One of the many perks of attending the RMFW Colorado Gold Writers Conference this year is the opportunity to pitch your hard work in front of an agent. Of course, there are a million reasons why you won’t: “my work isn’t ready, it’s not good enough, I don’t know what to wear, I don’t know what to say, I’m too nervous.” Trust me, I get it. If you are on the fence about pitching this year, keep reading.
Though my RMFW volunteer title is Pitchmaster, I am not an internationally renowned expert at the pitch table. As such, the intention of this blog is not to give you advice on how to pitch. (There are plenty of excellent articles found on RMFW.org—just search ‘pitch.’) My intention is to present the top three reasons you should take advantage of this amazing opportunity. So here they are:
- It’s live feedback. There are no form letters here. The agent will say something about your work. Receipt of immediate feedback is a critical step for the success of any author.
- It’s great practice. Even if you feel as if your work isn’t quite ready, it will be by next year, right? So why not take the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the process? By next year’s conference, you will have stronger work and more confidence heading to the pitch table.
- You’ll meet top-notch agents. A lot of behind-the-scenes effort goes into bringing you fantastic agents from across the US to Denver. They are here because they believe the Colorado Gold Writers Conference attracts some of the best up-and-coming authors.
Now that you are convinced that pitching is for you, check out this link for all the details about our amazing agents committed to this year’s conference: Conference 2023 Literary Agents – Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (rmfw.org).
Also, bookmark this link to RMFW’s podcast, The Rocky Mountain Writer!, hosted by Mark Stevens. Mark is currently interviewing some of the attending agents, and the conversations should drop in the next few weeks. As you may expect, you’ll get a lot of insight into the industry, what is selling, and what each agent is seeking.
Finally, I will be parked at the Pitch Desk Friday, September 8th. Come talk to me if you have any questions about your pitch appointment and/or want to see if any appointments are still available. It is first come, first serve, and appointments tend to fill in fast.
See you soon!
Jon Christian-Rutigliano
2023 RMFW Pitchmaster
About the Author:
Jon Christian’s debut novel, Reclamation, was published in 2020 by Literary Wanderlust and described as a hopeful vision of the future, thrilling and thought-provoking in equal measure. When not writing you can find Jon at his ranch introducing his two rambunctious boys to Mother Nature. Jon publishes short fiction and blogs with regularity on Substack. You can check it out and subscribe for free here: Timberline | Jon Christian | Substack
