Thread by @kellogg_camille

Writers, I know hearing about submission overload and industry burnout can be SUPER discouraging and make finding an agent or publisher feel impossible right now. So here’s my biggest piece of advice to help yourself get noticed anyway— work on your pitch! 🧵

First of all, let me say— you don’t need to feel guilty for querying agents or editors right now. This is a systemic problem, not a problem you can individually fix by not subbing your book. Your story is still important and industry people still want to find great books to rep!

HOWEVER now is a good time to read submission guidelines really closely! Making sure agents are open to queries, looking for your genre, and that you follow their guidelines will save them time and you rejections!

Anyway, your pitch! With burnout and high sub levels, I personally think pitches are more important than ever. If a book has a strong pitch, I’m going to read it faster and read more of it before I make up my mind. Plus it’s always helpful to feel excited going into a book!

Of course, you already know that! You’ve probably spent hours agonizing over your pitch already. So how do you make yours stand out?

(Disclaimer: this is all subjective advice and my personal opinion as an editor and a writer!)

First, research! Read the descriptions of books in your genre online or on book jackets. Read TONS of them. Pay attention - what makes you want to read a book? What makes your eyes glaze over? What adjectives are used so commonly they stop having meaning?

Look at the craft. How many start or end with a question? How many start with a hook? Is the typical voice in your genre factual or fun? For books you’ve read, how much of the plot gets left out to allow for a succinct, punchy description?

Next: practice! Try writing copy for books you’ve read. Try to decide what’s important to emphasize and what can be left out. It’s a lot easier to experiment and have fun with copy when it’s not your personal masterpiece you’re trying to distill into two paragraphs

Think about voice. It’s easy for book descriptions to all sound the same—voice helps it stand out. Your copy shouldn’t just describe the events of your book, it should convey the feeling too. Wherever possible, pull specific lines, phrases, and details from your book!

It usually helps to start your copy with a fun, hooky, voice-y first line. Personally, I almost always start copy with a dramatic line I’ve pulled from the text of a manuscript (and, as an editor, I write a lot of copy!)

Once you’ve written copy you’re happy with, start cutting it down. A concise, snappy pitch is always a good idea. Think about what’s absolutely *necessary* for understanding the basic gist of your story and what’s not

You’d be surprised at how much you can leave out! Side plots, side characters, complex world building details…it’s hard not to mention these details you’ve worked so hard on, but your pitch doesn’t have to cover everything. It’s just a sample, to get people interested in more

Next, clarity: ask friends to read your pitch and then describe what they think your book is about. If they’re wrong or they can’t, your pitch is probably confusing! When trying to cut plot down to just the basics, it’s easy for this to happen

Ask people you trust for feedback. Swap pitches with #amquerying folks you find on Twitter. And thank people for their feedback and time, even if you disagree

Then, when you feel it’s ready, let it go! Send that query out into the world. It’s hard! It’s scary! You might want to revise your pitch forever! But aim for good enough, not perfect

Send out a couple queries. If you get all rejections, try revising your query before you send it out again. And don’t worry if you do— everyone gets rejections.

You got this! Querying is hard and right now is an intimidating time to be looking for representation. It might take longer than normal, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Keep reminding yourself that it only takes one yes 💕