Category Archives: miscellaneous

Coffee Talk: Pitching Workshop

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I’ve been asked by my chapter to do a little talk on pitching next month. I said yes because apparently I have a weakness for teaching. I really do.

Am, I a pitching expert? No way! But I’m a very good student and I’ve studied up. As a naturally shy person who had to force myself to be able to speak publicly, I know if I can suck it up and appear confident, then anyone can.

I’ve pitched a handful of times and I’ve been reading up on pitching all over the agent/editor blogosphere to prepare. Plus, I’ve had the privilege of attending “Itching to Pitch” by fellow romance author D’Anne Avner twice. I think she does a great job of focusing on all the aspects of a pitch — not just what you say but how you present yourself.

I’m thinking the crux of my coffee talk is going to be this: According to Michael Hague, the biggest mistake authors make when trying to pitch is to try to tell their whole story.

Don’t think of it as a pitch. Think of it as a job interview with your story as your calling card. And — if it empowers you at all, consider that you can be the interviewer as much as the interviewee. 🙂

More later!

Wedding fever

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First: They say it’s difficult to sell a mainstream novel set in Asia, but here’s Silver Phoenix! Release party and contest for Cindy Pon’s debut book over at her blog.

4098001_blogBack to weddings: I’ve barely unpacked and thrown my clothes into the washer and already I have to get ready for another trip. My cousin Kimmy is getting married this weekend in San Diego and I’ll take any excuse to go to California — oh, and we’re a close family and all that too, of course! 🙂

This is definitely the year of the wedding for me. I’ve heard this is pretty common for couples to fall into it like dominos one after another. In my case, it seemed like my wedding was the kicker. Shortly after we got engaged, a whole bunch of other people, friends and family, also announced engagements. I suppose once the wedding buzz starts, all the gals started gushing and all the guys started getting nervous, and so on and so forth in a chain reaction.

This year three of my friends are getting married (or are already married now). Two of these were couples in epic relationships that finally took the next step. I was sad to have to miss their weddings since I had moved out of state. Two of my family members – cousin Kimmy and Little Sis are also tying the knot. Happy, hectic times!

It’s good to see that happy news can be contagious too.