Darcy's Blog: Aliens, Zombies, and Romance (Oh My)

Q&A with Ellora’s Cave editor, Meghan Conrad!

With twenty-seven days and counting ‘til I leave for RWA11, how fitting is it to have a fantabalous (It’s a word, I tell you! Convert!) Q&A on pitch sessions? Please join me in welcoming Ellora’s Cave editor, garden savant, and all-around kick-ass romantic industry diva — Meghan Conrad!

To get started, can you briefly describe what happens in a pitch session?  

Well, I have to start by saying that every editor and agent does this differently. I’m discussing fairly common things, I think, but there are many perfectly reputable editors who do it completely differently. Also, I’m assuming that this is a relatively relaxed schedule—if you’re on one of those schedules where there are twenty five-minute pitch sessions planned, you can figure on having an abbreviated version of what I describe.  

When I’m taking pitches, I usually start out with pleasantries and try to make the author feel more comfortable. I’ll ask if you’re having a good time at the conference, where you’re from, whatever. Then we hit the actual pitch. I’ll usually segue by asking what you have for me, and that’s your cue to to tell me about your book. The important things to convey are really the same things you’d say in a cover letter—book title, genre, length, and a brief explanation of what the book’s about. “Well, I’ve written a 75K novel called [Clever Title]. It’s a steampunk erotic romance with vampires, and…” (Incidentally, if anyone out there is writing steampunk erotic romance with vampires, please consider this your engraved invitation to submit it to me. If you drop Darcy a line in the comments, she’ll pass on my email address.)  

Once you’re done, you can take a deep breath and relax a little, because the hard part’s over. The editor might ask you some questions, but that’s about it. They’ll either tell you to send it along and give you directions on how to do so, or they’ll say that it doesn’t sound right for them right now and wish you the best. If there’s time, they might ask if you have any questions—about the submissions process, about their company, or about publishing in general. Don’t be shy about asking questions if you have the chance!

Do you prefer your pitch appointment to launch right into the pitch after introductions or chitchat to make it more personal? 

Personally, I usually chitchat a bit—partly to put the author at ease, but partly because I’m trying to get a feel for what you’d be like to work with. If you’re pitching over drinks and you’ve sent the poor waiter back to the bar four times because hello, you wanted four olives and one pickled onion, not three olives and one pickled onion and a bit of lemon zest, I’m going to assume that you’d be equally high-maintenance when it comes time to actually work on things. 

Aside from their pitch — those powerful, practiced lines that will hopefully make the project sound mouth-wateringly enticing — what do you recommend a writer should prepare to bring with them to their pitch session? For example, should they be ready to share how many blog followers or their number of youtube subscribers?  

It’s never, ever a bad idea to come prepared to talk yourself up, and I won’t lie—having ten thousand Twitter followers has the possibility to turn a maybe into a yes. That said, the pitch session is really about your book, not you. Many people will ask if you’re on Twitter (or whatever), but if they don’t, don’t feel like you have to shoehorn it into the conversation. The information about blog followers, etc. should definitely go in the cover letter when you send your submission, though. 

Should writers come prepared to answer questions about their book’s audience and marketability? If so, should they volunteer that information or let the editor or agent bring it up first?

I’d advise coming prepared to answer those questions, but in my opinion, you’re better off letting the editor ask about it if they want to.   

Is your confidence in a writer shaken when you see them refer to their notes or read a prepared answer about, say, the theme of their book?  

It might just be me, but I really like it when authors have notes with them! It makes you seem well-prepared—you’re not just going to plop down and talk about your book; you’ve made lists and written down questions and everything. If you can’t answer a simple question without looking at your notes, or if you’re reading your entire pitch off of the paper and you can’t make eye contact, I might be a bit concerned, but just having notes there and occasionally referring to them is a good thing. Hopefully you won’t be offended if I do the same!

Thank you again for sharing your time and insight!

Have further questions? “Perhaps your current WIP is full of steamy situations with some fanged creatures, or space cowboys, or something else you think might catch Meghan’s interest? Leave a comment and I’ll pass it along! =D

While Meghan is not going to be at RWA11, she will be at EC’s Romanticon and the Lori Foster Reader-Author Get Together. You can follow her on Twitter @meghanmconrad and on her blog. Want to know more about what’s happening at Ellora’s Cave? Check out the EC crew blog, Redlines and Deadlines.

Join me June 15th in welcoming Castles & Guns’ very own, Sarah Makela!