Pitching The WIP

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This week I’ve been scribbling in my notebook how to pitch my novel. If I’m talking to an agent or publisher (which could very well happen in the not too distant future) I need to be able to say exactly what my novel is all about.

So here’s what I’ve come up with……

I’ve just finished my novel, called But Not Forgotten. It’s the story of 2 brothers who fall in love with the same woman and how the elder brother frames the younger brother for murder, well, so you think. It starts with a suicide and contains corruption, black mail, romance and emotional conflict. A kind of modern day family saga where the action takes place in 2010, but the characters are responding to the events that took place in 1984

Hmmm, now what about genre, that terrifying word. Would you know what genre my book was from that description? Lol….I really need to sort that one out lol

There’s a classic love triangle, albeit that one party is dead, and it also confronts issues around a young woman suddenly discovering that the man she thought was her father, is, in fact her uncle.

Hmmmm, leave out the dead bit? Does that give the impression it’s a ghost story?

It’s told from multi viewpoints, which gives the reader an insight into what is going on inside the 3 main characters heads.

Do they need to know that? I was thinking along the lines that it’s my unique selling point, but, that just sounds confusing doesn’t it

The guy who was the villain at the start, appears to be the hero at the end, but that depends on how you perceive the ending.

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So what genre is it? Lol Does your WIP straddle more than one genre?

I spoke about the whole Genre thing here back in December, and it seems that I’m not the only one struggling……

The Write Inspiration

19 thoughts on “Pitching The WIP”

  1. Deciding the genre is the most difficult thing for me if I don’t stipulate it before I start writing. I didn’t know the genre of my first novel until I sat down to write my query letter.

    Hmmm . . . maybe yours is just mainstream with the potential to cross over to mystery or romance.

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    • I have to say CB, I’m the same, I didn’t even think about it when I started this novel…..it’s only now, where I’m at the editing stage that I’ve suddenly realised its a problem. In future, yeah, I will definitely think about it before I even type the first sentence lol

      I guess I could slightly change it, put more emphasis on certain aspects couldn’t I 😉

      Thanks hon xx

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  2. You can look up WritersDigest.com and look for the best ways to write a query for agents and publishers. I think there’s even a forum where people exclusively help you with that.

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  3. Hmmm, it’s a tricky one – there are 3 genres all mixed into one: thriller, murder mystery and romance. I’d take a guess and say the romance part isnt the ‘classic’ love story though…just had another quick read of the your description. Maybe romantic thriller?
    Whichever it is, it sounds really good! 🙂

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  4. There is a new term out there that I have just come across called Upmarket Fiction (think Jodi Picoult). I always called my novel that I’m querying ‘Mainstream (Commercial) Fiction’ which is pretty broad and covers a lot of bases. However, I write family dramas and if Jodi P is considered Upmarket, then I’m thinking I might be in that genre also.

    Without having read your story and just going off your query, I’d say to check into these genres: Upmarket, Mainstream/Commercial, and Women’s Fiction.

    As for whether it is a mystery or romance, I think your whole story needs to be based on that one theme (solving the mystery, for instance) but because you have more going on my first thought is that your genre is more broad-based.

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    • Ahhhhh, now that’s interesting hon 🙂

      Thank you so much! I will do a bit of investigating. I’m going to be attending an event at the end of this month where there will be people from a publishers there….I think it’s definitely a question I’ll be asking 🙂

      Xx

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  5. Since 2010, I’ve learned more and more about the pitch, queries, and how to research what literary agents publish. One of the most important bits of information is how some agents prefer to publish commercial vs. literary fiction. There are many more genres, and agents will break it down from there on their websites or in the Writer’s Market. There are so many parts to trying to scoop a good deal. I’ve written so many draft query letters and synopsis for Sons of the Edisto.

    Genre is also the most difficult for me. Readers Digest is a great website to use as one blogger previously said. I found mine in a book.

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  7. Genre – now there’s a word that sends chills down my spine. I’ve decided to go with the general category of Women’s Fiction. As for pitches, I’m starting to work on those myself and find that you can’t just write one. You have to taylor each one specifically for each agent / publisher. Harder than writing the novel itself.

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