Something to Remember You By

Something to Remember You A lock of hair might be fitting (albeit obsolete, overly sentimental, and just plain weird.) A wallet photo maybe? Awkward. So what could you possibly give an editor or agent at a conference to help them remember you or your project once they shuffle back into their office the following Monday? I’ll tell you: The author one sheet. I recently attended a writer’s conference in which I was scheduled to pitch my new novel. To better my odds, I researched book pitches, and discovered the one sheet – a single-paged marketing document, aka author one sheet or pitch sheet, which describes a person, project, or concept. Brilliant! When one considers how many book pitches an editor or agent has endured, or how many queries and manuscripts they have likely slogged through in their career, the odds of an author or book standing out – being remembered – are not great. Anything you can get into an agent’s hands to take back with them from a conference will help, other than handing them your complete manuscript, of course. You’d never bring a manuscript to a conference, right? Everything you’ve ever read and heard has stated unequivocally not to. (Admit it – you brought it anyway.) Some one sheets are more elaborate, including word count, genre, endorsements, and agent name and contact info – designed more for promoting already-published works. Or you could opt for one more basic, including only information that one would find on a back cover of a novel. I chose the latter, since I was seeking publication. At the very least, your one sheet should include: Book title Logline/hook – One sentence that describes the concept of your book, and gets their attention. (My entire novel was easier to write.) Blurb – Short 3-4 sentence paragraph that describes your book and defines genre/audience. Who is the protagonist, what do they want, what’s in their way, and most of all, what makes your story unique? Think â€Å"back cover.† Author