Pitch Perfect

Maybe you took advantage of the quiet days around the New Year to finally compose your pitch. Maybe you’ve been pitching something of yours for production or publication or recognition, and now that people are finally back from their holiday breaks, you’re ready to get it out there again. Maybe you made a resolution.

Regardless of the reason, January is a time when a lot of us are not only starting to put our work out there, many of us are putting our work back out there. 

Which can be daunting. 

So I thought I’d share with you some advice from agents and editors that came up during a panel on getting published by author, NYU professor, and general NYC Book Person™ Sue Shapiro. 

The consensus was: If your work is getting rejected, don’t try to go it alone. Come out from under your weighted blanket, and meet people.

“Get in front of as many people as you can—classes, open mics, join a writing group, all the things,” said Dan López, an editor at Counterpoint Press and former Gotham instructor. “Get yourself into the literary community as much as you can.”

Why should you leave your apartment when it’s 22 degrees outside and the wind chill is -8? Because other people can help you figure out better ways to present your work, help you refine your ideas, and tell you what you’re doing well.

“I run into a lot of people who can’t explain why they want to write a book. If you can’t explain that to yourself, you’re going to have a really hard time explaining it to an agent or an editor,” said Kevin Nguyen, features editor at the Verge and author of the forthcoming novel New Waves. 

And this might sound obvious, but sometimes, you gotta ask for help. 

Gotham teacher Melissa Petro wrote about this at Brevity Blog recently, in a post about why it took her so long to finally publish her nonfiction book Shame on You: How to Be a Woman in the Age of Mortification. 

“I sent Hail Mary emails and DMs to writers I admired, and many were generous enough to respond. But I wasn’t in relationship with them. I didn’t have the kind of professional network I have now—weekly meetings with peers at a similar level, with similar goals,” Melissa wrote. “I didn’t know how to ask for help.”

Connecting with other people also keeps you honest, and keeps you connected to people who might want to read your work or watch your movie when the time comes. 

“There are readers outside the bookstore and the library,” said Sarah Robbins, an editor with Abrams Books. “Because everyone’s attention is so scattered and overwhelmed, [it’s important to connect with] the niche communities that hold your readers, and put more work into those groups of people who may seem smaller but they’ll come buy the book. One of my authors is huge with nurses, and that community puts her up. They buy all her books endlessly, even her books that are not about nursing or nurses.”

This is a lesson Sue Shapiro said she learned the hard way herself. 

“For a long time, I was a very huge non-joiner of anything,” Sue said. “When I started publishing books, I joined everything. I joined every alumni association. I hadn’t been in a temple decades—I was in every temple. I joined churches, I got involved with mosques. I got involved with every writers group there is—the Authors Guild, the Writers Guild, the National Book Critics Circle. And it wound up helping. Being a joiner helps.”

Even when you’re surrounded with fellow writers and human beings, discouragement happens. When you land there, take heart and think of the words from Shahnaz Habib, Gotham teacher and author of the nonfiction book Airplane Mode. 

“Imagine that the person who is reading it is like me, someone who is thirsty for your story.”

Kelly Caldwell

Dean of Faculty, Gotham Writers