Pitch Smitch

Next week I leave for the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference (PNWC) in Seattle for five days. Five days of learning, networking and, *gulp* pitching. Yes, the dreaded “P” word. We writers tend to do better with the written pitch (query letters) than with the oral pitch, funny enough. There’s a reason we’re writers and not actors. The nerves, the sweat. The practicing. Oh, I pity my clients over the next week as they are about to be bombarded with “Shannon’s Practice Pitch” that’s been perfected in the cab of my truck as I travel from stop to stop.

The variations of my pitch change depending on my mood. There’s the “Let’s be serious and make a deal” pitch. The, “I’m a total goof and you’re going to love working with me”, pitch. And then there’s the “I’m so nervous I think I’m going to throw up on the table,” pitch. What I’d really like to be able to accomplish is a nice combination of the three, as I’m sure that no matter how much I practice, I’m going to be nervous.

To make it even more interesting, I’m trying to get my synopsis and query letter revamped in time for the conference. Which means I’m hashing and re-hashing the things, hoping that they will be so fantabulous that there’s no way on earth any sane agent or editor could refuse my ms. I agree, they would be foolish to refuse my work, but alas, it’s been done before. . .