We had our monthly Mystery Writers of America--Dallas Section meeting today. It's an interesting group--about half published, the other half at varying levels of non-published. We talked about pitches today. Pitches are where you have some small number of minutes to present yourself, your story, and persuade an editor or agent that they REALLY want to take a look at your book. Now, the editors and agents come in two types. First, there are the ones who are there for the free drinks, the possibility of sex (someone is always willing to put out for a chance) or because they want to go shopping in Dallas. With these editors/agents, there's nothing you can do. They only listen to pitches because conferences require them to do that if they want their hotel and airfare paid (and the free drinks) Most of them, however, are there because they want to acquire authors and projects. Because they really want to acquire, you really have to be off-base not to get at least a look. Your goal, though, is to have them request a full manuscript rather than two or three chapters.

So, what's the secret? First, don't appear either crazy or litigeous. Editors aren't lawyers. A lot of agents are lawyers, but they don't want to get sued. So, anyone who gives evidence of crazyness or shows any sign they're looking for an angle to sue is quickly dismissed. Second, be enthusiastic about your work--and make sure you have a completed project so you can send it all to them. If you don't love it, they won't want to see it. Third, let them know just a little about yourself (I've been writing for several years, have published with small press, and have a background in technical and marketing writing). Fourth, explain what genre your work fits into, what its word count is, and what it's about. What it's about is NOT a scene-by-scene 'this happens and then this happens, then this happens. It's a high-concept. Here's an example. TORNADO BAIT is about Tina Anderson, a Dallas trailer park manager who finds a severed human hand when she goes to unclog the toilet in one of her tenant's trailer. When the police make her a suspect, she has to find the real killer before she ends up in prison. That's the pitch in a nutshell. You can then add some details about characters, setting, and conflict. With a romance, make sure you explain why the characters can't get together easily. With a mystery, you might explain a couple of the suspects. But not much. You've got about four minutes to make your pitch because guess what--you want to leave a couple of minutes for #5. "So, can I send it to you?"

A couple of no-nos. #1. Don't tell them your book transcends genres. First, if they're genre editors, they don't want to hear that their genres need to be transcended. Second, they get to decide whether you transcend. #2. Don't try to shove them your manuscript at the meeting (or worse in the elevator or bar). If they want it, they'll ask you to send it to them. Here's the good news--lots of them accept submissions by e-mail.

That's it. An interesting meeting. Good to bond with fellow authors. Not a lot of info I didn't know, but I've been messing in this business for a long time.

Since I used it as my pitch example, I'll make TORNADO BAIT by Amy Eastlake the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. A Dallas trailer park manager has to find a killer. Funny, sexy and mysterious. Only $3.99. (Available in HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, eReader (Palm Reader), Mobipocket, Microsoft Reader, Sony Reader, and ePub formats. Here's the link to learn more, read the free excerpt, or buy the book: http://www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/tornado_bait.html. Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo):

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