The Art of a Cold Pitch

At any given point, my inbox has 100+ emails from publicists I’ve worked with for over a decade, as well as submission form responses from writers I’ve never heard of. I also get sent books regularly, ranging from ones I expect and have asked for to ones writers cold-mail me.

It is no better for a writer to pitch their book via the online submission form or send me a book with a printed letter. I think it makes more economic sense to send an email, but that’s just my two cents.

I’ve spent some time thinking about why certain books catch my eye, and I want to focus on writers who pitch themselves because they either don’t have an assigned publicist at their publisher or they are on a small enough publisher that the writer has to hustle for themselves.

Below are two pitches I received via the submission page from Amy Stuber and Molly Olguín that made me instantly respond and plan coverage around. Take a moment to read through them without any commentary from me. Both appear below with permission from the writers. 

Why are these two good? In addition to being sent with plenty of lead time, they both gave me enough information and hyped their writing up in an easy-to-digest way.

1. A good, simple greeting. A generic “Dear Editor” is fine because it’s easier to copy/paste to multiple outlets, but the personalized greeting does go a long way.
2. Show why you’re pitching an outlet specifically. You don’t have to compliment the outlet, but referencing what they published shows that it’s not just a pray-and-spray pitch.
3. Basic book information. The name/type of book, publisher, and publication date should be easy to find, and it helps to see that information in one sentence.
4. Humble brags. Who blurbed it? Where have you published? Do you have the proverbial street cred? It doesn’t matter if you have a famous writer or magazine connections, but knowing what sort of writing to expect with your book helps me decide if it’s something I’d like to read. I love sad, weird, and horny books and never cover celebrity memoirs. Again, don’t worry if you don’t have any names to list here. In fact, it’s more of a humble brag if you’re a retired school teacher who is publishing at 70 years old without MFA connections. That’s a cool story!
5. Longer synopsis. Amy didn’t do this, and that is fine! She sold me on her story as a writer (see Number 6). Molly did, and it’s just a short paragraph that hits the tip of the iceberg. Enough to entice me.
6. Sell your story. Follow up on those humble brags. Amy highlighted her journey to being a writer debuting over 50. Molly’s path was a little more traditional: school, lit mag publications, and awards. Both journeys are good, and you should share yours. I primarily care if the book has Damn Good Writing, but it doesn’t hurt if you have an interesting story about your own life.
7. Leave links. Amy put hers in the first paragraph, and Molly put hers in her salutations. Make it easy for people to find you.

And that’s it. That’s what made me reach back out to both writers.

My process is to find books that interest me, ask for a PDF or a physical copy, read it, decide to put it on a monthly list, and then decide how it is covered (website interview, podcast, excerpt, Q&As, reading podcast appearance, etc). I tend to read books 3-4 months prior to the publication date and tie coverage to that time period. Earlier, for me, is always better.