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Amra 's Armchair Anecdotes
Welcome to Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes! I’m Amra Pajalić—
writer, teacher, and storyteller. Pull up a chair, and let’s dive into
stories about writing, life, and lessons learned—sharing wisdom
from my armchair to yours.
Amra 's Armchair Anecdotes
Mastering the Art of Book and Memoir Pitches
This episode unravels the secrets to successful pitching in the literary world, highlighting the importance of research, personalized query letters, and effective summarization. Amra offers practical advice for writers, from perfecting elevator pitches to navigating freelance writing opportunities and securing media attention.
• Exploring the significance of query letters in pitching
• Tips for crafting an effective elevator pitch
• The role of a one-page synopsis in storytelling
• Building confidence for freelance writing through pitched articles
• Importance of media attention and strategizing outreach
• Pitching writing workshops to build credibility and presence
Welcome to Amra's Armchair Anecdotes. I'm Amra Payelich, writer, teacher and storyteller. Pull up a chair and let's dive into stories about writing, life and lessons learned, sharing wisdom from my armchair to yours. Welcome to Amra's Armchair Anecdotes. In this episode, I am talking about the art of the pitch. So this is something that we have to do constantly. As writers, as artists, as creators, we are always pitching. So usually we're pitching a novel when we are submitting to publishers, but then there are other pitches that we need to do in terms of to media outlets to try and get freelance articles published. We also pitch our expertise in terms of trying to get workshops with writing organizations and build our credibility and our media portfolio. So today I'm going to talk about the different types of pitches and give some tips and tricks about how to do that. First, I'm going to start with pitching a novel to a publisher or to a literary agent. So when we're pitching to a publisher or a literary agent, we need to craft a query letter. We need to craft a letter that's telling them about our book, that is trying to find the best way to appeal to them and to sell our book. So I'm going to be using my query letter that I submitted for my published memoir Things Nobody Knows but Me and this memoir. I had an agent and my agent pitched it to publishers and it wasn't picked up and she didn't want to pursue it any further. So then I took on the job of pitching it myself and I researched the best way to do that, and this is something I had already done, obviously in order to get my agent. So I already had some experience in that. So the first thing is you need to research. So research, obviously, the publisher that is best suited for you for your novel or for your memoir or your non-fiction book, and make the case about why are they best suited?
Speaker 1:The best way to think about your book I'm going to use the word book from now on is to come up with an elevator pitch. So an elevator pitch is basically, if you were stuck in an elevator with someone for 30 seconds and you only had that time while you're going up to those floors, how would you pitch your book? What would you tell them about it? And so I've actually pitched in person. Um, there's some opportunities called literary speed dating and I had the opportunity to do those, and so I had to develop pitches for my books and think about this elevator pitch and think about how to verbally, in a very crowdy and noisy room, get this pitch across. So it's about, you know, making a connection with someone and also kind of capturing the essence of your book. So I find the best way to talk about these things is to look at an example. So I'm actually going to be using my memoir example. I will be providing show notes with some tips and within those show notes I will actually be including my query letter and the one that was successful. So, first of all, you know, in a letter you have your address details and your website.
Speaker 1:I would encourage every writer, no matter where you are in your writing journey, to create a website. Even when you are starting out, you don't really have much. Having a website that is like your face, your digital introduction that has your bio has, you know, a nice professional headshot, whatever you can afford, depending on the stage of your career. I actually spent most of my writing career taking selfies or getting my husband to take photos of me that I then used as my headshots. Sometimes I put them through filters and made them look nicer. It's only this year, a few months ago, that I paid money and I actually had my hair professionally done, I had my makeup professionally done and I hired a professional photographer to take professional headshots of me, and there is a difference. I have seen that there is a difference. However, depending on where you are at your stage of your writing career, that is not something that you need to invest in and you need to spend money on when you are an emerging writer. I certainly did not. So you know, I've been in the writing industry for 27 years and I only paid for a professional headshot this year. So just having a face on your website and these days when you are pitching also, you know they sort of want to know that you have a social media presence. There is an expectation that you will be doing promotion and publicity. So you know that's something for you to think about and I'll go into more detail later on.
Speaker 1:So then I had the date, obviously, the name and address of the editor, and the subject line was submission of my memoir Things Nobody Knows but Me. So the first few sentences are crucial. This is where you are demonstrating that you have actually done research and you are thoughtfully submitting your book to this publisher. So the way that you do this is you have to actually research what books they have published and why they might be interested in your book. So in my instance, you know, I did not read all of these books because I was pitching to five publishers. So, yes, I read some of the books, but I did not read every book. But I spent time going through the catalogue, looking at descriptions of the books that they had published, reading media interviews by the publishers and getting a sense of which books were similar to my book and that demonstrated that that is something that they were interested in. So in the instance of Transit Lounge, I had found two publishers.
Speaker 1:So my first sentence is I am submitting a query for my memoir Things Nobody Knows but Me, as you have published memoirs from Australian women writers of diverse backgrounds, such as Banana Girl by Michelle Lee that explores her Lao background, and Playing House by Amy Troy. So it's not enough just to state the publishers that sorry the books that you're demonstrating why they'd be interested. You actually have to show an insight about why. So in my instance, I said Australian women writers of diverse backgrounds. Is that something I had identified as unique to who I am as a writer, who I am as a person and what I am trying to establish and put forward in the publishing industry. And then I, you know, added just a little descriptor of one of those books, just to really hone in on why, and that I'd done my research, that I wasn't just listing the books for the sake of listing the books. So obviously this is very short and very succinct, I think it's. You know, it is one sentence, one long sentence, obviously with punctuation, but it is still succinct.
Speaker 1:I then went into a description of my memoir, and I think every writer finds this very hard to do. We are creating books. This very hard to do. We are creating books and these are extensions of ourselves, and it's very hard to take that step back and to then look at it in terms of the themes and look at it in terms of what it's trying to do, and so I have some tips for doing that that I will go through. I will first share my description of the book and then I'll talk through how I actually got to this description. So this is what I then continued on my memoir Things Nobody Knows but Me, 69,000 words is the story of a bond between mother and daughter and the toll that mental illness takes on an individual, a family and a community.
Speaker 1:It is also an insight into Bosnian culture and, more broadly, the experience of mental illness for people who come from non-English speaking backgrounds. I was 16 when my wagon caught up with me and I ended up in the high school counsellor's office and I finally learnt the medical label for the malady that had dogged my mother and affected my childhood. I had spent my whole life calling my mother's illness a nervous breakdown. Now I found out that my mother suffered from a mental illness called bipolar disorder. In adolescence I became my mother's confidant and learned the extraordinary story of her life. When she was 15 years old, she visited family friends, only to find herself in an arranged marriage. At 16, she was a migrant, a mother and a mental patient. A migrant, a mother and a mental patient, and so you know. This ended up being actually a bit of the blurb that was used, because I had come to this catchphrase and the power of three in terms of the at 16, she was a migrant, a mother and a mental patient. So sort of distilling and capturing the heart of the story.
Speaker 1:But it was a very difficult, difficult journey to get to this, and so I am wanting to provide you with some tips so that you can shortcut this process, and I now use this to shortcut the process and to be able to do all of this much easier, because, even though now I am not submitting my novels for publication anymore, because I'm publishing them myself under my small press, I still need to be able to write blurbs, I still need to be able to distill the themes and the story in terms of, you know, being able to do media releases and trying to get media coverage, and I still need to think about books. That it is comparable to when I am doing Facebook advertising in order to try and advertise these books and get them promoted. So the way that I did this was I there was a competition I had to, I wanted to enter and they wanted a one page synopsis of the book, and this is something that you need to have. If you are submitting traditionally, you need to have a one page synopsis of your book, and what this is is you are just capturing the main storyline of your book and you are including the main beats, and you also need to include the ending in order for the publisher or the agent to really get a sense of what your book is about and see if it's worthwhile reading it.
Speaker 1:Now some agents choose not to read this synopsis. They want to read the book and get a sense of it themselves. Some absolutely want to read it. So it is subjective and you know, when you go out there you'll hear different people giving you different advice. But the one thing that you do need is a synopsis. You do need an overview of your story, depending on how long it needs to be. So I found this wonderful tool that I will also include in the show notes about how to write a one-page synopsis.
Speaker 1:And as I was going through the process of writing this synopsis, I realized that the structure of my memoir didn't actually work, that it was kind of not setting up the context of the book soon enough, because using this three-act structure really opened up my eyes to oh, I need to sort of capture those beats and make this interesting, because you know, know, memoir is a lot of things and you are trying to contain it into one story. So you know, my story was about my mother and me in our relationship and her bipolar, and that did help me edit the book after that. My original draft was 90 or 100 000 words, which what I was originally going to try and submit to publishers and agents. And so by doing this one-page synopsis and using this structure to think about what is the actual story, I was then able to cull all these scenes that I loved, because you know you love everything you write. I was able to cull these scenes and really see the spine of my story and see what this book was about.
Speaker 1:And so now what I do with every book that I'm writing, I usually do the brainstorming and then I start the writing process and then usually when I'm about 20,000 words in, I actually stop and I do this one page synopsis and I just check about my beats and check is this story working? And then I know that this is, you know, structurally, that the story is okay. And also I have something that I'm going to be able to use for the blurb, for the description at the back of the book, because once you have gotten it down to one page and it might take a while, it did take me a while where it started out with, you know, 3,000 words and then culling and culling and culling. When I got it to one page, then that was easier to kind of look at and find the elements to be able to write the description of the book. And you're going to need that shortened description when you are pitching and writing the query letter. So long process about how I got to that and what you need to be able to do so, and then also, you know, doing those power of three, using those literary strategies in terms of trying to zhuzh it up a little bit. So my query letter then goes on to things nobody knows but me is about a mother-daughter bond fractured by years of manic and depressive episodes marked by powerful changes in mood and energy. That was eventually brought under control through an accurate medical diagnosis.
Speaker 1:Memoirs such as Strange Places a memoir of mental illness by Will Elliot and Madness, a memoir by Kate Richards, shed a light on sufferers of mental illness from an Anglo-Celtic perspective. The story that is by and large missing from the literary landscape is that of the migrant affected by mental illness, and so I found one of the successful things that if you could do with your query letter is actually looking at the publishing industry at large, looking at that landscape and looking at the stories that are out there, and what is it that you are offering that is different. What is it that you are doing that is unique to you and that makes your story something that needs to be out there? And if you can make that argument successfully, if you do that research successfully, it will do two things. One, it will really prompt the agent or the publisher to see that you know what you're talking about. But secondly, it will really lead you deep into the themes and deep into the heart of what is this story that you're trying to tell. And then, when you're looking at the media attention and the promotional aspects of it, you really know what it is that you're offering. That's different out there.
Speaker 1:So for me it was about the fact that there are so many stories now that are being written about the different perspectives of mental illness, but we're not seeing these stories from a diverse background, we are not seeing the multicultural perspective. And that is where I come in. That is where I come in with my Bosnian background to be able to share that perspective and share that story because it is different. And then I go in and I make my case about why it is important to have this diverse perspective and what I'm offering. So it is my hope that this memoir, in addition to telling a great story, will have the potential to be used as an educational resource about parenting with a mental illness and the challenges of suffering from a mental illness within non-English speaking backgrounds.
Speaker 1:People from non-English speaking backgrounds face the highest risk of suffering a mentally related disorder, and yet these same people often don't effectively access treatment because of cultural and religious stigma. When they do access treatment, they are often misdiagnosed or not able to participate in effective treatment because of language barriers. Now, because of my mother's background, mental health is something that I have always been very interested in and I have always collected research on and collected information on. One of the most interesting facts that I found in my little journey was that there was a study of people who were from former Yugoslavia and that there was a very high proportion of this community that were being diagnosed as schizophrenic or bipolar, and this researcher went through the diagnosis of these people and realized that the culture and the way that we speak and the language that we use was actually influencing the diagnosis. So, because the researchers were not aware of the cultural context, they were misdiagnosing these people.
Speaker 1:Because we have this you know thing where we have a lot of. I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill myself, like this hyperbole in our language. Even you know, when we're talking about um spark, what you know a child is sleeping. So you know, in western culture is, is that they're sleeping, you know, peacefully, um, there's all these lovely contexts and sayings about it. In ours it's spava kozaklan. They're sleeping as if their throat is cut. So you know, even something like that, an image of a sleeping child is described in a very violent image, and so I can understand why these, you know, psychiatrists, who did not have the cultural context, were listening to people who were from former Yugoslavia, so you know, from Bosnia, from Serbia, from Macedonia, from Croatia Slovenia was also a Republic and kind of like, oh, these people are mentally ill. A republic, uh, and uh, kind of like, oh, these people are mentally ill, um, so you know that cultural context is what I was offering and that cultural context is something that I had identified, that was different and that was, um, you know something that I could share then. Oh, and also, um, looking at, you know, the publishing industry broadly and doing those comp titles, so mentioning those books that are touching on your theme and that are touching on your book but that are not offering your perspective also, really, you know, shows that. So then, the last three paragraphs are me spruiking myself, you know know, talking myself up and talking my experience up.
Speaker 1:So my debut novel, the good daughter text, publishing 2009, won the 2009 melbourne prize for literature civic choice award and was also shortlisted in the victorian premier's awards for an unpublished manuscript by an emerging writer. I'm also author of a novel for children, I'm your friend on loan Garrett Publishing and co-edited the anthology Coming of Age Growing Up Muslim in Australia, alan and I'm on 2014. That was shortlisted for the 2015 Children's Book Council of the Year Awards. I have been funded by Creative Victoria to be mentored by Alice Pung in developing this book. Excerpts have been published in anthologies School of Hard Knocks in the upcoming anthology meet me at the intersection, pre-mantle press 2018. Nerves breakdown was published in rebellious daughters anthology, ventura press 2016. Woman on fire in a change journal, illora press, 2013.
Speaker 1:So, um, if you were doing the maths with me, you would have realized I was writing this book for five years. I was actually writing this book a lot longer than that. I was writing it my whole life, in different ways and in different shapes. And my debut novel, the Good Daughter, is my first attempt at a memoir. But I was too raw and too scared to write at that time really honestly and delve into the truth, and so I wrote it as fiction and I kind of disguised things a little bit Also. So you know, I had quite a few credentials at this point in terms of the publishing industry that I could make that case.
Speaker 1:But the other thing that I had been doing, and that I still do a little bit, is I had been submitting standalone chapters of this memoir to journals and to anthologies to build that literary history. I mean, I did it also because I like getting published for one and two. I did it because writing a book for five years takes a really long time and you need little wins along the way, you need encouragement, and so I had found this method of submitting standalone chapters as short stories and getting them published as a way of giving me that that little bit of a lift, that bit of motivation. And then also that if I did want to submit to publishers, I would have a case about, um, the fact that this book had a proven audience. Um, you know, with these chapters, um, so you know, uh, I also was tricking myself into writing a memoir because it was so intimidating. So I was originally just writing essays, just writing standalone chapters, so the last section of my query letter, and I did fit all this in on one page. I did play around a little bit with the margins, I'm not going to lie, but I did fit it all in on one page. I did play around a little bit with the margins, I'm not gonna lie, um, but I did fit it all in. This memoir is complete and ready for submission. Please find attached to one page synopsis. Please also find attached a self-addressed postcard for a response to my query. I look forward to hearing from you.
Speaker 1:Um, so, uh, at you know, there was still a bit of posting of things happening. Uh, these days we're kind of completely digital, and so I was posting this letter, um, and so, because I was posting it, I thought, okay, I'll do um the postcard so that you know, and I put on the back, uh, requesting full um manuscript, requesting the first three chapters, or so that way they could just tick it and pop it into the postbox, because I was trying to make it as easy on them as possible to respond to me because at the end of the day, you want a response. It doesn't matter. It's better to get a response than no response and sort of languish in limbo. Um, the other thing that I did that I just see that is not included.
Speaker 1:Uh, at this point I was submitting query letters simultaneously, so I submitted them to five publishers at the same time. And, um, I think I was flagging at one point that I was doing simultaneous submissions. I don't know that publishers get worked up about that anymore because it takes them so long to respond. So you should be playing the odds like you know, playing slot machines or playing the lottery. Just keep, you know, trying to submit. Keep, um, you know, trying to submit. But there was this expectation at one point that, um, you do not submit until you hear from one publisher, which is completely unreasonable. Um, I think it might be worthwhile to flag that it is a simultaneous submission, just so that they know that other people are looking at it at the same time.
Speaker 1:And then, when you do get a query request, um, it is a good idea to update the publishers. So when I got, I ended up getting, I think, two or three query requests. Uh, sorry, requests for partials or full manuscripts, I can't remember. I think most of them were full manuscripts. So I I think I got three publishers responding and asking for full manuscripts. So at each point I was updating them and I was just saying you know, just to let you know I've also had another request.
Speaker 1:The really weird thing was one of the publishers got incredibly offended about the fact that I had submitted elsewhere and I had another request and that I was updating them. And he got really offended and he was like and don't use my name with the other publisher. So I thought he was. He thought I was trying to leverage attention and kind of go, oh, I've got this, um, which I wasn't. I was actually just trying to be professional and just trying to maintain that communication. And so when I received an offer from a publisher, I immediately notified the other publisher, uh, who had the full manuscript request also, um, and just said you know, just to let you know, thank you so much for your request. I have actually received an offer and will be withdrawing at this point. So at that point, you know, usually you might want to try and negotiate and try and use, you know, one offer.
Speaker 1:I wasn't interested in that, at this point, this was the book of my heart that I had spent my whole life writing, that I had spent five years working on intensively, that my mother had read a draft of and was involved in the writing of, and so I just wanted to honor her life and I wanted to publish it. And I just wanted to find a publisher that was on the same page with me and that saw the value in the story. And as soon as I got that, I was happy to continue with that publisher. So I will attach, um, the query letter, um, and you know, uh, what, what you should do. So, yeah, I think, to recap, you need to do research. You know, I would recommend it might be hard for some people, some people might actually find this advice hard and, again, take everything I say, just like anything anyone else says, with a grain of salt, because everyone's writing journey is different, everyone's experience is different and what works for me may or may not work for you. So, you know, vet it for yourself. Um, but I personally do research as I am writing. So, because this book was five years in the making, I was reading every memoir out there that was about mental illness and I was making notes about it. I was looking at the publishers who are publishing these books and making note of that. Looking at, you know, all of them, collecting the information and sort of developing a strategy in terms of what I wanted to do to move forward while I was writing. Now I was saying that that might be difficult for some writers is some writers might get disheartened if they are looking at, you know, books that are published and when you are in that early emerging stage of your journey, it might be intimidating for you. So, you know, mediate that as you can in terms of what works for you and what will keep you motivated. You know, think of that elevator pitch, doing that one-page synopsis and preparing it, helping to sort of check the structure of your book and also to think about what it is that your book is doing that is different and that is unique, that your book is doing that is different and that is unique. So I will attach all of the information in my show notes. So please have a look at those and see if they are helpful.
Speaker 1:In this next section I am going to talk about my freelance writing experience. So I'm going to talk about how I started pitching and establishing my career as a freelance writer. I have actually had quite a few articles published. Now, oh my gosh, I did a count at one point. Um, I don't know what the count is, maybe 50, maybe I'm exaggerating, I don't know, but there was quite a lovely number there. If you're interested in looking at my articles that I published, um, go to amrapayalichcom um, I think it's slash articles or look for the page uh, about, and I've got links to all of them and you can read them online. So that's something that you can do.
Speaker 1:So it's something that I wanted to do for a long time. I felt like I had information that I wanted to share, not just about books, but about everything, and I struggled with confidence. I struggled with how to do it, and then my first opportunity to write freelance came about. I was on Facebook and this emerging writer had done a writing workshop in a high school and they were talking about the fact that they had, you know, delivered this writing workshop. That was so wonderful and how they really had the students so inspired.
Speaker 1:And then the English teachers were interfering and telling the students what to do and ruining the creative vibe, and this has started an online discussion with other English teachers who were like hello, I don't think you're quite understanding what teachers do and the fact that we love students who write, and that's not what they were doing. And especially, I was looking at it through the lens of an EAL teacher. So a teacher from an English who teaches English as a second language, although now it's an additional language, because we have a lot of migrants who speak, more than you know, a second language. They speak numerous languages, so it's EAL now, and this workshop was being delivered to students who were from a non-linguistic speaking background. And so I read this and I responded to it in a really visceral level where I was very angry, where I was like you don't understand, when you are an EAL teacher, there is a trust and a bond that you develop with a student, where you are teaching them how to spell words, how to pronounce words.
Speaker 1:So just this week I had a class where I was reading a short story and in there was the word raucous and I knew how to spell that word, maybe, and I knew what the word meant, but I actually did not know how to pronounce that word. I realized I have not really used that word. I have not heard that word used, and so I said to the kids I don't actually know how to pronounce this and I always have my computer connected, so I did a google search how to pronounce raucous. Um heard raucous raucous was practicing that, and then was asking the students to practice with me. Okay, let's practice raucous raucous. And so this is something that you do as an eal teacher. You, you are always exposing students to new vocabulary. You're teaching them pronunciation, teaching them how to learn new words, teaching them context and talking about context, and then also just sometimes actually telling them how to spell where they're like they know the word that they want to use, they know what it means, but they don't know how to spell it and they just need that bit of support. They ask you to spell it.
Speaker 1:And so I read this article by this emerging writer and was really upset because, um, she was writing about, you know, the teachers in a very denigrating way and um presenting herself as a little bit of a savior. Uh, you know, by delivering this writing program and I'm like, oh sweetie, when you're a teacher, you're there every week. You know it by delivering this writing program and I'm like, oh, sweetie, when you're a teacher. You're there every week. You know it's a very different thing. You're not. You know like you are inspiring. You are coming in to inspire students, but you're not really understanding what happens in a classroom with teachers and students.
Speaker 1:And so I ended up, you know, pitching a response and writing to the editors and saying you know my perspective, I want to write a response to this. These are the reasons. This is what I want to say, and the editor was interested in that, because usually in writing it's about putting an idea out there, putting an opinion out there, and then getting response. It's about starting a conversation, it's about, you know, continuing that. And so I wrote a response to that article and I had it published. And that was my first freelance experience and the first experience of you know writing about something that I'm an expert in, because at that point I'd been teaching for for quite a few years. I've now been a teacher in a high school for 12 years, I don't know.
Speaker 1:I think at that point it was like six or seven years or something. So it was still a good chunk of time and and I was like, oh, now I've got a credit and now I can do this. And sometimes you don't realize, but you actually stand in your way and I had been standing in my way where I knew I wanted to pitch and I knew I sort of had ideas and things to say, but I could never quite get there, I could never quite get over that line. And so I started then thinking about ideas and I would have conversations with people and I'd be like, oh, that's an idea to pitch. And then I would also think about can I interview people and can I pitch that?
Speaker 1:Where I'm also showcasing other writers, my strength and what I really like doing is writing from the first person perspective and sort of sharing my lessons and sharing things I've learned, which is what this whole podcast is. This whole podcast is me just sharing my lessons and things I've learned about different things and just starting that conversation. And so that made me think, oh, I can do this. And so that made me think, oh, I can do this. So I would encourage you to think about interests and insights you have to offer, you know. So I thought about my interests and I did some brainstorming and I was like, okay, I'm a teacher, the student-teacher relationship, you know, multiculturalism, teaching, mental health, western suburbs, writing and the fascinating thing is, once you start coming up with ideas, they just keep coming. Like my daughter is sick of this sentence now, where I'm like I think there's an article in this. Where I have a conversation with her about something and I'm like I think there's an article in this, so, oh god, can't we just have a conversation? I'm like, no, my brain.
Speaker 1:And the other thing is, once you start pitching to editors, you develop a relationship with the editors and they are looking for writers. They are looking for, you know, writers to support for stories to publish. And so I first developed a really great relationship with SBS Voices, which is not around anymore, but now there's like SBS News where they're still doing sort of similar things, and I started pitching to them articles and my first few articles needed a bit of editorial work. I needed to kind of get that structure and figure out how to construct these opinion pieces and these first person point of view pieces. And then, as I kept writing them, I got better at it. I was able to really get that structure down and got to the point where the editor was like don't send me the complete article, pitch me the idea.
Speaker 1:And then I started pitching ideas and she would change and shift it a little bit. She's like, oh, that's interesting, but could you actually write it from this angle? And so I would then go, oh okay, I'll, you know, think about that and I'll write it about that angle. So I remember once pitching about friendship, and you know, and then it changed into friendship breakups and how do you deal with friendship breakups. And then the interesting thing about that article is then it was picked up and I was interviewed on the radio about it, and so it's just fascinating how, when you put these things out there, you don't know what's going to come back, and that's why you just need to generate content and release it out into the world. And so, you know, some of my articles have led to some really interesting situations. Articles have led to some really interesting situations, and the other thing that's really great is people reading them and people seeing something of their lives in them and writing me an email, and so I would get these beautiful emails and responses from people out of the blue who had read my article and they really connected with it. And so it's an amazing opportunity because you're doing so many things.
Speaker 1:For me, writing is figuring things out, figuring out who I am, figuring out my thoughts and ideas, my learnings, my lessons, but then it's also about building my thought leadership. This is a new word I learned, by the way. I had to actually find the definition of this because I'm like I need to actually say the proper definition of this. So what is it that you are an expert in? And so, in terms of thought leadership, I have now figured out my area of expertise and what I can pitch. So I would send emails to editors with ideas of what I want to write. I would include things that I've done before and I would include links to previous articles that were on that theme to sort of demonstrate to them my understanding.
Speaker 1:And in the pitch, I would also recommend that you sort of include where you've been published. So I've now been published in some very high profile, so in the Age, in the Guardian, in literary journals, in SBS, Voices, in ABC, as education. So I now have some you know credentials to include In the beginning. You might not have that, some you know credentials to include in the beginning. You might not have that, and so you can talk about your personal experience and why, uh, you are the person who should write this article, um, so you know, again, crafting it as an idea why you think that this article has benefit looking at, have they written something about it? What are you responding to? Um can also be helpful. And then, um, you know, don't take reject, you might not hear from them. That might be the rejection where it just it's crickets which has happened to me. Um, so I would encourage you to try and pitch it to a few different places.
Speaker 1:Also, in the beginning, it might be worthwhile actually writing out the article and because usually when you're an unknown, they want to see your writing and they want to actually accept the completed article because they're they're not sure. And so that is what was happening to me in the beginning. They would not actually accept it. They would say I'm interested in seeing the complete article, and then they would look at the complete article and then they would ask for edits and then, after I made the edits, they would go okay, and then I would get the contract and they would, you know, confirm that they were publishing it.
Speaker 1:Now that I've developed this skill and developed the relationships and the networks and, you know, have the publication history, I do have editors, even editors who don't know me who are willing to accept a pitch from me and you know, do the contract based on that? Do the contract based on that? Um, in terms of rejection, I just sort of wanted to talk about that because you know I have had some interesting uh moments in terms of rejection. One of the the most interesting ones is I, my regular editor that I worked with for one of the publications, was on leave, and so I pitched an article to the editor that was covering their patch while they were on leave and they accepted an article from me, and so I wrote the article and I submitted it and I didn't hear anything for a little while. And so then I followed up and I didn't hear again about that article and was a bit disheartened because I thought I'd developed a relationship there for a while and so I just left that. It kind of disappeared into the background.
Speaker 1:And then I had another idea and I pitched it and my regular editor was back on deck and they accepted it. And then the editor that was on leave contacted me about the article that they had ghosted me about. I was like, oh yes, we just wanted to edit it a little bit and then proceed with the publication. And so my theory is, um, that my article had kind of dropped down the list and they had forgotten about it, and that they were then embarrassed. They thought too much time had passed and well, maybe they just completely forgot about it. And then, when they saw that I was being published again, they were like, oh, I accepted an article from her and then, you know, put me back into the front of their mind.
Speaker 1:So the reason that I'm sharing that story is because always behave with professionalism and practice a bit of amnesia. You know, if your pitch goes in limbo and nothing happens, pitch again, there might be someone else who is on deck, there might be another editor and so that someone new they might be more interested in the idea that you are submitting the second time or the third time or the fourth time. So, really, persistence is key. It is hard in the beginning when you are emerging and you are going through those crises of confidence and you're like am I good enough? Is this really something I should be doing? But it is something that you know really holds you instead.
Speaker 1:So I would also say think about how can you rework this pitch, you know, instead of an op-ed where you focus on your own experiences, can you make it more of a research-based case study or can you interview others? So even you know, you know, if you're like I really want to write this, um, and then you come across another publication where you're like I can pitch this, but they don't do first person memoir pieces, they want more of a research article, pitch it as a research article, um, it's interesting. You know, when you're a writer, the skills are translatable and you can do different things, you can try different things and then figure it out. So I would really encourage you to, you know, think about what you're an expert in and think about what you can pitch articles on and also connect it to the themes of your book. You know, I wrote a bit about mental health, a bit about bipolar, and then in the byline, you know, amrapailich, author of memoir Things, nobody Knows but Me and I did have people buying and reading my memoir because of the byline. So this is also an opportunity to to, you know, get readers, uh, who are out there and you know, it's interesting the more that you get out there like I have actually had editors contact me where they're like, oh, we would like you to write this or we would like you to write that, and I'm like, of course, yes, I will, I will write that for you. Thank you, darling. Uh, you actually know my name, so you know it. It is about getting out there and just putting yourself out there and seeing what comes back. So now I'm going to talk a little bit about why media attention matters and how to pitch to media outlets.
Speaker 1:Now, this is something that might be more relevant to those of us who are independent authors, who are, um, publishing ourselves and are having to put on these different hats. Usually, if you are published, uh, with a traditional publisher, they are the ones that contact media outlets and get you that attention. But sometimes, um, they only give you, you know, a publicity person for a short amount of time, and they are struggling. They've got a lot of other projects and you kind of might fall through the cracks. So it still might be on you to try and get some media attention and try and get, you know, people talking and writing about your book.
Speaker 1:So think about the outlets that align with your topic. You know, even start with just your local newspaper. Usually they're always interested in a local news story, and then you can use that as a building block, as a stepping stone to submitting elsewhere. If they publish a story about you, try and find the right journalist, editor or producer that covers your subject area. And then, you know, think of that hook, think about what it is that your book is telling, what is it that's addressing out there, what's the theme? And you know, hopefully you've already done this work, so this is something that you can do, if you are.
Speaker 1:You know, one of the things that I do now for anything, any book that I do, is I create a media release, and so that media release kind of has that information for me where I'm like, okay, you know, that's there and I sort of have those points there. Keep it, you know, clear and concise and focused. Don't make it too long. You need to make it, you know, very short 200 to 300 words. What is it about and why is it relevant to now Try and tie it to a current event, a trend or an awareness day. So you know, ruth Clare, who published Enemy, which is about her father, who suffered from incredible PTSD after being forced international service and being a Vietnam vet, then pitched, you know, an article to the Age for Anzac Day to talk about the families and that you know they are the ones who are also dealing with the aftermath of a soldier in service.
Speaker 1:So, you know, think about what things you could tie it to and offer sort of a fresh perspective, highlight your expertise and relevance. You know if this is from your lived experience, if this is something you've researched, this is something you know about. These are some statistics that you know. This is from your lived experience, this is something you've researched, this is something you know about. These are some statistics that you know about. Um, offer a clear call to action. You know, are you pitching an article, an interview, expert opinion? Um, let them know you're available for follow-up questions or interviews.
Speaker 1:I've had sometimes situations I remember I I submitted um an article to an outlet about how I had almost fallen for a scam and they then contacted me and said would you be willing to be interviewed by a journalist who's going to write about it? I said no, because I'm at the point now where I want to be paid for my writing and being a part of that interview was not going to help me in terms of promoting my author. You know background of my writing, so I didn't see any value in that. But sometimes that can also happen where they can see that they can use you for something else. So you know it's good to sort of do that bit of an overview, provide supporting material. So you know, high-quality images the author has chart the book cover, you know, include a press release if you aren't traditionally published. Hopefully the publisher has something like that. Or you can do your own Follow up. But you know, don't spam and don't follow up too many times, only once and only. You know I wait a long time before I follow up because I hate following up and a lot of times I don't.
Speaker 1:I would also encourage you to create a media kit for your book. You can go to my website and look at any of my book pages and at the bottom of my book pages I have a media kit and in that media kit I have, you know, the short description, really short two-line description of my book, the medium description, the full description of my book. I have my social media handles. I have little posts, leading posts about the book. You know, talking about what the themes are, what the purpose is, with myself in quotation marks so that if a journalist was interested in that they can just pull those quotes and use them. I have promotional images where you know people can download them and use them in social media. I have that media kit also as a Word document where they can download it and, you know, actually copy and paste it easier if they need to. So, you know, look at preparing that background information, because then a lot of the time you can just copy and paste and you just attach those links when you are pitching to media outlets and they've got all the information that they need, because sometimes they have very quick turnarounds where they're like, oh, we've got a spot, we want to do this quickly. You know, include your phone number when you are pitching to media outlets, because if they need to contact you quickly, um and yeah, so just providing that information, try and make it as easy as possible. So, um, that's something also for you to think about in terms of how to get media attention, how to get eyes on your books, how to get people talking about your books and how to use that as a stepping stone for other things.
Speaker 1:Okay, in this last section I am going to talk about how to pitch a writing workshop, because if you are a writer, you know there are things that you know, things that you can talk about, things that you can teach people, and this is an also an opportunity to build a profile, to get readers, uh, to network, to build that credibility. So, um, I would get you to think about what are the things that you can, you know, talk about. So, you know, are you a young adult author? Can you do a young adult workshop and talk about? You know, the unique um aspects of young adult fiction? Uh, I've done memoir writing workshops and share my perspective in terms of memoir writing. So you're thinking about the genre. Uh, is one way um thinking about.
Speaker 1:You know what's your, how's your workshop different from others? What are you offering in terms of adding value? Focus on the practical takeaways and you know what's the niche or the problem you're solving. Tailor it to the organisation you know. So you might be pitching this to a writing centre, to festival, to libraries, to schools. Sometimes you know you need to think about the level of the participants and also the length. That you could do a one-hour workshop, that you could extend it and add these extra features for two hours. Sometimes they get back to you and they're like, oh, can you make this a two-hour workshop. Can you make this this workshop? So providing those options, if you can highlight how it fits into their mission or programming, that also can help, you know.
Speaker 1:Then doing all those other things in terms of the workshop description, trying to do that compelling hook, showcase your expertise. Um, if you've done workshops before, I have now learned the very hard way that when I do a workshop, I ask participants to give me a testimonial to tell me, you know, did they enjoy it? I mean, usually look for the ones who enjoyed it and I have those quotes, I have those as testimonials to then promote myself. Also the, the organizers who booked me. I ask them to write testimonials. So then I've got evidence of libraries that I've worked with who thought my workshops were good to pitch to other libraries. So focus on the learning outcomes. What are you trying to get the participants to do and what will they gain? What is it that you're focusing on? Is it that they are learning how to structure a young adult novel or to understand the voice of a young adult novel? So you know, thinking about those nuances in terms of the workshop that you're offering.
Speaker 1:Look at the logistics. Like you know, I've now bought stuff in terms of being able to uh connect my overhead. Do you need an overhead? Um, I have handouts that I provide, so I'm also like that, will photocopy those um. Price your workshop competitively. So in australia we've got the australian society of authors. They have a list of what you should be charging for the different things that you are doing in the author business. So use that as your guide.
Speaker 1:Back your pitch up with materials. Have the polished one page work proposal ready, short bio and headshot. Provide links. This is where your website is handy, also, where you can link and provide that information. Um, and you know, I now have a word document where I collect all of the different workshop pictures that I have, and so now I'm sort of like, and I can do this and I can do that, and sort of I give them the different options, uh, for them to think about.
Speaker 1:You can follow up up, but again, you know, not too much. Only once. We recommend fortnight maybe, or a month, and then not again, because no response is a response, very hard but very true, so you need to leave it. So that's another opportunity for you to build your credibility but also your income, because as writers, as authors, as creators. We need to be entrepreneurs. We need to think about the different things that we can do, the different skills we offer, the different ways we can make money and we need to hustle, and this is one way to do it money and we need to hustle, and this is one way to do it.
Speaker 1:So, to wrap up, I would really encourage you to think about the different ways that you might pitch and think about this, about building relationships. So, build relationships with people on social media. Look at what they are doing, collect information and then follow up and engage. Start small, you know. Pitch to your local newspapers. Look at niche blogs or niche podcasts that you can pitch to um, use your personal story. Focus on who you are as a person, because that's what makes a pitch stand out. If it's too generic, it kind of reads like everything else. But if you focus on that authentic personal story, that is what will get people and that's what will get that attention. And I would really encourage you to create a media kit, a media kit. So, as I said, I have a media kit for every single book in order to promote that, you know, trying to get that media attention. But I also have a press kit on my website for myself. It has covers of my books, my headshots that can be downloaded. It has my bio. It's got all the places where I've been featured and have been put in, and then it's also got suggested questions and the different topics and themes that I can talk about. So that way sometimes you know when, when you're pitching and they're like oh, you're making it easier for them to put you on and to do your story, because they don't have to do all the research and coming up with questions, you're actually short cutting a bit of that. So those are some things to think about. So you know, just having also that website, having a public face on the internet, I would really encourage.
Speaker 1:When we are are writers, when we are creators, pitching is something that we do. Even when you're having a conversation with someone and you're talking about your book, try and practice that pitch and practice what it's about, so you can do that shortcut, because also, you don't know what conversation will lead to, where, who knows who or what could happen. So it's good to practice. Um, it's something that you can learn it. Practice really does make perfect. It is difficult in the beginning, but the more that you do it, the more it becomes, like you know, second nature. I am at the point now where I can pitch all sorts of things. I am not perturbed if I don't get a response. I am a bit Teflon and just kind of keep going. And also it's just so interesting how success begets success. So as soon as you book you know one workshop or one you know interview opportunity, then you use that as a stepping stone to build another one.
Speaker 1:Don't forget to visit my website. Look at the episode show notes and the handouts that I've got to help you. So I've got my query letter, I've got how to do the one page synopsis and I've got some general advice about pitching. I would love to hear from any listeners about your pitching experiences or questions. So go to my website, amrapalichcom slash podcast. So a, m, r, a, p, a, j, a, l, I c dot com slash podcast. That's where you can find all the show notes and the transcripts and you can also connect with me and leave comments. So in my next episode I'm going to talk about teachers who write, how to be a teacher who writes and benefits from it, and, again, an area of expertise that I have. I hope you've enjoyed this episode and found it helpful, so get out there, pitch and you will see success. Thank you for tuning in to Amra's Armchair Anecdotes. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe and follow for more insights, stories and inspiration From my armchair to yours. Remember every story begins with a single word.