Pitch sessions at writers conferences

[Karen Dionne]

Formal pitch sessions at writers conferences. Here's my opinion - what's yours?

 

Literary Speed Dating: How Not to Find an Agent for Your Book

See full article from DailyFinance:http://srph.it/heP5Q5

[I. J. Parker]

Excellent!  And absolutely right.  And the solution is also right on.

[Dana King]

I never understood why writers would subject themselves to these pitch fests. No one has yet described to me how they are an effective use of either the writer's, or the agent's, time. It's also demeaning to the writer. 

 

I also never understood why it's unethical for agents to charge reading fees (as it should be), yet it's okay for conferences to charge writers up to $40 for a brief agent pitch. They're both queries, right?

[Jack Getze]

Your story makes a lot of sense. But I was told more than a dozen writers got signed on the spot at one of last year's big NY meetings. Can't remember the name. Misinformation? Maybe 13 out of 2000 isn't very good anyway. Ha.

[Karen Dionne]

Thanks for reading, I.J.!

 

Dana, I agree. I guess the difference is that agents hold to the AAR code of ethics, but conference organizers do not.

 

Jack - it's certainly possible to find an agent through a pitch session. The thing that bothers me is that the conferences that focus solely on the pitch (and there are a number of them) tend to create the impression that pitching face-to-face is a good way to get an agent, and it's just not true. Most likely, the folks who find their agent at a conference - including mine - would have found an agent through the regular querying process anyway, because their projects were that good.

 

I could go on and on about the benefits of meeting agents in person - you can get a sense of their personalities to see if you think you might like to work with them (or not), and you can also get a sense of their knowledge and experience level and general book savviness (particularly helpful with regard to newer agents at established agencies), besides picking up all sorts of helpful information, and these are all good reasons for attending a conference.  As it happens, Backspace has a pretty high hit rate from our events (last year, 11 authors signed with an agent they met through a Backspace event, out of a pool of about 260), but I credit the authors more than anything we've done. The attending agents wouldn't have signed them if the authors hadn't come with a terrific project!

 

[Stacy]

I've never heard of anyone who said a pitch session resulted in them getting an agent. I have heard a trickle of people say sessions have gotten full requests from agents, but what's so great about that seeing how you can do that with a query letter. LOL! Also they were still rejected in the end.  I knew one guy who went to some conference and had a big discussion with the agent. The agent claimed to be very interested in the guy's work. He gave him his card and told him to send his full by a certain date and he'd read it. So the writer did and guess what? Didn't hear back from the agent until like TWO years later. In that time he'd emailed and even called the guy a couple of times with no answer. The guy wrote back after all that time and said he wasn't even an an agent anymore and had gotten a job as an editor for some house.  Meanwhile the writer thought he was a shoo-in just because he got cozy over drinks with some agent at a conference. Talk about wasted time. Just wanted to share that story. I always think of that dude when I hear folks mentioning pitch sessions.

 

Thanks for sharing, Karen.

 

Best Wishes!
http://www.stacy-deanne.net

[Albert Tucher]

I enjoy conferences, and if the conference offers pitch sessions, I always take advantage of the opportunity. It's a matter of checking every box. I would never pay for a pitch, but the conferences I attend, such as Crimebake and the Write Stuff in Pennsylvania, don't charge a fee.

In a previous life (or so it seems these days) I spent twenty years pursuing an operatic singing career. I sang hundreds of auditions, and they stopped bothering me. As I waited to pitch my first agent at a conference almost ten years ago, I realized that I was doing it again--auditioning. I haven't encountered rudeness, but it wouldn't matter much if I did. When you've sung in front of German theatrical agents, literary rudeness is kindergarten stuff.

But here's my problem with pitch sessions. Even a few years ago, my experience was that agents made more of an effort with writers they had met face to face. But lately I find that more and more agents ignore pages they requested in a pitch session the way they ignore cold queries.

In that case, what's the point?

 

 

[Dorte]

I have never tried it, but your article describes a scenario I had expected - and I am certainly not going to PAY to go through that.

[Stephen Brayton]

I like the alternative. One of the pitches I made a few years ago was to a couple of acquisition agents who looked like they just graduated college and I'm wondering about their experience level. Plus, they told everyone to submit and rejected everyone.

However, I think pitches are a good way for the author to meet people and to develop conversational skills. If you can't picth for a minute, then sit and talk with someone about your book for five minutes, what type of promoter/marketer are you going to be. The man on the street won't care if you can't adequately tell him about your book. I found it easier than some because I instruct martial arts and have spoken in front of crowds and individuals before, but even though the writer may get a rejection of his or her book, developing speaking skills is always a benefit.

But, I wouldn't pay to pitch. I think that's ridiculous.

[Stacy]

I never did pitch sessions and got published by a big house without them. I never went to a single conference when I was submitting my work. I think it's like this, if you wanna do them, it's fine to check them out. But if you're someone who feels they aren't necessary then save your time and money. You'll only get out of it what you put in. But like I mentioned before (and I know TONS of writers), no one I've personally known has ever gotten an agent or deal from these sessions. A lot never bothered to go. The ones that went might have gotten some good insight, tips and met friends and made contacts but the sessions themselves didn't lead to anything with specific agents. When it came down to it, the folks who got anywhere started with a query letter and went from there. And of course some of the ones I know who went to sessions, five years ago and even beyond that are still unpublished. No method of contacting an agent or pub guarantees you'll get anywhere but I prefer the old-fashioned way.

 

Not saying it doesn't happen, but it's definitely just an option, not something that a writer has to try. Like Karen, I don't like the face to face approach. Let the writing do the talking by simply sending something in like people have always done. I've seen so many new writers talking about saving money to go to these things and they don't even have the money to spend yet they believe they HAVE to go. I'm like, "Honey save your money and query." LOL!

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net