They say things come in threes, well it seems that might be true as over the past week I’ve won three prizes! The first was the Collective Inkwell short story competition which you already know about. The second was winning a draw for a book from the lovely Alex Fayle at Someday Syndrome and the third was a one line pitch contest over at Query Tracker – and I am really excited about this!
Three hundred people (ooh, three again) summed up their book in one sentence, I came in the top five. The agent who judged the contest wants to see my first three chapters and synopsis. Wow!
The sentence was:
Gangs, blood oaths and loyalty test three teenagers searching for a kidnapped sister in post-apocalyptic London, unaware that as they unravel the mystery of her whereabouts, they are uncovering London’s darkest secret.
I am not blowing my trumpet – or saying “Don’t I rock this week?” No, I am feeling so excited because of what this really means to me: I have nailed my book pitch down.
This is it people. I have the way into that all important part of my query letter, I have the thing to say to people when they ask what my book is about – I have the central theme to always return to in any promotional material.
And it’s about time!
So many times over the last few weeks I have almost thrown my hands into the air and yelled “Sod it! I’m going to self-publish!” just because I couldn’t get to grips with all the submission materials. But I realised last week that even if I self-published, I would still have to go through all of this process if I wanted to sell the book to anyone outside of my immediate circle.
I needed to see my book from the outside, you see. Until I could do that, there wasn’t any way in hell I could get agents or publishers interested, or sell the book myself.
So now I feel relieved – I think the hardest part is now done. Yes, there is a query letter to craft, and the dreaded synopsis to tackle, but now I have finally gathered up all the fizzing sparks and squeezed them into a bottle, I have something to light the way.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey, I’ll say it for you: you rock this week! My one sentence pitch is still in the “Umm… well, see, there’s this guy, see?” stage.
Tony’s last blog post..A bit early for this
But you DO rock this week!
Jason Weaver’s last blog post..The loose change jar
You did nail the book pitch! Congrats on your one-two-three win too! Buy any lottery tickets lately? Maybe you should buy three. Do they have a lottery in UK?
Diana’s last blog post..My Heart Art prints, cards, calendars & Tshirts
I’ve got to say, Emma, that one-sentence pitch of yours is fantastic. I’m not surprised it was a winner. Now nail that agent, girl!
Graham Storrs’s last blog post..Barbarians at the Gates of Science Fiction
@ Tony – Thanks
) The point you describe is where I’ve been for months – if not years! I’m hoping that by talking about the process here, we can all help each other with this tricky thing.
@ Jason – *blush*
@ Diana – We do have a lottery and I was tempted, but I’ve been so stupidly busy I didn’t get round to it. Hey ho. Never mind – I’ll be playing the publishing lottery soon ;o)
@ Graham – *big grin*. Yes – what am I doing? I should be writing that synopsis!
Congratulations, Emma!
Ulla Hennig’s last blog post..Someday maybe or: what do You really want to do?
I agree with the others. You rock!
And what a great pitch for a book, when can I read it?
Marc – WelshScribe’s last blog post..Spreading Myself Too Thin
The sentence is perfect! It really grabbed my attention. Can’t wait to hear about the next step.
Paisley’s last blog post..The Generation Gap
I’m excited for you! (:
Pace’s last blog post..Community Update #1: If freaks were dishwashing liquid, you’d be soaking in them!
that’s wonderful news! and that pitch is fantastic, thanks for sharing it so other writers can learn from you. any tips you can whack up on your blog?
j-a brock’s last blog post..Overload