Author to Coach Members on the Deliverance of a Perfect Pitch
by
Joy Nord
The May 1st meeting
of the San Gabriel Writers’ League will feature author, Allison Pittman. The strategy behind her game plan of “Throwing
the Perfect Pitch—How to Read the Publisher’s Signals” will help writers deliver their best pitch when they
come face-to-face with an agent or editor. Within fifteen minutes, you have one chance to sell your idea. You enter into the
room, all wound up to give your pitch. The agent or editor stares at you from across the table. Both of you want the same
thing: something perfect—smooth and straight across the plate. Right into the strike zone. You put your proposal on
the table, take a deep breath and---fire it in there.
In Allison’s presentation
she will take you through her experiences as she worked the editors’ room at a writer’s conference while pitching
her first novel. Four pitches, four responses, and one big lesson learned. She
will share what to say to editors, but more important, what NOT to say, to get your project across the plate and make the
editor take a swing. Learn how to give your project the velocity it needs to
be a homerun with an agent or editor. After all, in the publishing world, unlike the ball game, the pitcher and the batter
are on the same team—working together to make a connection.
Allison, author of the Crossroads
of Grace series with Multnomah Publishers, is a former high school English teacher in Converse, Texas. In 2005, she received
the Harvard Book Prize for Excellence in Education award. Her first novel, Ten Thousand
Charms, was a double RITA finalist for Best First Novel and Best Inspiration Romance as well as the Reader’s Choice
for Christian Book Distributors. Second in the series, Speak Through the Wind, was
released in 2007. The third installment, With Endless Sight, is due out this spring
on May 20th.
Allison is member of the
American Christian Fiction Writers. She serves as co-president of the Christian Writers of the Greater San Antonio Area. She
is an active member of the First Baptist Church of Universal City where she leads the Theater Arts Group. Whenever possible,
Allison enjoys going on a date with her husband, Mike. The couple has three sons, and a lovable dog named Stella, who will
be the star of her own book—Saturdays with
Stella due out October, 2008.
After Allison’s
presentation, members will be encouraged to take part in a group activity. This will be the time to warm up (practice) your
pitch in a “bull pen” full of friends. And as an extra bonus, those who participate will have a chance to win
a pair of tickets to a Round Rock Express Baseball game.
