I'm Tired Of Pitching

 

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Can you identify with my title for this article? Whether you are just starting in publishing or have been doing it for years, you may be tired of pitching. Yet pitching is a reality into the fiber of every aspect of publishing. If I’m honest, some days I don’t want to pitch but after a long time in this business I’ve learned the hard way that if I don’t pitch then nothing happens.

For example, I’ve been teaching at a large writers’ conference almost every year for decades. Last year I participated in the event as an editor, but I did not teach a workshop or single session. As I thought about it, I understood why I wasn’t a part of the teaching instructors.  I did not pitch any workshops (new or old) to the conference director. Other people did pitch possible workshops and their sessions filled the schedule.

Every aspect of publishing involves pitching. To get an agent, you have to make a connection with them at a conference or pitch a book or book proposal that captures their attention. It’s the same for a publishing house. You can’t get a book deal without some sort of pitch that shows why you are the unique person to write and publish this particular book.

Pitching is not just for agents and editors; it is a critical part of the process for magazine work as well. You will have to learn to write a query letter, or a one-page pitch targeted to that publication and get the editor’s attention and request for you to submit your article.

When it comes to marketing and selling your book, it also involves—yes pitching. Radio station producers, podcasts hosts, bloggers for guest blogging articles and even writing for local or national newspapers—each aspect involves learning the specialized steps to catch their attention and get on their show or podcast or publication.

And when it comes to reaching readers, you have to pitch something to them that they want so they will join your email list (and then stay on your email list and not unsubscribe). To get the gig, every author has to learn to pitch.

There are a few exceptions to my statements about pitching. You can hire a publicist (after you get their attention (pitch). Then this publicist will do the pitching and scheduling of interviews for you. Or maybe you are invited to become a regular columnist for a publication. Even these regular gigs can come to a sudden end. For one well-known publication in one issue, they announced I was their book review columnist—then the editors abandoned the column with their next issue. Change is one of the consistent elements of publishing. One day you are up and the next day you are down—but you still have to continue pitching.

I may be tired of pitching but if I want to continue to be an active part of the publishing community, I’m going to continue to pitch. It’s like a teacher tired of teaching. Each of us need to understand it’s part of the fiber of this business and work every day to perfect our pitch and open more doors of opportunity. Every writer has a wide-open door of opportunity, but you have to take action and knock on the right door—which will take some effort and work but is definitely possible.

What steps do you take if you are tired of pitching? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

This prolific writer and editor is tired of pitching. He explains how pitching is in the fiber of every aspect of publishing so he will continue to pitch. Learn the details here. (ClickToTweet) 

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s recent book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on TwitterFacebook and LinkedIn.

20 comments:

Karen Cioffi said...

Terry, this is so true. The writing business is all about pitching. And I'm sure most of us are tired of it. But, as you say, if you want to stay in the game, you've got to pitch!

Terry Whalin said...

Karen,

Thanks for this comment. Yes even if we are tired of pitching, we continue pitching to continue getting our work out into the world. It's all a part of the process and can't be changed--tired of it or not.

Terry

Carolyn Howard-Johnson said...

Yes, I was intrigued by your title. I couldn't believe it was coming from you. I guess that's a lesson in always keeping on one's marketing toes--no excuses. You'll be hearing from me! Ahem,
Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Tweeting @frugalbookpromo

Terry Whalin said...

Carolyn,

Glad my title caught your attention. Thanks for the comment--and your pitch which I got from you on email.

Grateful,

Terry

deborah lyn said...

We may be tired of pitching, I know I am. But it's important! Thanks Terry for the encouragement.

Terry Whalin said...

Deborah Lyn,

Thank you for this feedback. As writers we need encouragement, Keep pitching and I will as well.

Terry

D. Greg Scott said...

Back in the 1990s, I wrote a back-page column for an IT industry publication. The editors at the time told me I generated more reader feedback than all the other columnists combined. And then poof - it all ended in 2001. More recently, I pitched a popular local radio station and eventually did regular appearances - until the show host left a year ago for a short-lived run for state governor. Now it's back to square one on the radio. And now I'm pitching book #3. You're right, the pitching never stops, and if we expect most pitches to disappear into a black hole, then the successful ones feel really really good. Thanks for a great reminder.

- Greg Scott

Carolyn Howard-Johnson said...

Greg, as Terry mentions in his article, he's seen lots of pitches in his day--let's call them queries. Success rates sure go up when you avoid industry pet peeves and pay attention to the guidelines of the places you pitch. I also find I do better when I go to the top decision makers and avoid stale business-like approach. A little colloquial goes a long way. A little! By the way, my book, "The Frugal Editor" now it's 3rd edition from Modern History Press, has a full chapter of agents' query letter pet peeves. Yep, a whole chapter of things we might want to avoid but probably don't know 'cause they are perfectly acceptable English.
Best,
Carolyn

D. Greg Scott said...

Hey @Carolyn, I like that - you got in a nice pitch - way cool! I'll look for your book. And here, I was afraid to pitch "Virus Bomb," from Morgan-James Publishing in 2019, because I was worried my comment would get stuck forever in moderation. I may as well also pitch book #3, "Traffic School," where a chance encounter with a desperate young woman pits a top fraud analyst against a global sex trafficking ring. Never know who might read this comment thread. :)

Karen Cioffi said...

Greg, you made me laugh: "my comment would get stuck forever in moderation." I'm the moderator and as long as a comment isn't affiliate marketing or spam, I'm pretty flexible. Thanks for stopping by, and appreciate the comment!

Karen Cioffi said...

Thanks for the invite, Greg! Just stopped by to look around. Lots of topics! Will stop by again when I have more time.

D. Greg Scott said...

Thanks @Karen! And @Carolyn, your pitch worked. I bought all four of your "Frugal" books today. I look forward to reading them.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson said...

D.Greg, you made my day! I was rather taken with your synopsis type pitch, too: “Traffic School," where a chance encounter with a desperate young woman pits a top fraud analyst against a global sex trafficking ring. For some reason this seems great fodder for the times. It reflects some current events. That connection could very well increase your success rate of your marketing.
It may help to know your link takes me to one of those shadow pages so i assume it needs more work. Let me know when i can get there and watch your success as you publish more and more. ~ One former journalist to another…

D. Greg Scott said...

@Carolyn - this link?

https://www.dgregscott.com/blog-category-page/

What shadow page? It should go to my blog category page on my website. I just pasted the link into another tab - it works for me. I think it worked for @Karen above. Where does it take you?

Karen Cioffi said...

Hey Greg. I'm not sure what Carolyn is referring to, but your Books page is outdated, and you don't have a ink to your sales pages. That's essential.

D. Greg Scott said...

Might be too soon to put book #3 on the website. I just started querying it a couple weeks ago. Although if there's a way to build early momentum, that can only help. I was thinking about a blog post and a bunch of other content around grooming. And then when book #3 has a publishing strategy and a cover, then put it on the books page. What do you guys think?

And here's where I show I don't know how to design websites - what are sales pages? On the book page, click on the cover pictures and they take you to a page for each book. And those have links for where to buy. How do I present it better?

Carolyn Howard-Johnson said...

Greg, usually “sales page” refers to the page on Amazon where you go to buy the book. Or some other online entity. It isn’t a firm definition. There could be a sales page on your website, too. You might want to check the websites of members of this group for ideas. Mine needs updating but it was done by a good designer. Pay attention to the way we used blurbs and award insignias. And don’t forget your media/press room! It’s HowtoDoItFrugally.com. @Linda Wilson does lots of marketing with book shows and fairs. Keep a list. Do i dare mentioning Bit.ly/FrugalBookPromo again! ? And @Terry Whalin and @Karen Cioffi have books on promotion. You’ll get more how-to details rather than general direction with books from experts!
Best, Carolyn

Karen Cioffi said...

Greg, building momentum for Book3 is a good idea; the blog posts and other content around the book's topic will work. Be sure to share your blog posts to social media. As Carolyn mentioned, a sales page is a page, whether on your site or another, like Amazon, where a reader can click a link to buy the book.
I saw your 'buy links' on your book page when I visited your site again. The thing is, those buy links should be easily visible. You might make them bigger and a different color.
If you have someone to create images for you, then have blurb images for each book, linking to the sales page.
You can check out my books' page: https://karencioffiwritingforchildren.com/karens-books/
The images are hyperlinked so if clicked on it goes to the sales page. I also have a clickable URLs.

D. Greg Scott said...

Nice! Karen, you do children's books - cool! Do you know any illustrators? Tiny Tim the Troubled T-Rex has been looking for an illustrator for a long time. My big plan was to have my oldest grandson's first grade class illustrate it. That didn't work out and now he's in 9th grade. It would be way cool to collaborate with an illustrator and that story to see the light of day. My email is gregscott@infrasupport.com.

I share blog posts and other stuff all the time on social media, and since I have a buddy at work who lives in Australia, that means I have global influence. :) You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Youtube.

I want to do a bunch of web things that I haven't learned how to do yet. It's busting at the seams with content and I want an easier way to find it all. I looked at multi-column menus a while ago but didn't find anything that excited me.

Karen Cioffi said...

Greg, I'll email you this coming week.

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