Master the Book Pitch: Hooking Agents & Publishers
Plus COVER REVEAL for our first 2025 author, Rosie Garland!
Dear Scribblers,
Absolutely thrilled that Costa-prize award-winning Monique Roffey has been reading ‘Lying Perfectly Still’ by Dr Laura Fish, and loving it! “It’s not an outright anti-patriarchy/feminist book (like The Power, by Naomi Alderman or The Handmaid’s Tale by Margret, Atwood etc.), and it’s not dystopian or futuristic, which is what makes this book so powerful, and it’s about now and today. It’s current. There is no denying that there is a strong theme here re. the brutality and unchecked entitlement of men, especially in such a place [Eswatini]. We also see how the world of development work operates and how little effect is achieved, how big the problem is...”
You can pre-order novella ‘Lying Perfectly Still’ here.
We’re dead chuffed to be publishing Rosie Garland in January 2025: her debut short story collection to add to her acclaimed novels and poetry collections! ‘One of the most compelling LGBT+ writers in the UK today' - Val McDermid.
Let’s unveil the cover…
"Who's afraid of a girl who shines bright?"
Rosie Garland's spellbinding short story collection explores extraordinary people defying expectations. Blurring natural and supernatural, these enchanting yet disquieting stories unveil the extraordinary within ordinary people. Garland deftly unveils our deepest fears and desires, embracing transformative potential. Pre-orders here.
Now, you requested a newsletter on submissions: pitching and synopses, so here we go!
I’m currently embarking on that journey myself with a romance novel, so we can actually explore together.
My first step after finishing the edits and sending off to a beta reader is to grab the latest copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook from the library. I prefer a book that I can annotate, but if you prefer to do online research into agents, feel free to start there.
I write down all the publishers and agents that accept my genre. Later, I do research to see if that avenue is actually open for submissions, the requirements, and whether I’d actually want to published with that outlet.
Do they have good distribution? Are the authors well established?
Have I ever seen those books on a bookshelf?
I then begin to write a personalised query letter (for the body of the email) and a synopsis following the number of words specified by that publisher or agent.
The quest for publication is a journey fraught with pitfalls and rejections. But armed with a compelling pitch, you can vastly improve your odds of making it past the slush pile gatekeepers.
In this newsletter, we'll dive into crafting an irresistible book pitch and synopsis that will have agents and publishers clamouring for your manuscript. From hook lines that grab attention to nailing that all-important comparison title, you'll learn invaluable tips to make your pitch sing.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Fly on the Wall Press’s Newsletter to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.