How to turn your unfinished manuscript into a pitch-ready book.

When we’re chasing a dream, we’re often told to keep ‘following our passions’ and ‘do what we love’. What’s the point of passion without a plan? We need direction and action in order to truly build a life out of what we love.

By providing a tangible framework for sharing knowledge and managing expectations, Debut Books and The Write Room are helping you move one step closer to achieving your dream of being a published author.

Here are 7 steps to take you from unfinished manuscript to pitching potential:

FINISH YOUR FIRST DRAFT. It had to be said... The only way this is going to happen is by creating a solid foundation on which to ground your writing practice on. This involves new habits, routines and rituals that will support your writing dream.

REVISE, REVISE, REVISE. Finished your first draft? Now CELEBRATE! Why? Because there are so many people who start writing a book and never finish the first draft (or they never start). Well done you! Now, the only role your first draft has is to simply exist. First drafts are meant to be sh*t. That’s the whole point of a first draft. The version of your manuscript that you will pitch with needs to be somewhere between your second and 'I've-lost-count’.

START BUILDING AN AUTHOR PLATFORM. Here are two statements that I believe to be true: You don’t need a platform (or a large following) to get a book deal. You do need a platform and marketing knowledge to have long-term success as an author. Social media is great however building up a platform that you own eg a website, blog, newsletter will be more stable and reliable long-term. It is never too early to start talking about your book.

LEARN HOW TO MARKET YOUR BOOK. Even if you are traditionally published, you will still need to market and sell your book. Have no idea how to market a book? Here is the best way to learn:

Make a list of your favourite authors and think about why you purchased their book? How did you hear about it? What made you want to invest your time and money in their work?

Follow these authors (everywhere where they can be followed) and find out why they do what they do and how they go about doing it. Listen, watch, and learn from the ways they speak and engage with their audience, talk about their upcoming projects, and any strategies they are using to promote and launch their book(s).

(V.E Schwab is an excellent author to follow for this… and for incredible advice about the craft of writing, too.)

TO AGENT OR NOT TO AGENT? Before you get to the pitching process, you’ll need to decide if you want to be supported and represented by an agent or if you’re willing to represent yourself. The first thing an agent will ask you is ‘who have you pitched to?’ If you start reeling off every publisher in the country, it kinda defeats the purpose of their job. It would be best if you can decide this before you start submitting your work. There is no right or wrong path here… it comes down to personal preference.

PREPARE YOUR PITCH OR SUBMISSION. Pitching commonly refers to the process of talking about your book verbally, one-on-one with a publisher or agent. The average pitch time is about 5 minutes! Submission commonly refers to the process of submitting your pitch to a publisher or agent via their online process. Your pitch or submission must tell the publisher or agent WHY they need read your story. This is your audition, your biggest job interview ever, so do put the work in! It must be professional! (It is important to know exactly where your book fits within the larger market and the genre you’re writing in so get yourself to all of bookstores near you and pore over every book in your genre!)

TIME TO PITCH OR SUBMIT. I’ve said it a million and one times now and I cannot stress enough how important it is. READ the damn submissions page. Unless you’re talking to the right agent or submitting to the right publisher, it will be all for naught.

DO YOUR RESEARCH! Whether it is for an agent or a publisher, their submissions page will tell you EXACTLY what they are or are not looking for. If you pitch your book about plants to an agent or publisher looking for space operas, you’re going to fast-track your pitch to the bin.

I recommend: Finding the right kind of agent for your work. Figuring out the best way to get your pitch or submission in front of them.

Good luck!

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