Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Pitch It, Baby

As I mentioned before, I have recently signed up for a pitch conference here in New York in September. I'm just finishing up my edits now, so I've just started writing this sucker. 

In a pre-conference email, the good people of the NY Pitch and Shop conference have let me know that I'll need to have all these elements in my pitch: 

Hook
Scene Set
Major Complication 
Rising Action
Cliffhanger

I don't think I'll have a problem writing this up. It's the actual pitching that I might just flub.

Any tips for that? Shots of whiskey? Valium? 

What settles your nerves?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Confidence. :-)

Janna Leadbetter said...

Just think about how nervous you were before your reading at the last conference, and you aced it! Boost yourself with a pep talk (and remember we're sending you warm fuzzies!) and you'll do great.

WendyCinNYC said...

Aaron: Care to loan me some? I'm running low.

Janna: That's true. I'm sure it will be fine. I'm usually pretty good at chatting, it's coherently answering questions about my manuscript that trips me up.

At least the conference is having a class where we can fine tune and practice first.

Anonymous said...

Sure I can! Think back to the day you came up with the idea for your book. Think of the excitement and joy you had as the story unfolded in your mind. Remember the feeling of getting that first chapter down on paper. Harness those memories and the excitement that went along with them. If that doesn't make you confident, I don't know what will. :-)

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Something about imagining them in their underwear?

Good luck!

WendyCinNYC said...

Thanks, Aaron. I'll try to remember that.

Melanie: With my luck, I'd yet some hot editor and imagining him in her underwear would make it worse.