Pitching to an agent or editor isn't really that hard, but when you feel like there's so much riding on that brief exchange, it's difficult NOT to worry or be nervous. Nonetheless, there is a way you can reduce your fear and soothe your nerves if you're well prepared. Being well prepared means knowing your pitch in and out. You should know your pitch as well as you know personal info you rattle off when you're asked for a social security number, your license plate, the meds you take. First and foremost, treat this like a job interview, because that's exactly what it is. You want an agent to rep you to make a book sale. You want an editor to buy your book. It's no different than going into a company where you've applied for a job.

The documents below are designed to help you be well-prepared for a pitch. They're not cut and dried, nor carved in stone. What they are though are GUIDELINES, just that and nothing more. Your questions, your goals, your chat lines are going to be different than what's in these documents. But in a lot of cases, you can reuse some of the questions to create your own bullet points.
 

— Winston Churchill

Time is critical when you meet with editors and agents. In most cases, you've got TEN minutes to make an impression and make your book sound fabulous. Although there's never any guarantee, most people do get a request for a partial. One does hear the occasional story of writers who pitched but didn't get a request, however, if you've got an individual appointment, then the likelihood of getting a request is good. What isn't a given is that the editor or agent will remember you later or ask for a FULL. You can increase the odds of them remembering you or asking you for a full by knowing your material. You do that with bullet points.

Bullet points are just that. They're concise, narrowed down blips of information that keep you from rambling. If an editor asks you what your book is about, you can speak about it clearly, logically and specifically without wasting valuable time in an appointment. Remember Churchill's quote. The high concept one-liner tells the editor you know what it is you've written. If an editor asks you a question about the manuscript such as Why is the hero afraid of marriage, you need to have a concise, to the point explanation. DO NOT make an editor remember you as a writer who didn't understand her characters.

Once you've created your own pitch using these pitches as a guideline, print them off on index cards, I used 4x6 size here. MEMORIZE your bullet points. Practice with friends, with family or anyone else you can rope into helping you. Have someone else be the editor/agent and asking you the questions without having them handy. If you can rattle off the info backwards and standing on your head, the only thing you'll have to be worried about is what suit to wear. Take the cards with you to an appointment, but if you know your information, you won't even look at them during the appointment. You'll be able to focus all of your attention on the agent/editor. Pitching to an editor/agent is nerve wracking enough, but knowing your material means you can come out of an appointment with a request for a partial or a full.

Use these documents, but do not use them in a vacuum. Modify them, make the questions and responses yours. Just remember YOU can do this. Anyone can, but preparation is the key. One note on the files, the PDF format didn't save the formatting of the cards appropriately, but the info is still the same). Good Luck, and if you have questions, please email me. I'm always happy to help.

Pitch Cards - These cards offer up an example of how to create a winning pitch.