel absolutely free to say no, because I know I’m asking a lot. It is only about 3000 words, so it’s not monumental, but I think it’s enough to get a basic feel of how I write.
If your fine with this, please contact me via e-mail, and then I can send you the story. If no, that’s fine! I appreciate that you probably get this a lot, and don’t particularly want to do it.
Eagerly awaiting your reply (be it negative or positive),
Fletcher Coates.
Hi Fletcher,
Your teacher is right, I am really supportive of new writers.
I’m an Associate Lecturer at Qantm College where I have around a hundred students and have to mark their assignments and tutorial exercises, which pile up every couple of weeks because we teach an accelerated course. Plus I have to get the copy edits of my latest book read and approved so it can go to the printer.
But I don’t want to discourage you from writing. Why not join the vision writers group? They are based here in Brisbane. They meet once a month and give each other feedback on their stories.
Plus you could look at the competitions for writers under 18.
Tell you what, I’m going to do a blog post with useful links just for you. Getting feedback from other writers is exactly what you need when you first start out writing. In fact, I still get feedback from my writing group. So look out for the ‘Fletcher Post’!
Yes, it is hard to interest agents and publishers in unsolicited work. You just have to keep writing and keep sending it in. If it’s good enough, someone will want it. Be prepared to age considerably in the meantime!