Pitch, Please: The Art of Submission
What goes into a query letter? How do I write a good hook? How do I find comparison titles for my novel?
Inspired by The Writers Workshop’s Summer of Submission, here are my top tips for writing a knock-out pitch for your work, with a little help from literary agent Jemima Forrester.
Writers Workshop members during The Summer of Submission
May the odds be ever in your favour
Any writer who dreams of seeing their work in print must, at some point, come to terms with the fact that this means actually submitting their writing to those mysterious, all-powerful beings who can make literary dreams come true. But when sending your novel to an agent or entering your work into a prize means opening yourself up to the possibility of rejection – of a broken heart rather than a dream come true – it can be tempting to tuck your manuscript back into the bottom drawer where no one can ever hurt it. Or you.
Here’s a radical thought, though. What if it isn’t rejected? What if your novel fits exactly into the novel-shaped hole on a literary agent’s wishlist? What if your essay moves the judge on a prize panel to tears? What if your feature idea is exactly what the new commissioning editor at a magazine has been hoping would arrive in her inbox? There are roughly 200,000 books published every year in the UK and someone, at some point, said yes to each one of those. So it’s got to be worth a shot, hasn’t it?
‘Often, the difference between successful writers and those who are still unknown is more about maths than words; the odds of success are massively increased if you increase your submission rate. If you don’t submit your writing, it can’t be accepted!’
Beverley Ward, Founder of The Writers Workshop
You can’t argue with maths. (I’ve tried.)
The Writers Workshop’s Summer of Submission is all about taking those brave steps towards publication alongside your writing comrades – and sharing opportunities, advice and encouragement along the way. You can find out more, including how to get involved, on The Writers Workshop blog.
Dear literary agent…
Alas, submitting your work isn’t just a case of firing off emails into the ether and hoping for the best. It’s not enough to have a piece of writing you’re proud of and ready to share; you nearly always have to prepare all sorts of other impressive bumf to go with it. So I guess the maths actually goes something like this: Piece of writing + Pitch x Multiple submissions = Increased chance of success.
So, in the spirit of sharing advice and encouragement, today I’m offering up some pitching tips and tricks, as well as a few insights into the submission process, that I picked up during my career in publishing. I’ve also called in reinforcements from a bona fide literary agent. I hope what we have to share is helpful to you as you prepare to share your work with the world.
To whom are you submitting?
Never forget: Anastasia Steele was a legit fiction editor…
This post is primarily focused on submitting to literary agents, for those writers who are interested in a traditional publishing deal. But perhaps you’re planning on submitting a short story to a literary journal, a personal essay to a competition or a feature idea to a magazine? The good news is that while each of these scenarios will have specific criteria and require a different amount of the aforementioned bumf, there are definitely common themes when it comes to submitting your work. The advice that follows can be used as a starting point in your submission process if you are sending your work to competitions or journals, but I do encourage you to pay particular attention to their guidelines and to do your own research into best submission practice. If you are pitching feature ideas to magazines, newspapers or online platforms, that’s a slightly different kettle of fish and I’d recommend reading journalist Anna Codrea-Rado’s Substack on this very topic. (Anna writes frequently on this subject, so it’s also worth delving into her archives.)
Whatever you are submitting, and wherever you are submitting it to, the number one piece of advice I can offer you is to DO YOUR RESEARCH. Find out everything you can about the company, the publication, the individual or the judging panel you’re sending your work to. The more you know, the better able you’ll be to give them exactly what they want.
A real-life literary agent speaks…
A huge thank you to my friend, agent extraordinaire Jemima Forrester of David Higham Associates, for taking the time to share some of the things she looks for when reading submissions. Jemima represents a wide range of amazing authors across fiction and non-fiction and last year sold a debut novel for seven figures (yes, seven) in an eight-way auction. So I think it’s fair to say she knows what to look for in a submission…
Three things I love to see in a submission package:
A clear USP/pitch
In an increasingly competitive market with books fighting for space and attention, being able to nail a clear, concise and unique pitch from the outset is crucial. Publishers need to be able to sum up your book in a line or two to their sales teams, marketing teams and ultimately to readers. What is it that makes your book stand out? What’s the key narrative drive? If an author can do this effectively it will really catch my attention and usually means there’s a strong idea at the heart of the book. Have a look at the one-line pitches on book covers, in the description of books online and even in the trade announcements in the Bookseller.Comparison titles
I love a comparison title. It helps me to understand where in the market your book sits and whether it’s going to be a good fit for the kinds of books I’m looking to represent. Comparison titles don’t always have to be books either – they can be films or TV shows. One of my authors pitched her book to me as Wild meets Sliding Doors and I was sold!A friendly and engaging tone
It’s not always that easy, but I love it when I get a sense of an engaging personality through the submission letters I receive. Ultimately I want to work with people I get on with and can communicate with easily. Some of the best submission letters I receive maintain professionalism but also give me a glimpse of the person behind the email. Don’t be afraid to inject some personality into your letter-writing style and show me who you are beyond a fantastic writer!
Three things I’m less keen on:
Basic errors
Your cover letter, synopsis and first few chapters make a crucial statement about who you are as a writer and what your book is about. While the odd small error wouldn’t trouble me, submission packages with lots of typos, basic grammatical mistakes, sloppy punctuation or addressed to the wrong person don't fill me with confidence about the level of care and attention the querying writer has put into their book. Give it all a careful read-through and if in doubt ask a friend or colleague you trust if they could cast an eye over it before hitting send!A confusing pitch
Agents are busy people and we receive hundreds of submissions each month which we need to read and make a decision on quickly. Therefore it’s crucial to be very clear in your cover letter about what the book you’re pitching is. Don't make the mistake of pitching more than one book at a time, even if you do have more than one written and ready to go. Similarly, I'm not keen on being pitched the third or fourth novel in a series (unless of course the first few books were very successful!).A copy-and-paste job
One way to make your letter engaging and interesting to agents – and to ensure you're sending it to the right agents – is to personalise it. Be sure to address the person you're emailing by their name, rather than ‘Dear Sir/Madam’. And drop in a reference to something you’ve spotted on Twitter or on their page on their agency website that might indicate your book is going to appeal to them. Perhaps you greatly admire a writer on their list or think your book sits in a similar part of the market to other authors they represent. I love it when querying authors flag something like that as it means I know they've taken the time to research me and what I'm looking for and therefore there's a greater chance what they've written is going to be my cup of tea.
Thanks, J xxx
Query letter essentials
Here’s a quick checklist of things to include in your query letter, in more or less this order:
The pitch line/hook (as close to your opening as possible)
Information about your book: title, genre, length, etc.
A *short* summary/blurb of the book
A personal touch – show that you’ve done your research and know something about who you’re writing to
Comparison titles/positioning context
What your submission includes (synopsis/proposal/number of chapters, etc.)
Something about yourself and why you wrote this book
Information about any published work, useful credentials, etc.
Contact details including social media.
By hook or by… really good USP
For many writers, crafting a good pitch line or ‘hook’ is the hardest part of the whole damn process. How on earth are you supposed to successfully and succinctly sum up your extremely complex book in one catchy, attention-grabbing line? If it makes you feel any better, I can confirm it’s not easy, even for agents and editors who have to do it all the time. So, I recommend dedicating a decent amount of time to working on your opening gambit – the more you do it, the better you’ll get at it. Try not to leave it until the hour before the submission deadline.
Don’t get *too* hung up on the idea of a one-line elevator pitch. Brevity is important, but not at the expense of sense. If you need three lines, you need three lines. But be honest with yourself and alert to self-indulgence. Three lines can easily become four… and before you know it your pitch is half a page long.
As Jemima advised, take inspiration from the shoutlines used on book covers, particularly in commercial fiction. Study how the pros do it!
Don’t try to condense your whole book into one or two lines – you will most likely be including a synopsis or chapter outline as part of your submission, and that will tell the agent everything they need to know about how the book unfolds. Instead, pick out one or two key characters and plot points, as well as important themes and emotions, and focus on these. For non-fiction, try taking a journalist’s approach: what’s your angle? Why is this story important and what’s new and exciting about what you’ve got to say? But if you’ve written a memoir, focus on pitching character and story as you would with a novel.
Showcase your skills! If your book is funny, make your pitch funny. If your book’s a thriller, make it thrilling. You get the gist.
Try to remember why you wrote the book in the first place – what inspired or motivated you? That magic moment is where you’re likely to find the special something that makes this book unique.
It’s OK to use clichés, but do so sparingly. If your novel is set during the Blitz, you can do far worse than opening with ‘London, 1940’, but maybe make that your limit.
Be straightforward and precise. Don’t search for a convoluted alternative to page-turner if page-turner is what you mean.
Test out a few options on friends you trust and ask for honest feedback. Then be prepared to actually listen to what they’ve got to say!
Shall I compare thee… to a recent bestseller?
Comparison titles seem to come a close second to pitch lines in the hierarchy of ‘most hated’ query letter essentials. As an editor, I spent a ridiculous amount of time coming up with ‘comps’ for the books I published (or wanted to publish…) so here’s a round-up of some top insider tricks…
Think about who would read your book. Honestly, who would read it? Don’t say it’s for a ‘general reader’, because no such thing exists. Be specific. Try pinpointing someone you actually know or, if you’re a novelist, create a character profile and picture them reading your book. Where are they? What are they wearing? What TV show will they watch when they put the book down? What else would they read? What’s next on the pile? What’s the one book they recommend to everyone? There’s a starting point for your comparison titles.
Use Amazon as a research tool – once you’ve identified one book that you think works, check out the ‘customers also bought’ recommendations, or see which books sit nearby in the chart.
In addition (or if you don’t want to use Amazon), you can also see where the book you’ve identified sits in a bookshop and check out what the booksellers have placed nearby.
Include two or three comparisons to help provide the most nuanced and compelling picture of where your book sits in the market. Think of the example Jemima used: Wild [an inspirational memoir about a woman undertaking an arduous solo hike] meets Sliding Doors [the iconic ‘what if…’ movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow]. I’m also sold, for what it’s worth!
Remember you’re not looking for exact matches – look instead for thematic or tonal links that will help give a rounded impression of the experience of reading your book. A dark family drama that is ‘reminiscent’ of Succession. An unreliable narrator who will appeal to fans of Gone Girl.
Try to avoid comparing your book to classic works of literature. If you’ve written an homage to one of the greats, you have been inspired by, but of course would never dream of comparing yourself to, *insert classic author name here*. And if you can’t resist labelling your protagonist ‘Famous Character-esque’, you’d better be confident that they really do measure up. Invoking Gatsby or Ripley is a very high bar…
I think it’s fine to cite recent mega-bestsellers, as long as that’s not the only comparison you include. Be aware that everyone will be trying to persuade agents that they’re the next Colleen Hoover/Richard Osman/Sally Rooney, so give them something else to help them understand what makes your book different.
There’s only one…
Mind your manners
No one wants to make a query letter faux pas…
Don’t submit to more than one agent in the same agency
If you have submitted to more than one agency, include a line in your letter saying so
If you receive an indication of interest or an offer, let the other agents you've written to know. (Unless they have already rejected.)
DON’T CHASE. If they have said that their response time is usually 6 weeks, wait until 7 weeks have passed and then send a polite follow-up. If you hear nothing back then, leave it be
DON’T FOLLOW UP ON SOCIAL MEDIA, EVEN IF YOU’RE POLITE. Stay out of those DMs
If they send you a rejection, accept it gracefully. Don’t burn bridges.
And finally, proofread more times than you think you need to. (I have a handy blog on editing and proofreading your own work for just such occasions: Part 1 here and Part 2 here.) If you’re writing to multiple agencies and using a template letter as a basis for each submission, be SCRUPULOUS in checking you haven’t left in a reference to Curtis Brown when you’re actually submitting to PFD. And never, ever refer to yourself or your book as a guaranteed bestseller. Ever.
(S)he who dares wins
And (s)he who submits, might just get their work published. Go on, give it a try. What’s the worst that could happen?
Actually, no, don’t think about that… I take that back.
Good luck!
You can follow Jemima on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jemimaforrester
~
If you enjoyed this blog, please consider supporting my work in one of the following easy-peasy ways:
· Sign-up to my mailing list. I’ll be sending monthly emails, sharing future blog pieces and other bits and bobs.
· Leave me a comment!
· Share with your pals and networks, tagging me on Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.
· Support me on Kofi.
Thank you in advance if you take the time to do any of these things. It’s much, much appreciated.
