Season Three of Mom Writes is all about pitching your completed manuscript to agents! Book coach Jennie Nash walks me, Abby Mathews, through the process of pitching my middle grades novel in hopes of finding an agent, and in turn, a publisher.  But let’s start at the beginning. The first eight episodes are dedicated to preparing your pitch and your agent query.  Today, Jennie talks about the number one thing people get wrong when they pitch their books to an agent: they RUSH.   We also talk about the two things you have to get in shape to pitch: your materials and your mind. What do we as writers need to do to make sure our book is pitch-worthy? First, I asked myself, “Is this book something that realistically an agent can sell?” And the answer was no.  So, I made some changes to my story that I felt would make it easier to sell my book, and we talk a little about that. I had to kill a few darlings in the process, but in the end, I think my manuscript is in better shape to sell.  We also talk about the idea of your book being “good enough” to pitch. It was my friend KJ who said, “It has to be good enough to go out, but not so good I can’t change it.” Because one thing you may or may not realize is agents and editors will all have suggestions for your story. These suggestions help you craft a story they can sell. What you have to have crystal clear on the page is your big vision for this story. And you have to find an agent who can catch that vision and run with it. Here’s where we move from a purely creative realm into the realm of BUSINESS. And this is a hard thing shift! But I’m getting ahead of myself. To start, you need a query letter and a “good enough” manuscript. So welcome back to Mom Writes as we present pitching prep!