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I’m Pitching Legacy of Secrets Today!

authormargarite

Today is my big day. I’m pitching my paranormal romance novel, Legacy of Secrets, for the first time today. Not only is this my first pitch for Legacy of Secrets, it’s my first pitch ever. I’m entering into this experience the same way I do most things – head first and at full speed.

One of the editors requested the first five pages of my book prior to meeting with me. This request forced me to read my first five pages by themselves. I realized that the tension between my main character and her love interest really didn’t even begin until page six. Consequently, I did some editing to bring the action about much sooner.

I’m one of those people who likes lots of description. I want my reader to see things exactly the way I envision them. That’s great sometimes, but not always. In this case, I spent the first three pages of my book describing the farm and how Sally felt about it. I toned that down, and brought in my aspiring couple’s first argument much sooner. If the editor is going to read five pages, I sure want them to be good pages.

When I return from this conference, I will be devoting myself to the edits and revisions necessary to make Legacy of Secrets the amazing book I know it can become. Don’t get me wrong, I am exceedingly proud of my novel. I’ve spent a good portion of the past three years metaphorically bleeding on the page to give my story life. However, I know it can be better.

Even if I’m blessed enough for one of the editors to request my manuscript, she won’t expect it in her inbox the following week. I will explain during my pitch that I’m still editing if she shows an interest. It’s not every day I can sit down for a face-to-face meeting with an editor to discuss my book. I must take advantage of the opportunity to pitch in person when I have it regardless of how polished my manuscript may be.

I meet with my critique group next week. They will have feedback for three chapters toward the end of my book. They haven’t read the entire book yet, but will receive the last few chapters next month. We only send around 20 pages at a time, so we can devote a good amount of time to each other’s work. If we sent much more than that, we would be monopolizing each other’s valuable time. We must allow each other time to write. That is the point, after all.

I’m still awaiting feedback from a couple of my beta readers, but I’ve received enough input between them and my critique group to see common threads that need correction. My critique group will undoubtedly have more golden nuggets of wisdom for me on Friday, and I plan to incorporate their great ideas to make Legacy of Secrets a fabulous book.

In the meantime, I’m going to do my best to get one or both of these editors I will be seeing today to want to read my book.

All this talk of my novel may be overshadowing my upcoming publication. I’ve been so focused on pitching for the first time that I’ve barely mentioned I have a nonfiction piece included in Missouri’s Emerging Writers. The book comes out September 10, 2018 and is now available for pre-order here http://www.zpublishinghouse.com?rfsn=1667149.79818e. Thank you for reading Ozarks Maven! If you’ve enjoyed my little seeds of wisdom and joy, please subscribe to Ozarks Maven, Like Ozarks Maven on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter @OzarksMaven.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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© 2023 by Margarite Stever

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