Reviews from Pitchfest 2013 Part II

Well, as Mr. Kosberg said in his remarks at Pitchfest 2013, “Not everyone’s first pitch will be successful.”  Unfortunately for me, this statement became reality.  Let me give you a brief rundown: out of 10 response cards, I received 3 Very’s for Originality; 4 Somewhat’s for Marketability; and 8 Needs Improvement as far as Effectiveness of Pitch.

As far as Best Medium for Adaptation: 3 for Studio Feature Film;1 for Independent Feature Film;1 for Television Series; 1 for Television MOW; and 1 for Theater.  There were also 3 who chose not to answer that part of the Response Card.  Six of the respondents were nice enough to give me some notes in the Feedback section.  The one response that all of them agreed on was: Not what our company is looking for at this time.

Now, with all of these factors taken into consideration, I would like to give my personal Responses.  Based on the fact that the majority of Responders said that I need improvement on the effectiveness of my pitch, I admit that they are correct.  I am not one who is used to making pitches.  I do, however, think that the 3 very originalities should count for something.  I also think that the 3 choices for a Studio Feature Film would be best served by someone working with me in order to make such a feature possible.

Reviews from Pitchfest 2013

Well, it’s been 16 days since I did my pitch for The Corporate Whore of Babylon.  What did I expect to get out of this?  Mostly a chance to bolster my confidence, but also a chance to see my book be either made into a movie or even a made-for-television film.

Well, allow me to give a brief presentation of what I received.  There were 8 tables at which I had to give my pitch within 2 minutes.  When I received a total of ten (?!) reviews, I was a bit surprised.  However, within my heart of hearts, what I received was not too surprising (we were even told that our first attempt might not get any results).  So it was with great reluctance, and a bit of fear, that I downloaded my reviews.  The first one was fairly encouraging in that I scored high in the category of Originality.  I was very happy to see that, but I was surprised that the reviewer did not list what Category of Media my book would be good for.  Unfortunately, this first review was the best that I could hope for.  There was one that suggested it as a movie, and another as a series, however, the most consistent comment that I received was: Not what our company is looking for at this time.

With all of this said, do I really think that the whole experience was worthwhile?  I suppose that I could lie and say that it was an exciting adventure and that I am eternally grateful for the opportunity, or I could be bitter and say that it was a waste of time and money

Pitchfest 2013

On July 12, I made my way through the heat and humidity to the Century Plaza Hotel in order to check in for Pitchfest 2013.  Around 4:00 PM I went down to register which only took a few minutes.  At 6:00, the introduction and Cocktail Reception began.  Keith from AuthorSolutions made a brief speech and then Robert Kosberg,i.e. “The King of the Pitch” began his speech.  It was informative, but since he would be the main speaker the next morning, I half-listened and politely applauded when he finished.  The rest of the evening I spent speaking to other authors and handing out my business cards.

Among the many people that I met were Rev. L D Giles and her husband, Carol Welty Roper, Glenn Parris, and Carl Gregory Williams.  Later, after the sun had set, I got together with some other authors and we pitched our stories to each other.  The most outgoing of the group was Kate (sorry,but I didn’t get her last name), who with some liquid backup, encouraged some of the more shy members of the group (me included) to give their presentations.  All in all, this was what I would consider the best part of the “convention”.

The next morning, after breakfast, we listened to Mr. Kosberg’s lecture which was sprinkled with some funny stories.  Then, after a short break, it was Practice Pitching Time!  This was the most nerve-wracking because, after listening to suggestions to the authors who pitched before me, I was scratching out and editing what I had brought which I thought would go over well.  Despite there being about 20 people going before me, I was still nervous and was not quite successful in  presenting in under 2 minutes.

After lunch, I had my taped interview.  This wasn’t as bad as the pre-pitch and posing for some of the pictures was hilarious.  Then, at 3:50 PM, it was GO time!  I went to table #4(my lucky number) and spoke as quickly and, hopefully, as intelligently as I could.  It wasn’t until the final table that I managed to get my pitch done under the 2 minute limit.  For the most part, the people we pitched to were nice and made me feel relaxed.  One person, however, threw me off by asking questions during my pitch.  After I finished all seven tables, I was so relieved.  Now, with fingers crossed, we’ll see what happens.  At 5:30, we had a brief summation, a raffle, and farewell!  I went up to the Bellhop Station, got my bag, and hoofed it to the nearest bus stop.  As to the question “Would I go to another Pitchfest?”, I say (and I did), “it depends on how well this helps my book to get sold”.