What is a pitch?

From The Little Black Book of Publishing:

Pitching commonly refers to the process of talking about your book verbally, one-on-one with a publisher or agent.

Submission commonly refers to the process of submitting your pitch to a publisher or agent via their online process.

You will need to develop and polish your pitch, regardless of whether it is delivered in person or online. And this will lead you to your submission.

Crafting your pitch offers the opportunity to think critically about what you’ve written, and helps you realise as a writer what it is you are trying to say. It's a chance to try to distil the essence of your book and show your understanding of the story you want to tell. It is not you suggesting to the agent or publisher that you’ve written a masterpiece. They’ll find that out when they read the book itself.

The best pitches are succinct and unique. The excellent ones will make an agent or publisher want to cancel their day, curl up in a chair and read the whole manuscript! In short, your pitch tells them why they must read your story.

(The first time I heard about literary speed dating, I was so excited because I thought that it was regular speed dating, but for book lovers. Turns out it is actually speed dating for aspiring authors with agents and publishers. Although the latter is awesome, I really want the former to be a thing, too!)

How you pitch your book to an agent or publisher can influence the way your book gets talked about and marketed pre- and post-publication.

Algorithms and online retail spaces have changed the way we talk about and pitch books. The publishing industry is trying to mimic the way we talk books with fellow readers – how do you recommend books to your friends? It is likely that you might start with ‘this meets this’. The algorithms work by recommending similar reads – if you read this, you might like this.

Have a think about how you would ‘mash up’ your book. This also tells the agent or publisher how you see your book fitting in the broader cultural landscape.

So, let’s dive into what goes into a pitch.