Pitching Your Book

In general, when pitching a book, a pleasant, businesslike approach is the key.

The five main things that agents and acquiring editors want to know are:

1—In one or two concise sentences, what is the book about?

2—Is there a clear hook?

3—Who do you see as your readers? What are their demographics and interests?

4—What is your current author platform? That is, how are you already in contact with potential readers? (Possibilities include: having a website, blogging, social media, teaching, and community connections.)

5—What are you, as a proactive author, prepared to do to promote your book? (Self-promotion initiatives include: public speaking, blogging, networking with interest groups, contacting media, doing a direct emailing campaign, creating a website, starting a reader newsletter, organizing book-related events, and hiring a publicist.)