How do I prepare for a pitch conference?
- A pitch conference offers face-to-face pitch sessions with agents.
- Research which agents fit your book before signing up to pitch.
- Rehearse a short verbal pitch you can deliver naturally.
- Have your query, synopsis, and pages ready to send.
- A good pitch earns a request to submit, not an on-the-spot deal.
Prepare for a pitch conference by researching the attending agents and choosing ones who represent your genre, then rehearsing a short verbal pitch — your hook and a sentence or two of stakes — until it sounds natural rather than memorized. Have your query, synopsis, and sample pages ready to send afterward. Treat the session as a brief conversation whose goal is a request to submit, not an immediate offer, and bring questions of your own.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Pitch conferences put you face-to-face with agents, which is valuable but nerve-wracking, and unprepared writers waste the opportunity by rambling or pitching the wrong agent. Researching fit, rehearsing a natural pitch, and readying materials lets you make the most of a short session. Understanding that the realistic goal is an invitation to submit keeps your expectations grounded and your delivery relaxed rather than overselling.
Chapter ii·What to include
- Research on attending agents and their lists.
- Agent choices that fit your genre.
- A rehearsed, natural-sounding verbal pitch.
- Query, synopsis, and pages ready to send.
- Questions to ask the agent.
- The goal framed as a request to submit.
Chapter iii·Example
Before a conference, an author studies the agent roster, picks two who represent her genre, and rehearses a thirty-second pitch until it feels conversational. She has her query and pages ready. In the session she pitches calmly, the agent asks for the first fifty pages, and she submits that night — a request earned, not a deal closed on the spot.
WriteLoom's Pitch studio keeps your pitch, materials, and agent research ready, so you walk into a pitch conference prepared.
See the Pitch studio