One of the trickiest parts of crafting a pitch is knowing how much to reveal. You want to give agents and editors a sense of your story’s theme and takeaway, but you don’t want to spoil the ending, otherwise why bother reading the manuscript? How do you strike the right balance?
Your pitch is more than just a summary of your story—it’s a reflection of your narrative voice. Infusing your pitch with your story’s unique style is the key to making it stand out to agents and editors.
The Importance of Voice: Voice is the personality of your writing. It’s what makes your story unique and memorable. When crafting your pitch, try to capture the same tone and style that you use in your manuscript.
Read-aloudability is essential to writing picture books. Picture books are a truly unique genre of literature. Other books CAN be read aloud, but picture books are ENGINEERED exactly for that precise purpose. That’s why read-aloudability is so important.
In this episode, Emma Walton Hamilton defines exactly what read-aloudability is and how important it is in picture books (HINT: it can sway the submission process), while Katie Davis illustrates one impactful way to factor that secret sauce into your writing.
This is the first of a three-part series all about read-aloudability and how it can be your ticket to getting published. Stay tuned!
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Listen to the next episodes in this series here:
If you can’t get your manuscript past the gatekeepers, you have zero chance of getting published. So who are the gatekeepers? They are often editor and agent assistants. These assistants often take the first pass at the agent’s or editor’s inbox to eliminate manuscripts that don’t follow guidelines or don’t meet their boss’ tastes.
In this episode, Emma Walton Hamilton asks editor and agent assistants AZ Hackett, Claire Tattersfield, and Gaby Caballero all the burning questions from writers and illustrators like you.
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In the Picture Book Pitch Formula, we gave you a template to use as a starting point for writing your pitches. As a reminder, this is the template:
You’ll notice that this template incorporates all the key components of a great pitch.
The template is powerful because it removes the guesswork around how to fit so much information into just 1-3 sentences.
Let’s show you what this looks like in action by using a classic picture book we’re all familiar with – WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.
Here’s how all the key components are included in this pitch:
Now try the template with your own picture book pitches!
Want more help with picture book pitches? Grab our FREE Picture Book Summit Pitch Formula HERE!
Shadra Strickland might be the most delightful writing workshop presenter on the planet. In this episode, the author/illustrator (and agent!) reveals how to get at the heart of your story by sharing some of her best writing exercises to get your creative juices flowing from your brain to the page.
This is a fun one! Enjoy!
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A great picture book pitch isn’t just about conveying what your hero wants—it’s about what’s standing in their way. It’s about conveying the dramatic tension in your story, and what’s at stake for your hero.
Understanding the role of obstacles and stakes is key to creating a pitch that resonates with agents, editors, and ultimately, readers.
Every pitch starts with a hero and their goal. But achieving a goal without obstacles is too easy… why should the reader care? It’s the challenges and conflicts that make a story engaging.
Crafting a compelling pitch is an essential skill for any picture book author. It is the single most important part of your submissions package to agents and editors for publication consideration. A well-written pitch will spark an agent or editor’s interest, making them eager to read your manuscript.
But what exactly is a pitch, and how do you create one that stands out?
A pitch, also known as an elevator pitch, hook, or logline, is a brief synopsis of your picture book. It’s a 1-3 sentence summary that captures the essence of your story without giving away too much. Think of it as your story’s “trailer”—it should be intriguing and leave the audience wanting more.
What do t-shirt design and writing and illustrating picture books have in common?
Quite a bit actually! They have to be eye-catching. They have to be something the wearer or reader wants to go back to again and again. And just like a picture book, a good design tells a story.
Eric and Terry Fan take us on a journey in To Imagination and Beyond. The Fan Brothers share how your next story might be waiting for you where you least expect it. And, they should know. A t-shirt design ultimately became the award-winning picture book The Night Gardener and a 30-year-old doodle grew into Lizzy and the Cloud.
We adore The Fan Brothers and after this episode we think you will too!
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Today’s episode features a practically perfect pair of presenters.
You’ve seen presentations about great picture book beginnings. You’ve seen them about effective endings. But a truly great picture book relies on the connection between the two.
Today, Emma Walton Hamilton & Julie Hedlund are here to show how to launch topflight stories and navigate them to stellar endings.
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