Let’s Get Back to Pitchapalooza!

I’ve written about Pitchapalooza before, but I haven’t covered the most important piece: How I prepared. I want to get back to that because I think it could be useful information for anyone who’s planning to attend in the future. And here’s the schedule of upcoming events by the way.

The minute I learned about a Pitchapalooza event within driving distance of my hometown, I knew I had to go. I was terrified, but it was as if knowing the opportunity existed left me no choice. Since I was stuck, I decided to prepare as much as possible, to avoid making a complete fool of myself. I’d read that Pitchapalooza was like American Idol without Simon, but I was skeptical. If there happened to be any Simon-like comments made, I wanted to be sure they weren’t directed at me.

So first I wrote my pitch. It was boring, rambling and made me realize I didn’t even have a handle on the book I was writing. This was not discouraging, but rather useful information. Next, I revised my pitch. And revised. And revised. And revised.

Now I was getting somewhere. But I was still nervous about delivering this pitch before a live audience of agents and publishing experts. I decided I needed to know more about Pitchapalooza. There had to be something on the Internet that would reassure me I wasn’t setting myself up for a verbal massacre.

Lo and behold, the Internet delivered! Go to YouTube and search for Pitchapalooza and you can get a preview of exactly what to expect at an event. They’re not all filmed, however, so you don’t have to freak out that live pitching means not only standing before an audience but also that you’ll be viewed internationally for years to come.

YouTube was useful and reassuring. But I wasn’t satisfied yet. I had specific questions about how to craft my pitch. How important was it to state my title? Should I give away the ending? I continued my Internet research and came up with this gem on The Book Doctors' website. Every question I had was answered in the comments on these 25 pitches. (Side note: You can also get these answers in… the book! Yes, The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published outlines how to write a pitch. But I was waiting to buy the book at the event, since it would come with a free consultation!)

After completing my research, I revised some more. And practiced out loud. And timed myself. And revised so endlessly that the revision process was not fully completed until minutes before I delivered my pitch. I wrote my new first line as an audience member and when I was next to go, I stood behind some bookshelves whispering the pitch so I wouldn’t stumble over my freshly written material.

The reward for all this work on a one-minute pitch? I was not “Simonized” (really, no one was) and I even came out a winner at the event. The lesson: Be prepared! You can't control everything when you put yourself and your ideas out there. You certainly can't control the panel's opinion of your book. But you can control how well you prepare. Take care of that piece, and you'll have the confidence to stand and deliver your best pitch.

Pitchapalooza: Planning to Attend

If you’re planning to attend a Pitchapalooza, there are a few things that have to come first. Absolutely first, you have to know when and where one is going to be held.

I found out about the Rhinebeck Pitchapalooza in a very roundabout way that proves I should probably keep up better with local news. The reality is, I find news so depressing sometimes that I choose to shield my preschooler and myself from such lovely stories as Guilty plea in Schenectady stabbing plot on pregnant woman and Senate panel OKs funding for area nuclear projects. Of course, this also means I sometimes miss important-to-my-career articles such as this.

That's right. Pitchapalooza was within minutes of my hometown last month, and I missed it. OK, the truth is, I did get wind of it, but not with enough advance notice to prepare or even attend.

So how did I find out about Rhinebeck Pitchapalooza, an hour and a half away? By plugging into the local writing community. I knew SCBWI had an Eastern NY chapter. I was even a member of the organization. But I was not one to attend meetings, so I hadn't gained much from this membership besides enjoying the member publication I receive in the mail.

Last month, I suddenly realized I should get out there - meet other writers, network, learn. My first local SCBWI meeting was the last before summer break, but I picked up an interesting bit of knowledge. Someone spoke up and advised us all to get on Twitter. She said sometimes agents and editors would be on there taking questions.

I'd never wanted to tweet before, but this sounded interesting. The next day, I opened an account. I started tweeting. I felt ridiculous. I began following a helpful and clearly clever agent from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. One day, Jennifer Laughran took some questions on her website. Soon after, she posted an announcement about the upcoming Rhinebeck Pitchapalooza.

I promised myself this time I would be ready. This time, I would go.

Pitchapalooza: What's It Like?

Did I mention I was a Pitchapalooza winner in Rhinebeck? I was! I’m very excited, which is, of course, one reason I’m sharing this information with you. But I also want to explain how it happened. Because it wasn’t just a fluke and it wasn’t simply talent combined with a little luck either. But I’ll get to more on that in my next post, since I don’t want any one post to be too long.

First, if you’re unsure of what Pitchapalooza is exactly, here’s some information. It’s basically billed as American Idol for publishing. If you’re not used to getting up in front of a crowd and speaking, yes, it’s scary. If you want advice from publishing experts—not to mention a little practice and exposure—it’s also definitely worth it. I should mention that while the panel had tons of ideas to make pitches better, their critiques were not harsh or mean-spirited. There’s no Simon! The general tone of the event was helpful and enthusiastic.

People had some great pitches, too. I don’t dare share the topics covered here, for fear I’ll send someone’s precious idea into the blogosphere without supervision. But there was one in particular I wished I had thought of myself. (Don’t worry. It’s not an idea I plan to pursue—it’s all yours, person who pitched it!)

I realize I was lucky to be called to pitch. Only about 25 people were randomly chosen from the crowd. They call two at a time, so one person is up and the next is on deck. That way, getting called isn’t a complete surprise. You know when it’s almost your turn. Then, you can hide behind the shelves and whisper-practice, like I did.

When you’re up, you’ve got one minute to pitch. It’s nice if you can look up from the page while you’re reading. If you’re too nervous for that, it doesn’t seem to count against you. People may laugh (you hope), but you can’t pause for effect, because time is ticking. When you’re down to 10 seconds left, you get a warning—a nice gesture since you’re cut off once the minute is up.

And then, you listen. Your pitch is about to be critiqued.

Recommended Reading

Since attending Pitchapalooza at Oblong Books, in Rhinebeck, NY, on Sunday, I have about a million things I want to share. But I don't have time to do that right now, because I absolutely must make revising my MG novel top priority. And that means moving those revisions above not only this blog, but also preparing my messy house for a realtor tonight, occupying my four-year-old with something other than TV, eating properly, and possibly washing my hair. Possibly.

So, I don't have time to share everything I want to share. I can, however, recommend an excellent book purchased at Pitchapalooza and written by the couple who puts on said event. The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, is a thick tome that delivers on its promise. If you want to get published, buy it. Seriously. We all need to know this stuff.

And now, a quick Bakugan brawl with my son before getting to work.