Comments on: Do’s and Don’ts for Pitchers http://www.dystel.com/blog/2013/05/dos-and-donts-for-pitchers/ Mon, 26 Jun 2017 15:15:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.15 By: Lee Westmore http://www.dystel.com/blog/2013/05/dos-and-donts-for-pitchers/comment-page-1/#comment-36014 Sun, 05 May 2013 05:29:17 +0000 http://www.dystel.com/?p=8755#comment-36014 Zounds. That means…that means…I actually would have to read contemporary fiction!?!?!
All this time I’ve been hoping I could just present my work as “This Century’s Answer to Jane Austen” and that would be that.

]]> By: J Scott Savage http://www.dystel.com/blog/2013/05/dos-and-donts-for-pitchers/comment-page-1/#comment-36010 Sun, 05 May 2013 02:02:16 +0000 http://www.dystel.com/?p=8755#comment-36010 I teach at lots of writers conferences and inevitably people tell me about their books. I’m not approaching it necessarily the way an agent or editor might, but comparing your books to other books gives me a way to quickly understand the genre, target audience, etc. I know it’s scary to compare your WIP to a big name book, but isn’t that what you’re aiming for? And the comparison is only helpful if we both know the book.

The only time it ever seems pretentious is if it’s such a wide comparison that it doesn’t really help–Harry Potter meets Star Wars–or they say something along the lines of, “It’s like Lord of the Flies,” only better.

When it’s the most helpful to me is when the author really understands what makes a book work and can pick out the parts that are similar to their work. So maybe something like, “It’s a legal thriller with a Grisham type small town setting, but with a Harlen Coben twist that takes the reader somewhere they didn’t expect.”

]]> By: jeffo http://www.dystel.com/blog/2013/05/dos-and-donts-for-pitchers/comment-page-1/#comment-36003 Fri, 03 May 2013 23:11:21 +0000 http://www.dystel.com/?p=8755#comment-36003 I hate hate hate the comparables. It makes me feel pretentious.

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