Become a member

Loading

Pitch Perfect

How to prepare yourself for the submission process

Do you want to nail your pitch to publishers and literary agents?

Our four-week Pitch Perfect course is designed to teach you how. You’ll discover how the submission process works, how to craft your pitch, and how to find the best publication outcome for your book.

We will cover all steps of the process, including:

  • Identifying the right home for your book
  • The role of publishers and the differences between multinationals, independents, and self-publishing
  • The role of literary agents
  • How to describe your manuscript succinctly
  • How to prepare your submission materials
  • The various submission opportunities and pathways to publication available

At the conclusion of each session, a detailed handout document will be provided to all registered participants.

We are delighted to announce that we will be hosting this popular course twice in 2025. Please take note of the key dates below so you can plan your writing year.

Pitch Perfect

31 January, 7 February, 14 February, & 21 February 2025

Virtual Literary Speed Dating

Wednesday 26 & Friday 28 March 2025

Pitch Perfect

29 August, 5 September, 12 September, & 19 September 2025

Virtual Literary Speed Dating

Wednesday 22 & Friday 24 October 2025

Who is this course for?

This course is tailored for authors of fiction and non-fiction, for adults or children. 

It is not suitable for authors, author-illustrators, or illustrators of children’s picture books. For picture book creators, we recommend our Pitch Perfect: Picture Books course.

Previous participants of this course have stood out to and been highly praised by the attending publishers and agents at our Virtual Literary Speed Dating events. We strongly encourage all members who intend to pitch at Literary Speed Dating attend this course prior to pitching their work. Plus, Pitch Perfect attendees gain priority booking access to Literary Speed Dating events for three years following their booking.

Can't make it to the live session?

No problem! Everyone booked in to this event will be emailed a link and passcode to access the recording afterwards. This recording will be available to view for 10 days after the live session. This also means that if you wish to revisit the session after attending it live to take further notes, you can do so!

After 10 days, the link will expire and the recording will no longer be available to view.

Course outline

Session 1

  • What kind of publisher suits your book?
  • An overview of the publishing landscape: independent, multinational, small publishers.

Session 2

  • Literary agents and what they do.
  • How to describe the book you've written – where does it belong, and why?
  • How to identify your genre, and why you need to know.
  • What else is in your market slot? Comparative titles and why they’re useful.

Session 3

  • Submitting your manuscript: putting together everything you’ve learnt to give yourself the best chance of success.
  • Dos and don’ts to improve your chances.

Session 4

  • How to prepare a successful three-minute pitch.
  • How to write your 300-word synopsis.
  • The ASA’s Virtual Literary Speed Dating event: How it works and what to expect.
  • Q&A session with the ASA.

 

Please note that the order of the sessions may change without notice.

About the presenters

Dr. Emily Booth is the Strategic Director at Text Publishing, where she has worked across a number of different roles during the past twenty years.

Lauren Anderson is the Services and Awards Coordinator at the ASA and has touched on nearly all of the ASA’s operations over the last ten years, including overseeing Literary Speed Dating.