Workshops

Pitch Perfect - Getting to the Heart of your Romance Novel or Women’s Fiction Story

Who should take this class?

Anyone working on--or even thinking of writing--romance or women’s fiction (this is also
a great method to plan a NEW story!)

You might be the most talented writer on the planet, but if you can’t describe your story
in an exciting but succinct way, you’re in trouble.

Everyone needs to learn how to pitch. Okay, maybe everyone except those few heavy
hitters who have the luxury of only having to share a vague idea about a story with their
editors because their stuff always sells well (we hate them, but let’s move on...).

So, the rest of us need to be able to present our story ideas within query letters,
synopses, and during frightening agent and editor appointments at writing conferences!

Can you use a sentence to describe your story?
Can you capture the essence of your tale in 25 words or less?
When your listener wants to know more about your story, do you know what to
say and, more importantly, what not to say?
Do you know the biggest benefit of having an agent or editor appointment at a
national or regional writing conference?

The main goal of this class is to help you understand the different types (and lengths) of
pitches you need to prepare, and for you to learn several ways and styles of organizing
your pitches (that you can utilize in query letters as well as agent/editor appointments).

Each session of this course will have a “lecture” plus assignment(s).

Course syllabus:

Lesson 1: Prepare To Pitch
Objective: Understand the 2 different length pitches you’ll need to prepare for every
manuscript; the 4 elements to every query letter and agent/editor appointment; tips to
surviving an agent/editor appointment. Intro to describing your characters.

Lesson 2: Who Are These People Anyway?
Objective: Dissecting your hero and heroine; understanding goals, motivations and
external conflicts; understanding hero/heroine archetypes; learn how to describe
characters in specific ways

Lesson 3: Internal Conflict: the Emotional Element
Objective: How to isolate the internal conflict in your story and how to describe it within
a pitch or query letter

Lesson 4: The Happy (or satisfying) Ending
Objective: Understanding the resolution and how to describe it to tug at the listener’s
heartstrings. Combine the homework assignments to create your perfect pitch
(designed for a query letter and/or agent/editor appointment). Additional ways of putting
together a pitch; wrap-up.

Janet Wellington

Janet Wellington is an award-winning author, writing teacher, line-editor, and
writing coach.

Janet started learning the art of pitching stories in 1995 when she attended
her first Romance Writers of America national conference, and hasn’t stopped
since! She has presented workshops on the art of pitching both regionally
and nationally, and teaches privately as well as online.

In addition to her own writing, Janet also enjoys assisting other writers in
critiquing and line-editing their unpublished manuscripts, and she also does
some one-on-one coaching of other writers. More information about Janet’s
writing and interests can be found at her website: www.janetwellington.com.

To Enroll

1. Email

Send email to RWASD training coordinator, Pamela Moran, including the following information:

• Your name:
• Class title: Pitch Perfect
• Yahoo Username or Profile:
  - The Yahoo name you will use to interact with the class
• Where you heard about the workshop

Without this information, your enrollment in the class could be delayed.

2. Payment

The class fee is $45.
RWA San Diego members enjoy a discounted rate of $40.
(Join our chapter.)

By check:

Make your check payable to "RWASD" and write on it the class title and your email address. Send to:

RWA San Diego
Attn: Online Training
P.O. Box 711677
Santee,  CA  92072-1677

By PayPal:

Regular (Non-Member) $45 fee:

RWA San Diego Member $40 fee:

3. Learn

Before the class begins, the RWA San Diego training coordinator will email instructions for accessing the class to you. Enjoy your class!