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Picking your brains
Feb. 20th, 2006 01:35 pmWith Gillian due to return anytime now, I'm going to take this chance to pick the brains of the experience we have here.
I've decided to put in for the opportunity to pitch my novel to Stephanie Smith at Conjure in April. If you're going to Conjure, you've never been published by a major and you've got a novel to go, I'd suggest you get in on the chance.
Anyway, we need to provide a one page pitch and here is the rub: how to bring my 160,000 word novel down into one page. I know that this isn't a teaser, I can't write half the story and then say "Will she survive?" However, I don't feel I can condense the story line into a page. Should I try? Or should I focus on the themes and characters? Or focus on the aspects of the novel that make it unique and (I beleive) saleable? I need to write as much as I can to assure the judges that I won't be wasting Stephanie's time, that she really needs to see me and decide that she must read the whole novel.
I tried googling, and what I got was a tip for how to pitch an unwritten novel, easy when you don't know that the little moment on page 325 is vital for the overall momentum of the story. All the other pitch information is for non-fiction.
So, what do you think? Does anyone have a schedule or plan they use? Has anyone written a successful pitch and what elements did the job for you?
Nicole
I've decided to put in for the opportunity to pitch my novel to Stephanie Smith at Conjure in April. If you're going to Conjure, you've never been published by a major and you've got a novel to go, I'd suggest you get in on the chance.
Anyway, we need to provide a one page pitch and here is the rub: how to bring my 160,000 word novel down into one page. I know that this isn't a teaser, I can't write half the story and then say "Will she survive?" However, I don't feel I can condense the story line into a page. Should I try? Or should I focus on the themes and characters? Or focus on the aspects of the novel that make it unique and (I beleive) saleable? I need to write as much as I can to assure the judges that I won't be wasting Stephanie's time, that she really needs to see me and decide that she must read the whole novel.
I tried googling, and what I got was a tip for how to pitch an unwritten novel, easy when you don't know that the little moment on page 325 is vital for the overall momentum of the story. All the other pitch information is for non-fiction.
So, what do you think? Does anyone have a schedule or plan they use? Has anyone written a successful pitch and what elements did the job for you?
Nicole