Selling Your Writing: How to Pitch Your Novel and Get Published | Crystal Cestari | Skillshare
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Selling Your Writing: How to Pitch Your Novel and Get Published

teacher avatar Crystal Cestari, Author & Creativity Coach

Watch this class and thousands more

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Taught by industry leaders & working professionals
Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more

Watch this class and thousands more

Get unlimited access to every class
Taught by industry leaders & working professionals
Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more

Lessons in This Class

    • 1.

      Introduction

      1:45

    • 2.

      Thinking Like a Marketer

      3:01

    • 3.

      Query Letter Overview

      2:47

    • 4.

      Elevator Pitch

      5:08

    • 5.

      Synopsis

      5:03

    • 6.

      Your Writing Background

      2:32

    • 7.

      Your Contact Info

      2:21

    • 8.

      Querying Tips

      3:09

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About This Class

You’ve written a book and it’s time to get your novel published, but first you’ll need a killer pitch to catch the eye of literary agents and editors alike. 

Join author Crystal Cestari as she guides you through the how-tos of selling your writing with a compelling book pitch. Most literary agents receive dozens if not hundreds of manuscripts a day: a creative elevator pitch and query letter will help you stand out from the crowd

Based on her own experience pitching her five published novels, Crystal shares her author tips on how to pique interest in your writing and publishing journey. Plus, she’ll break down the query letter she used to land a literary agent. 

This course is suitable for yet-to-be-published writers who are looking to take their writing career to the next level. If you’ve ever dreamed of being a published author, this course is for you! 

In this 25-minute course, you’ll discover:

  • How to write a query letter and an elevator pitch
  • How to sell your writing using simple book marketing techniques 
  • Tips on pitching to literary agents and editors 

Our class project is to start an elevator pitch and query letter for your novel. 

Download the book pitch template included in the class resources to get a head start on your query letter draft. 


Selling your writing is the first step in becoming a bestselling author—stand out from the slush pile and publish your novel with this step-by-step writing workshop!

Meet Your Teacher

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Crystal Cestari

Author & Creativity Coach

Teacher

Hello, I'm Crystal! I'm a published author who is passionate about helping writers connect with their craft, feel good about their writing, and reach their literary goals. You deserve to have a creative practice that is fulfilling and fun!

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Transcripts

1. Introduction: [MUSIC] You've written a book, now it's time to get your novel published. But first, you'll need to write a killer pitch that will catch the eye of literary agents and editors alike. Most literary agents receive thousands of manuscripts a year. In order to standout from the crowd, you'll need a creative elevator pitch and query letter to peak interest and make your reader want more. My name is Crystal Cestari. Becoming a published author was my lifelong dream. It took a lot of research and trial and error to figure out how to get there. After lots of rejection and figuring out how to fine-tune my pitch, I finally landed an agent and kickstarted the career of my dreams. You can do the same thing too. This class will challenge you to think like a marketer, to get your books sold. You'll learn how to; write a query letter and an elevator pitch, sell your story using simple book marketing techniques, and use tips on pitching to literary agents and editors. This course is suitable for yet to be published aspiring writers who have finished their manuscripts and are looking to get signed by an agent and sell their story. I'll walk you through the actual pitch I used to get signed, breaking down each section for you to use as a template for your story. Get started by downloading the book pitch template included in the class resources to get a head start on your query letter draft. Selling your story is the first step in becoming a best-selling author. Get out of the slush pile and get your novel published with this step-by-step writing workshop. Are you ready to see your book on the shelves? Let's get started. [MUSIC] 2. Thinking Like a Marketer: [MUSIC] One of the hardest parts of getting published is that it requires writers to lean into a skill set that may or may not come naturally, which is marketing and self-promotion. After spending months or years crafting compelling dialogue, memorable characters, and engaging world-building, aspiring authors have to suddenly switch gears and figure out how to sell their work of art. If this makes you nervous, you're not alone. It's a common struggle for many creatives. In fact, it's something that I still struggle with, and I've been doing it for years. But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that if you want to take a Word doc on your computer and turn it into a book on the shelf, you have got to switch your focus. You're no longer the person who wrote the book, you want to think about the person who wants to buy the book. At its core, marketing is just a different kind of storytelling, and all books lean on marketing to draw in readers. Think about your browsing patterns at the library or bookstore. What books do you pick up and why? It likely has nothing to do with the story itself, but the way the book's been packaged. The marketing is what initially pulls you in. A book's jacket is responsible for this. Beyond the cover image, the book's tagline, synopsis, and excerpt, tempt the reader with a sneak peek of what's inside. This copy quickly communicates the basic premise, genre, and tone of the story. Hopefully, speaking to those who would enjoy the story most. Tempting readers is what you need to do with your book pitch. Agents can receive hundreds, if not thousands, of manuscript submissions a month, and unfortunately, there's just not enough time for them to read them all. Instead of reading the entire story, an agent will read what's called a query letter. A formal document that quickly introduces your story and entices agents to want more. If they like your pitch, they'll move on to reading your story. But if they don't, you'll get tossed aside. It sounds harsh, I know. But the good thing is, no one knows your story like you, putting you in the best possible position to write your pitch. It does require you to look at your story from a practical unemotional viewpoint so that you can nail down what makes your story unique. Obviously, you love your story and think it's worthy of publication. But you'll need more than your passion to get it across the finish line. Becoming an author is a career move, and you'll need to approach the process accordingly. Looking for an agent is not unlike looking for a job, in that you'll need to put your best foot forward in order to get noticed, get chosen, and get that contract. If all this sounds really outside your comfort zone, don't worry, we're going to break it all down. 3. Query Letter Overview: [MUSIC] If you've ever written a cover letter for a job, a query letter isn't too far off. It's all about hyping up the reader to get to the next step, which in this case is falling in love with your work. Query letters should be one page and contain four basic sections. An elevator pitch, a quick two sentence hook that draws readers in, a story overview, a slightly broader synopsis that builds upon your elevator pitch, your background, a paragraph about who you are and your experience and finally, your contact info, all the ways to get in touch with you. Simple. We'll go through the steps for each part of your pitch but here are some overall tips to keep in mind. Remember that this is a professional document so you don't want to sound desperate or get overly cocky, the point here is to celebrate your work to the best of your ability. It's also important to stick to one page. Remember that agents don't have a lot of time, so sticking to the format here is really important. The most important thing to remember is you should only be pitching a manuscript when it is completely finished. Submitting your book before it's done can get you into a sticky situation, especially if you do get an agent's interests and they want to see the whole thing. If you're not done yet, that's going to make them feel like you've wasted their time so definitely only start this process if you have a complete manuscript that's ready to go. Following submission guidelines proved that you've done the research and you are serious about getting to the next step. The last thing you want is for an agent to pass you up just because you strayed outside the lines. It's time to get started on your pitch. Download the query letter template in the class resources so you can take notes and start drafting your pitch. I'll be walking you through the query letter I used to land my agent for my first book, which is called The Best Kind of Magic published in 2017 by Disney Hyperion. [NOISE] Here's my letter. Don't worry about reading the whole thing now, we'll be breaking down each section. As you can see, it's only one page long. I should also note that when I was querying, my working title is Amber Sand, which happens to be the main character's name. I'll be giving you instructions for each section as I compare it to my personal example. We're going to start with the most important part of the entire process, which is your elevator pitch. 4. Elevator Pitch: [MUSIC] You know how movie trailers reel you in with two minutes of action-packed excitement? Your elevator pitch needs to do the same thing, except not in two minutes, but two sentences, at max. The term elevator pitch comes from a scenario of being able to describe an idea in the time it takes to ride an elevator. If you only had 60 seconds of someone's time, would you be able to sell them on your concept? An elevator pitch is a short, intriguing overview of your story's most distinctive elements. This hook explains what your book's about without giving too much away, grabbing the reader's attention and leaving them wanting more. No pressure. Studies show you only have 8-12 seconds to grab someone's attention. With so much media filling our lives, we now have an attention span that is shorter than a goldfish is. Imagine if you were trying to tell a friend the plot of the first Harry Potter book like this. Well, it's a story of a boy whose parents die when he's young, and he has to live with his relatives who don't like him very much. One day he discovers he's a wizard, and then he goes to a special wizarding school. Once he's there, he finds out, hey, are you still listening? You've lost me. Instead, you could sum it up much quicker with something like, an orphan boy who discovered he's the chosen one in a world where magic is real and evil awaits. Much quicker. For your elevator pitch, you need to break down your story to its core, focusing on your main character, their biggest conflict, and your unique worldview. It's time to get laser-focused on what makes your story different than any other and why someone should care. Let's start with your main character. Now, when someone reads your entire manuscript, obviously, they'll get to know a well-rounded, multifaceted character who goes on an interesting journey of growth and discovery. We don't have time to convey all that just yet. Instead, let's pull out a defining trait or issue that defines them early on. Ask yourself, what makes your main character special? What is their biggest conflict? What is one thing that separates them from their peers? Focusing on the uniqueness of your character is one approach for an elevator pitch. It's what I did when I was writing my query letter. My book was about a magical matchmaker who was an outcast from her family of witches. Here's my elevator pitch. Amber Sand is not a witch. As a matchmaker, the Sand-family magic somehow leapfrogged over her, but she did get one highly specific magical talent : she can see true love. If your protagonist is dealing with something that is truly outside the norm, highlighting that struggle is a great approach for your elevator pitch. Now, maybe what's most special about your book isn't necessarily the lead character, but the main problem faced by a group or society as a whole. Ask yourself, what's going on in this world? What are the significant obstacles? Why is life about to change for this cast of characters? Plot focus pitches are another great way to reel in a reader. Some examples of this could be, what if AI in your phone started talking back to you? Or what if you got a second chance with your childhood sweetheart? No matter which approach you choose, an elevator pitch should create intrigue, introduce drama, hint at your story themes, but still keep it short. One to two sentences is the maximum here. You don't want to give it all away. Remember, you want your reader to keep on going with the letter. You notice that with my query letter, I start off right away without any flowery language. There's no time for pleasantries here. We got to hook them before we lose them. You don't need to start off with, once upon a time, or this story is about, no. Cut to the chase, jump right in to the good stuff. Now, maybe you're thinking there is just too much to my story. I can't possibly narrow it down to one or two sentences. Don't worry. The next section of the query letter gives you more opportunity to build upon your story details. The thing is though, your reader won't get there if they don't like your hook, so you need to focus on this section first. Pause this video and take a few minutes to brainstorm some ideas for your elevator pitch. Jot down any adjectives or phrases that immediately come to mind about what makes your story special. Once you have your elevator pitch started, we're going to move on to the next section where we talk about building out your synopsis. 5. Synopsis: [MUSIC] This next section is going to be the bulk of your pitch, building upon your hook while folding in some important industry details. Here's what you'll need to clearly state in your synopsis. Your title. Don't worry, working titles are okay. Your total word count. Make sure you're within the given range for your genre, for example, if you're writing a high fantasy novel, those books usually clock in the hundreds of thousands of words. So if you only have 50,000, you may want to add on a little bit more before you start submitting. You want to make note of your genre and noting any sub-genres as necessary, for example, paranormal romance would be a sub-genre of romance. You want to note some comparable titles, which are also known as comps, which we'll go into in a second. Plus three to four sentences that elaborate on your hook. Let's get into it. Adding your title, word count, and genre, that's pretty straightforward. But what about comps? What's that all about? Comps illustrate where your book would ultimately be shelved. They are titles that are close enough to yours, to help somebody understand who the ideal reader of your book would be. Comps are like the bottom of any web page when you are shopping online. If you liked this book, you might also like this one. Comps should be relatively recent releases to show that your book is marketable to today's audiences. Try to stick within the last three years, if possible. It's important to have at least one comp in your pitch. But two is ideal. Comps can be popular books in your genre, or authors who write in a similar style, or even TVs, movies, or podcasts within your genre. How do you find comps? Start by going to your favorite bookstore or library and browsing through your genre. Ask a bookseller or librarian for their recommendations based on your book's themes. Talk to fellow writers, or if you sent your manuscript to beta readers, ask them for their ideas. You can also scan bestseller lists, but don't ever list a comp for a title you haven't personally read. Just because it's a popular title doesn't mean it's a match for you and you may be setting yourself up for failure. There are many ways to slide comps into your synopsis section, such as, my title will appeal to readers of this book and this book, or in the tradition of this popular book, my book is about blah blah blah. When including comps, be sure not to disrespect the other titles you're referring to. While you want to make yours book seem extra special, sliding other people's work in the meantime is not going to get you far. Saying things like, while similar to Harry Potter, my book is on a whole different level, is going to turn people off right away. You want to set your book apart without stepping on other people's work. Now that we've nailed down those unnecessary details, it's time to showcase more enticing elements about your book. The rest of your synopsis should highlight anything else an agent would need to know when considering your title. In 3-4 supporting sentences, you can describe your book setting, themes, tone, conflicts, supporting cast, subplots, unique worldview or anything else, then encapsulates what a reader would experience when picking up your book. Let's take a look at my synopsis. I'll highlight all the different sections for you. Amber Sand is a 65,000-word young adult novel set in an urban Chicago where witches are more interested in making sales and spells. Part Buffy the Vampire Slayer, part Veronica Mars, this lighthearted contemporary fantasy will appeal to readers who long for magic in the real world and want a strong, self-assured female protagonist who believes in love, but is more sass than saccharine. With a 99.99 percent success rate, the other 0.1 percent just wouldn't listen. Amber is confident she's seen every kind of happy ending there is. But when an unexpected matchmaking session proves to be outside her expertise, she discovers how a love story begins. It's time to start working on your synopsis. Start by writing down the easy stuff, like your title, your genre, your word count, and then start brainstorming some ideas for some comps and the other exciting details that you'll want to include. The second half of your pitch will be way more straightforward and will require way less effort. I promise. Let's start talking about your writing background. 6. Your Writing Background: [MUSIC] We've spent the first half of this pitch focusing solely on your book but this section is all about you. It's time to talk about your writing experience and why you are the best person to write this story. Here's some things you can include in your writing background. Any professional writing experience, education or training, any special awards you've won for your writing , and any blogs, social media or podcasts about writing books or your books subject that apply. This section should be about 2-3 sentences long. This section is like a mini cover letter for you to focus on any accomplishments that you have. Do you have an MFA? Let's shout it out. Do you have a popular social media following? Let's note that here. Anything that is relevant to your writing or the subject of your book is important to note here. But what if you don't have any writing credentials? That's okay. I personally had nothing to my name when I started submitting. Instead of focusing on my writing background I talked about my inspiration for the book and why I wrote it. If you don't have any notable writing experience give more insight as to who you are as a person. You can talk about your storytelling influences or inspiration or any personal connections to your story's material or just in general why you wrote this book. Let's have that passion show through. Here's what I wrote about myself for my query letter. My all-time favorite authors, Roald Dahl, his masterful way of weaving magic into seemingly everyday circumstances has had a lasting effect on the kind of stories I love to read and write. Amber is not a stereotypical matchmaker, though her world is certainly filled with mystical elements, she's also dealing with the realities of high-school and personal acceptance. Yet no matter what, she believes love is a strength that should be celebrated. An impassioned but not desperate account of why you wrote the book is a great way to help agents get to know who you are and what you're all about. Take a minute or two to write down some of your writing credentials or personal motivations. Next we're going to wrap this whole thing up with your contact info. 7. Your Contact Info: [MUSIC] This section is by far the easiest because all you need to do is list your contact info and what else you've included in addition to your query letter based on the agent's submission guidelines. This final section of your pitch will include your contact info, writing sample details, and a note of gratitude and a sign off. When you send a query letter, you may or may not also be including a sample of your story. Every agent has different guidelines for querying, which will be clearly stated on their agency's website. They may ask to see only your query letter or a query letter plus a writing sample, which may be a set number of pages or a set number of chapters or they may want to see your query letter and the entire manuscript at the same time. In each case, the query letters still reign supreme as they will read that document first and only move on to samples if they like what they see. It's very important to follow an agent's guidelines. You don't want to submit more or less than they asked for. Remember, you don't want to get passed up by someone just because you didn't follow their instructions. Agents will reach out to you if they are interested in reading more. This is why it's crucial for you to have a complete manuscripts before you start querying. If someone inquires about your book, but you only have the first few chapters done, they are not going to wait for you no matter how great that sample maybe. As a yet to be published author, you need to go the extra mile in proving you can get a story to the finish line. My sendoff is simple. Amber Sand is the first work for which I am seeking representation. Below are the first three chapters. Upon request I'm prepared to send the complete manuscript. Thank you for taking the time to consider my work. I look forward to hearing from you. Your send-off should be concise and professional, letting them know that you appreciate their time while you are respecting their instructions. I'm confident you can handle this section on your own. Let's go ahead and wrap this up with some querying tips. 8. Querying Tips: [MUSIC] You got your query letter. You are all set to pitch, so how do you set yourself up for success during this process? Here are some tips I used while I was querying. When you're looking for an agent, it's important to find people who represent your genre. If you write thrillers, don't submit to someone who primarily reps romance. Agents will list their preferred genres and age groups on their site. But how do you even find agents in the first place? Most authors, myself included, will thank their agents in the acknowledgment section of their books. Skim through some titles you enjoy in your genre. You can also use online agent databases to narrow down by genre, age group, and whether or not they are accepting submissions. I use a site called QueryTracker. There are also books such as writers market that lists out agents and literary opportunities. We touched on this before, but following submission guidelines is crucial. Read through agent guidelines to see what they want, including whether or not they are currently accepting queries. Many agencies have a no from one is a no from all policy. Pick the agent with the strongest connections to your genre. Also, getting a response from an agent may take weeks or months, but don't reach out asking why they haven't gotten back to you yet. Remember they are getting countless submissions a day so respect the process and wait your turn. When you do get a response, make sure you vibe with this person. Your agent is your partner so you need to feel comfortable asking questions and talking openly about your career goals. An agent should offer constructive feedback but anyone who tries to dramatically change your story from its original vision is not a good match. Also, reputable agents will never ever ask for money upfront. They only get paid when you do, so don't get pulled into a scam. Most importantly, don't forget to believe in yourself during this process. There's no way around it. Querying is grueling. You will get more nos than yeses. For me, the process to query the book took just as long as writing it. I got 39 rejections before number 40, my agent said yes. Remember, it only takes one. If you're struggling with staying in a positive mindset, I invite you to check out my class and how to find your creative mantra so you can stay strong and optimistic on your way to publication. You've taken an important first step on your road to publication today. Once you've nailed down a solid elevator pitch, I'd love for you to share it in the class projects section to inspire others and spread the word about your story. I'm also happy to answer any questions you may have and give feedback. Shoot me a message through Skillshare or through any of these methods. Good luck future author, I can't wait to see your book up on the shelf.