If you’re planning to give a pitch to an agent or editor at a conference,
you should consider creating a “one sheet” to take with you. Not
familiar with this term? It is a one-page
document that describes what you have written and why you think it should be
published.
Other terms used for this page
are “sell sheet” or “pitch sheet.” Its purpose is to show editors and agents your
book is special, and encourage them to request more.
While some will tell you this page can contain a summary of all your works,
I recommend a separate “one sheet” for each manuscript
, unless you are pitching them as a series.
Remember, this is a professional representation of you and your work. It
should be error free. If you show them a “one sheet” with mistakes, they will
assume your manuscript (which is considerably more than one page long) will be
full of mistakes. You don’t want to give them any reason to pass on your
project!
However, if you can create a professional page design (consider using Microsoft
newsletter format, or some other professional design layout software such as Illustrator)
you will make a positive first impression, and they will want to see more.
To create the best possible
One Sheet,
include the following information in separate paragraphs or boxes:
1)
Contact
Information – Your complete name, address, email, links to your website,
blog, and social media. If you have an agent, include their contact information
here as well, after your own.
2)
Image(s) –
This should be an object or landscape which reflects your book’s setting, time
period, topic, or theme. While your text should be black copy on white paper,
consider using a color photo or graphic here.
3)
Genre/Title/Word
Count – While Romance, Thriller, Horror, etc are typical genres, classify
it more specifically if possible after listing your title. Be sure to include
an approximate word count as well. Ex. Unmade Promises - YA Historical Romance
of 100,000 words.
4)
Hook - This should be a powerful pitch that shows
your book’s unique freshness, and will intrigue agents and editors to continue
reading. It should be no longer than two or three short sentences.
5)
Brief
Description – Write this like
back cover copy. This is sales copy designed to draw readers
to your story and main characters or the urgency of your nonfiction topic and
make them want to buy your book. Or (for this documents purpose) make agents
and editors want to request your proposal.
6)
Endorsements –
A positive remark about your project by a popular author(s), or prominent
professional in the field of your topic, can aid in garnering interest in your
book.
7)
Your
professional author photo and brief bio. Your bio should focus on your qualifications for
writing your story or nonfiction topic.
E
dit your text to be as concise
and descriptive as possible. Be sure to leave some white space between each of
these elements for a clean, uncluttered appearance and ease of locating
specific information.
Be sure to print out more copies
than you think you will need when attending a conference. You never know when
an impromptu connection in the hallway or a workshop might occur. Be prepared.
Although I’ve seen one sheets recommended on a few agents’ blogs, they seem
to be optional. If you’re more comfortable with a simple document, go with
that rather than trying to create something fancy. The purpose is to give you
one more tool to use in your effort to entice an agent or editor to ask to see
more of your work, and an amateurish one sheet will probably not do that.
Curious
what the professionals are expecting? Agent Rachelle Gardner
discusses one sheets on
her blog today, and has
links to several examples her clients submitted. Or try an image
search for “author one sheet”.
Have you ever prepared a one sheet/pitch sheet?
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