Monday, July 15, 2013

Del Rey Books and Hydra story pitch sessions at SDCC 2013

Why didn't anybody tell me about this? Seriously.

I've been so busy with my head down getting ready for my Creator Connections pitch that I completely missed this.

However, have no fear. I have roughly 36 hours to prepare my story pitch. I took a first stab at my Shaman/Overnight Tow Operator story for the Creator Connections, so I at least have a base to work from. I think I'll work at it using the same setup, obviously replacing the comic book artist stuff and trying to fill in more novel details.

For anyone else who might be interested in these pitch sessions, see here:

Here's the base information:

Del Rey Books and Hydra, the science fiction and fantasy imprints of the Random House Publishing Group, will be scheduling a limited number of original story pitch sessions and art portfolio reviews at Comic-Con International 2013 at the San Diego Convention Center.  Session time slots will be available Thursday, July 18 through Sunday, July 21 at the Random House booth #1514.

 To sign up for this rare opportunity, candidates must come to the Random House booth #1514 between 9:00-11:00am on the day of their desired session.  Advance sign-ups for the following day will not be allowed.  For example, if a candidate wants to sign up for a Saturday session, that candidate must come to the Random House booth on Saturday (and Saturday only) between 9:00-11:00am to secure a time slot.

 Please also note:
- Session time slots will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis
- Candidates will not be allowed to sign up (or line up) before 9:00am
- Candidates must have a Comic-Con badge in order to enter the convention center
- Badges will not be provided by the publisher
- Story pitches and portfolio reviews will be limited to 5-minute sessions
- All sessions will be timed
- Please keep your pitch short and to-the-point
- All story pitches should contain elements of science fiction or fantasy
- Candidates who arrive late to their scheduled session will not be allowed extra time
- Candidates who miss their scheduled session will not be allowed to sign up for a future session

Okay, enough talking. Back to preparing my pitch!

My SDCC Creator Connections pitch is done!

While I missed out on this event in 2011, I signed up as soon as it was announced and was accepted.

After working on it for about two weeks, the one-page pitch is done and down to just under 350 words. Neat, tight, and succinct, with lots of room and hooks for discussion.

It was a lot harder than I had expected. What did help was breaking down the one-page pitch into sections: logline, setup, marketing breakdown, what I'm looking for in an artist, and who I am.

The hardest part of the actual pitch session will be to let the artist talk and ask questions. I tend to prattle on, especially if I'm nervous. I'll have to put a couple of mental time bombs that will go off after two minutes of me talking!