Calming the Butterflies: An Agent Pitch Session Primer

~ by Annie Cronin Romano​
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I have been an associate agent for nearly four years and have participated in quite a few virtual conferences and pitch sessions. Last month, I had the privilege of attending my first in-person conference (as an agent) at a writing conference in Boston. It was wonderful to finally meet writers face-to-face, chat with agenting peers, and feel that creative energy buzzing in the air. Such a positive atmosphere!

So imagine my concern when a volunteer who was working the pitch check-in desk shared with me, “You know, nearly everyone waiting out there is terrified. I keep telling them how nice you all are, and to just breathe, but they are so nervous. They seem to feel this is their best shot to get an agent, I think.”

Now, this should not have been news to me. As a writer myself, I have done a few agent/editor pitch sessions in which I shared my pitch or read my opening pages. But it’s been a few years since I’ve been on the writer’s side of the table. My memory is clearly failing me. What could I do to put these lovely writers at ease? How could I let them know that a pitch session is not something to be anxious about, but rather is an opportunity to connect with industry folks and gain perspective on how you're presenting your work?

So I decided to put together a list of advice for writers thinking of signing up for an agent pitch session to help ease those to-be-expected and understandable nerves. 

Pitch Session Preparation Tips:

• If it’s a conference where you get to select the agents you meet with, do your research and check to see which of the participating agents represent the kind of books you write. Look at their agency websites and MSWL to learn more about the kind of projects they’re seeking. (i.e., if an agent only represents adult fiction and you only write children’s picture books, do not choose that agent for your session.) In other words, choose agents who are the best possible matches for your work.
• Start off your session by telling the agent your project’s TITLE, AGE RANGE/TARGET AUDIENCE, GENRE and WORD COUNT (i.e., My book is called TITLE; it’s a contemporary, middle grade novel with a touch of magical realism complete at 40,000 words). 
• Have a quick 1-2 sentence elevator pitch prepared. Know your elevator pitch well, but don’t feel you have to memorize it. Bringing index cards is fine. 
• After the elevator pitch, follow up with a bit more detail about your book. Again, having notes and/or your query letter or synopsis to read from is completely acceptable.
• Don’t rush. Practice your pitch speaking at a regulated, conversational pace so that the agent can follow easily and take notes if needed. Most pitch sessions are 10-15 minutes, so time yourself pitching beforehand, and be sure you leave plenty of time for feedback and questions from the agent.
• Be prepared to answer questions about what inspired your story, if you’ve written anything else, if you’ve ever had your project read by a critique group or beta readers, how you became interested in writing, your writing experience, if you’ve already started querying agents, etc. In other words, agents will be curious about you and your writing goals and process. Be ready to share!
• Bring a pen and notepad to take notes, especially if you’re doing more than one pitch session. It can be hard to keep straight the feedback you’ll be receiving from multiple agents, so don’t be afraid to write down any advice or comments they share with you.
• Don’t hesitate to ask the agent follow-up questions after they’ve provided their feedback if time allows. (I.e., Do they think your pitch was clear or could it use improvement? Is your query letter effective/cohesive?) You’ve paid for this opportunity, so once the agent has shared their feedback, don’t be afraid to ask specific questions.
• Be respectful. If an agent says they’d like you to send them your first 25 pages, don’t push and ask if you can send the full since you met them in person. Follow their lead and respect their guidelines. When the pitch session time is up, be sure to gather your things quickly to allow the next writer to begin their session on time.
• Be realistic in your expectations. Though, of course, your hope is to find an agent for your work, go in prepared that some agents may say your project isn’t for them. That doesn’t mean you’ve wasted your time or money or that your writing isn’t solid. If you go in with the mindset that you’ll ask questions and try your best to gather helpful advice from each session, you’ll won’t be disappointed (or as disappointed—everyone dreams of an agent falling in love with their work face-to-face!).

I hope these tips will help writers feel a bit less anxious as they wait outside their next agent pitch session. Butterflies are perfectly normal, but remember, agents are looking forward to meeting you and hearing about your work. Your manuscript could be their next treasured project! And you may not land an agent that day, but you can learn how to better pitch your book to increase your manuscr​ipt’s chance of standing out in future submissions. So… breathe, smile, and enjoy the process. You’ve got this!

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Annie Romano is one of the founders of 24 Carrot Writing, as well as a kidlit and adult fiction writer and an associate agent at Olswanger Literary, where she represents adult fiction. To learn more about her, visit her website at www.anniecroninromano.com.