The Fear of Pitching

So I did my first two pitches at Moonlight and Magnolia’s this past weekend.  For those of you who don’t know what that is, when you go to a writing conference you can sign up for an appointment with a literary agent or an editor. Then you proceed to tell them about the story you have written in order to either get them to represent you or buy you manuscript.

For some perspective on this, six months ago I didn’t even know what a pitch was.  I wrote this little story I was going to self publish and just keep writing.  Huh.  Not so much.  So my editor, lovely lady that she is, is always pushing me to do more.  That’s how you know someone is good at what they do.  They push themselves and others to be more than they think they can be.  So she finished with the editing Breathe and told me she thought it was good.  I needed to query and go to a writing conference to get an agent.  I have to say overall I am a pretty obedient person.  I like to follow rules (Don’t read my post on driving) and do what I’m told.

I found GRW’s Moonlight and Magnolia’s writing conference and decided it was the one.  I signed up for pitching appointments, even though I had no idea what I was doing and I signed up for the pitching workshop. It was a month away so I went on with my life and forgot about it.

Then, about a week before the conference, I got two emails that started me sweating.  The first one was who I was pitching to and the second one was who I was going to be working with in the pitching workshop.  What? Wait. I had no idea what to do or what to say.  I had to talk to people? About the book?  I felt like slamming my head on the desk. Repeatedly.

Needless to say by the time I got to the conference and EVERYBODY was talking about pitching and their appointments, panic had set in.  Praise the Lord my appointments were one right after the other on the first day.  Everything in his timing and I am telling you he knew what he was doing.

My pitch workshop was with a wonderful Christian author, Renee Ryan.  She is so upbeat and relaxed.  She gave me so much perspective on what a pitch really is.  This was quite obviously, step one in the Lord’s plan.  Even though I was still worried this definitely helped.

Then two hours before I had to pitch I went to a workshop about how to clear your mind.  Now anyone that knows me knows my brain runs about one thousand miles a minute and that isn’t a good thing. There are a lot of things going on up there at once and it is not always an easy place to be.  Relaxed and calm are not words my loved ones would use to describe me.  “Wound too tight” or “Needs to chillax” are commonly used.

This was no hocus pocus kind of workshop.  Kelly L. Stone just had some great ways to get your subconscious to clear and give you what you need.  Ways to relax and breathe.  Nice. I was so relaxed after her workshop that I went upstairs, went over my notes, prayed and was ready to go when the time came.  Again the Lord is in control.  Why do I worry?

I don’t know if it was a breeze exactly but I felt energized after. They both wanted to see the manuscript and I felt like I had leapt over a huge hurdle.  Looking back on it I actually had fun.

It's so cool to see how the Lord works in my life even if I don't realize it until after. I shouldn't let fear get a foothold. I'm pretty sure he was shaking his head at me the whole time. I'm not sure why he loves me so much but I am glad he does!

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