Sep 11, 2011

Pitch Your Manuscript!


I'm back from the CYA Conference (Children's and Young Adult Writers and Illustrators). Phew, it was exhausting! But of course, it was also absolutely brilliant.

Brisbane's a fair distance from Yass, but it was well worth making the effort. There was a fantastic master class, workshops and book releases. I loved it all, especially the pitch session. I know, I know, those of you who remember my post last week, Surviving a Pitch Session know that I was FREAKING out about my pitch. Turns out pitching is no where near as scary as I thought.

I'm glad I did some research and that I took along some information about my other works. I pitched to an Editor of my choice of publishing house my manuscript MY ZOMBIE DOG, but we also talked about what other works I had ready to go and what I was working on. The editor was very friendly and put me at ease immediately. She gave me feedback on the chapters I had sent her and had some great ideas for fine-tuning the story. The best thing about meeting with the editor is that she told me she loved the idea of MY ZOMBIE DOG. That felt very nice :)

The end result was that I do have some more work to do on this manuscript. Actually one of the changes was suggested to me by kids that critiqued MY ZOMBIE DOG - they wanted my main character Zane to be older. Guess what? So did the editor. But the good news is that once I've reworked MY ZOMBIE DOG, the editor would like me to send it through to her. So, regardless of how this turns out, at least I know I'm on the right track!

Unfortunately many of my other stories are mysteries and the feedback was that mysteries are not popular with kids at the moment. I figure that's okay, they're bound to come back as a trend and then I'll have several manuscripts ready to go.

My advice to you? If you get the chance to pitch in person to an editor (or agent if you want to go that route) then do! The personal feedback you get is well worth it. I'll blog more about the workshops at the conference later, but for now, my brain needs some recharging.

21 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 11, 2011 at 8:25 PM

    My son loves mysteries and has read all the Enid Blyton, Trixie Beldon, Hardy Boys... combinations. I'm sure they'll come around again. Maybe you'll lead the trend. :) Sounds like your pitch was a worthwhile exercise. I have always found it money well spent. That one-on-one feedback specific to your MS is worth it!

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  2. JoannaSeptember 11, 2011 at 8:38 PM

    I am writing a chapter book mystery series so sure hope they are back in soon!

    Soo glad that your pitch went so well. how encouraging the editor wants to see it after some revision. well done!

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  3. Books for Little HandsSeptember 11, 2011 at 8:38 PM

    Hi Charmaine,
    It was so great to see you yesterday. Congratulations on your successful pitch. It was definitely worth your visit up here again and I'm sure we'll be hearing about contracts in the not so distant future.

    I've found the pitches to be extremely valuable and even submitting to competitions is a wonderful opportunity to grow as a writer.

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  4. DimbutNiceSeptember 11, 2011 at 8:45 PM

    Me know how you feels Charmaine! Brilliant to speak with you again. Feels like old chums. I'm with Kat and um well actually was a Trixie Beldon nut. I think if you put it out there kids will read it, especially if we keep encouraging kids to love to READ! Good luck keep on keeping on. The one on one pitch opps are invaluable. CYA later too!

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  5. Charmaine ClancySeptember 11, 2011 at 8:55 PM

    Kat - I used to wait and wait for each new edition of Trixie Beldon to come out! I tried to introduce my girls to it, but they didn't really take to it.

    Joanna - our mission is to build up interest in mysteries - I know what genre of books everyone is getting for Christmas in my family now :)

    Renee - I was so excited to see you and the other girls at the conference! And I'm looking forward to seeing what feedback I get on DOG SHOW DETECTIVE, my mystery I submitted to the contest. And WELL DONE on your picture book!

    Dimity - I'm glad I don't have to wait a whole year for the next CYA :) Can't wait to catch up again (hope your anniversary dinner went wonderfully!)

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  6. Karen TyrrellSeptember 11, 2011 at 9:03 PM

    Hi Charmaine,
    It was fabulous to meet you in person yesterday. Congratulations on your excellent pitch to the publisher. Glad it went so well. Love the Zombie Dog concept :))

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  7. Charmaine ClancySeptember 11, 2011 at 9:10 PM

    Karen - Thanks! I can learn a lot from the way your build your platform for Josh and the It! :)

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  8. DimbutNiceSeptember 11, 2011 at 9:33 PM

    Chinese, no wash up, mooncake icecream (never knew that existed till yesterday) then over 1.35kg tub of Baskin and Robins. What a day!

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  9. mooderinoSeptember 11, 2011 at 9:34 PM

    That sound like a job well done. And thanks again for reporting back from all these conferences and workshops, very useful.

    cheers,
    mood

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  10. Sarah TokeleySeptember 11, 2011 at 9:45 PM

    I'm so glad it wasn't as terrifying as you feared :-)

    Great news on the feedback. And I'm with the others, mysteries will definitely be back again.

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  11. SuzeSeptember 12, 2011 at 12:59 AM

    'but we also talked about what other works I had ready to go and what I was working on'

    An *excellent* sign.

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  12. Hootenanny BooksSeptember 12, 2011 at 6:56 AM

    Congratulations on your productive weekend Clancy. Believe it or not, it's slightly terrifying being on the other side of those sessions too. CYA later!

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  13. AnonymousSeptember 12, 2011 at 4:07 PM

    Congratulations on the pitch and the opportunity to submit your next draft. That's great! Glad you had such a great festival.

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  14. www.jolenestockman.comSeptember 12, 2011 at 6:26 PM

    Woooohoooo! That's fantastic news! Keep us posted :)

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  15. AnonymousSeptember 12, 2011 at 6:37 PM

    Awesome feedback... the conferences sound so good.

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  16. L.A SpeedwingSeptember 13, 2011 at 12:38 AM

    Hi Charmaine, so brave of you to go out there and approach an editor. I'll be terrified to do it. I shall read your Surviving a Pitch Session article. I am delighted that you got such a positive response and will be following your blog for more updates. Thanks for visiting my blog too.

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  17. CarlaSeptember 13, 2011 at 4:34 AM

    Ooooh...congratulations!! It's so exciting to hear a professional liking your manuscript! And the specific feedback has to be encouraging! Good luck on your revisions...it's a lot of work!

    Carla

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  18. Lauren F. BoydSeptember 13, 2011 at 8:55 AM

    Hey, Charmaine! How awesome that you got to attend this conference! And many congrats on not only getting to pitch MY ZOMBIE DOG to an editor, but that she likes it and wants you to send it to her once it's revised. That's got to be a wonderful feeling!

    Keep up the good work! I look forward to reading more about your conference workshops in future posts.

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  19. Maeve FrazierSeptember 13, 2011 at 12:31 PM

    Congratulations on your pitch! I' glad it went so well. Best of luck!

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  20. belSeptember 14, 2011 at 12:06 AM

    Congratulations! And great feedback. I am jealous. ;D

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  21. AnonymousSeptember 14, 2011 at 4:50 PM

    So pleased for you that your pitch went so well. They want to see it again....wow!

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