Making the perfect pitch : how to catch a literary agent's eye / edited by Katharine Sands.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 276-279) and index.

Introduction / Katharine Sands -- Chapter 1. A morning in the life of a literary agent / James C. Vines -- Chapter 2. Five questions to ask before sending your query letter / Kristen Auclair -- Chapter 3. Notes to the new writer / Anna Ghosh -- Chapter 4. I am willing to be seduced, amazed, charmed, or moved / Sarah Jane Freymann -- Chapter 5. Practicing pitchcraft / Katharine Sands -- Chapter 6. Setting, protagonist, problem : an interview with Donald Maass / Katharine Sands -- Chapter 7. Talent always jumps off the page / Ethan Ellenbert -- Chapter 8. The providential diamond / Joseph Regal -- Chapter 9. Getting ahead of the curve : an interview with Robert Gottlieb / Katharine Sands -- Chapter 10. Niche your pitch : from first proposal to profitable career / Michael Larsen -- Chapter 11. It's the quirks that make it interesting : an interview with Barbara Lowenstein / Katharine Sands -- Chapter 12. Making your book into a movie / Laurie Horowitz -- Chapter 13. Pitches that worked / Rita Rosenkranz -- Chapter 14. In the singles bar of the literary persuasion / Esmond Harmsworth -- Chapter 15. The secret is reduction / Andrew Stuart -- Chapter 16. The serendipity of slush : an interview of Jane Dystel / Katharine Sands -- Chapter 17. I want to hear a diva do opera : an interview with Sheree Bykofsky / Katharine Sands -- Chapter 18. I love to tell a publisher: "Have I got a virgin for you!" : an interview with Harvey Klinger / Katharine Sands -- Chapter 19. 15 minutes to fame : pitching at a conference / Jason Cangialosi and Andrew Welchel -- Chapter 20. A nation of many tribes : an interview with Jim Fitzgerald / Katharine Sands -- Chapter 21. How much is a black dress? : an interview with Meredith Bernstein / Katharine Sands -- Chapter 22. Adventures in copywriting / Debbie Babitt -- Chapter 23. Don't be buffeted by whims : interview with David Vigliano / Katharine Sands -- Chapter 24. Booking in L.A. / Erin Reel -- Chapter 25. The art of the poetry pitch / Amy Holman -- Chapter 26. Pitching your children's book / Andrea Brown -- Chapter 27. Confessions of an acquisitions editor / Phoebe Collins -- Chapter 28. Crafting the nonfiction proposal / Elizabeth Zack -- Chapter 29. The nearly perfect proposal / Robert Shepard -- Chapter 31. The telling detail : an interview with John Ware / Katharine Sands -- Chapter 31. It has to be cutting-edge work / Peter Rubie -- Chapter 32. How I learned to sell sex, death, & rock 'n' roll / Lori Perkins -- Chapter 33. Pitchcraft, the Zen of, and the secrets of the galaxy / Patrick Lobrutto -- Chapter 34. The perfect pitch : low and inside / Andrew Zack -- Chapter 35. Intelligence and imagination : an interview with Ellen Levine / Katharine Sands -- Chapter 36. Publishing as a circus / Elizabeth Pomada -- Chapter 37. This pen for hire : pitching collaborative projects / Tonianne Robino -- Chapter 38. Pitch perfect : in three or four easy steps / Jandy Nelson -- Chapter 39. Pitch and catch : building a relationship / Jeff Herman -- Chapter 40. Selected resources : how to find and contact an agent / Katharine Sands.

With advice from top agents and indestry experts, this book helps an author to sell his work by providing sample query letters, pitching techniques, etc.