Go Agent Shopping with Guest Blogger Candi Wall

Welcome author Candi Wall to the Book Boost!


She's here to tell you all about the wonderful Agent Shop program she hosts over a Muse Tracks.


Here's what she had to say...



Thanks for having me Kerri!


‘Agent Shop’ at MuseTracks


What’s ‘Agent Shop’ you ask?

How many of us wish we could pitch to an agent? That is, without the frills? No parties, no travel, no conference costs, no hectic schedules? Don’t get me wrong, the conferences, promos, signings and parties have their place and time, but what about in between?

Here’s what we’re going to do.

This isn’t a contest… there aren’t any winners… just a chance to put your pitch in front of agent(s) who are interested in shopping a bit. They’ll read them and request more - IF – your pitch grabs their attention. What they request is up to them. We do not guarantee anything.


From time to time, we will hold contests. These could include anything from promotional contests for the MuseTracks writers to just for fun. Placement contests will happen from time to time as well.

It’s that simple – well maybe. I’m sure you’re wondering…

‘What’s the catch’?

Agent Shop will only be ‘open’ one day, per month, and I’m only taking the first thirty pitches that I receive. But don’t worry, if you don’t get in the top thirty this time, you can try again the next month. Hopefully, enough great pitches come in to keep these agents coming back for more.


After the pitches go up, the agent(s) have one week to read and decide. They will then contact me and I will forward on information to the author(s) who received requests. I will also be posting results after the week is up. Just the total number of requests made – no specifics or names.

Here are the rules:

Pitches accepted in: Romance – All genres, subgenres, elements, Women’s fiction and YA. (At this time we are not offering any other areas of writing, but you can always check back. If more agents become interested – we might expand.)

Agent(s) attending will be posted approx one week before the start day.

I’ll post the word “GO”on the HOME PAGE of the blog the day you can send your pitches in. Do not send until you see the word “GO” – if you do, I’ll delete your e-mail – no questions. I’ll put up the date and time as well shortly before starting, just as a reminder. The first date will be May 30th, 2009 at 10:00am EST.

Once the word “GO” is up, you are welcome to send your pitch to Candi_Agent_Shop@yahoo.com (Please note that is Candi_Agent_Shop. Don’t forget the underscores or you won’t get through.)

I’ll post the word “STOP” when I’ve received thirty pitches. Any e-mails after that will be deleted without being read. (If I do not post STOP for any reason – computer issues, family issues, because I’m having a numb moment, the session will still close the following morning. This is when I sit down for the day and do the weeding.)

If your pitch is one of the first thirty to reach my inbox, you’ll see it posted the next day, on the main page of the Musetracks blog, for the shopping agent(s) to peruse.

(1) Only one pitch per e-mail. (You can pitch as many times as you’d like but each one MUST be in its own e-mail.)

(2) Please put “Pitch – Agent Shop” in the subject line of your e-mail. (If you need information or have questions, please put INFO in your subject line.)

(3) YOU MUST INCLUDE - Your name, contact e-mail, genre/subgenre, title and word count (of your ms) in your e-mail BEFORE the pitch. ALL INFO SHOULD BE PASTED INTO THE E-MAIL. NO ATTACHMENTS WILL BE OPENED. Only the pitch, genre, title and word count will be posted on the blog, but I need a way to contact you if an agent chooses your pitch. If you do not include all of the requested information – you guessed it, delete. I love my delete button, so don’t give me a reason to use it more than I already do.

LIKE THIS:

TITLE

GENRE

WORDCOUNT

PITCH

Placing your info anywhere in your pitch does not mean you’ve given me th einformation. I don’t have time to read through and figure out your info! Auto delete if I do!

(4) The pitch must be 200 words or less. No exceptions. Word count WILL be verified before your pitch is accepted.

I won’t contact people if they do not adhere to these rules, so check, check, and double check before you hit send. Can you here my ruler striking the desk? But seriously, this is a great opprotunity to get in front of an agent, so most important of all – polish that pitch until it shines!


So there it is. Get those pitches sharpened and ready to go on the Agent Shop shelves.

I’d love to contact you and tell you your pitch is in a basket and on its way to the check-out.

You can visit the information page at:

http://musetracks.wordpress.com/agent-shop/


Hope to see you there!


--Candi


A Note from the Book Boost: As a prior participant in Agent Shop, I can tell you that it has been a fun experience for me. I've even received multiple requests in the past! You can do it too! Thanks for the information, Candi. Hope you'll come back and chat with us about your writing soon.

Want More Candi?

Follow her on Twitter here:
http://twitter.com/candiwall

Visit the Musetracks Blog today here:
http://musetracks.wordpress.com/