I just joined BlueSky. I was hesitant to start another social media platform that I can't manage on a regular basis. I didn't leave Twitter/X although I am hardly there too. For me Facebook is easiest as it is connected to my private accounts, and I can manage it well. It also is where I do a lot of my quick readings as I follow a lot of Facebook pages. But with 16,000 followers on my FB author page, I also understand the need to honor them.
The other night, I ran into a book pitch campaign on BlueSky (apparently on X too), and I decided to take a bite. I have had many pitches for #BataanNewJersey and I am still not quite sure which one grabs attention. The one of this website is what I have sent in my literary agent queries. And it has gone through many iterations. On #P2PPIT event, we were allowed to post three pitches during the 12-hour event online. And so quickly, without giving it much thought, I put together pitches at different times of the day. I wanted the pitches to be visceral, not overplanned. Straight from the gut. Like I would my Facebook posts. For each of them, I attached an image that I had used before, with the original pitch on the post.
The BlueSky word limit is definitely constraining (but hey, I wrote a book of Sonnets).
First was this.
Fall of Bataan: the biggest military surrender in American history. So many books written. None from Filipino POV. A survivor’s son pens an epic 100-yr literary novel about 4 generations of a Queer family reshaping the aftermath of wars inflicted on Philippine soil. BATAAN NEW JERSEY. #P2Ppit #UW #PW
Second, I thought, why not try to pitch in NUMBERS. The novel is 700 pages, already epic in scope and depth, but what makes the pages running are the numbers in the story. The first few pages of the novel includes a timeline and DATES! So here goes:
100 years 1921-2021
4 generations of a #QUEER Filipino family
3 successive wars inflicted by Spain U.S Japan
65 miles of #BataanDeathMarch
4 languages
4 countries
in
1 epic literary novel inspired by a survivor of Bataan Death March (my father)
And last, I thought about going personal, but really personal. My original pitch to Literary Agents begins with me being a son of a Death March survivor, and then it goes off to comps and a short description. But how about I bring my mother in. She after all inspired all the women in the book.
Inspiration. My father survived the #BataanDeath March. My mother was born during #WWII. Their stories made me curious about what happened before, during, and after. The result was #BataanNewJersey. 100 years. 4 countries. 4 languages. 1 Epic novel. 4 generations of strong Filipino women. #QUEER
Watching other writer's pitches, I learned about Mood Boards and Guides for Literary Agents, all visual. A relatively younger group. Fun to actually watch them. I am a GenX and a world a part from many of them. Here they are with a new strategy in getting Literary Agents to notice the novel. And Mood Boards? I put Canva to work. I posted the following on social media and it actually got a response. My first attempt at Mood Boarding. A story in pictures. Some elements of the novel are there. The women all look alike for a reason. Love these young writers!
The landscape of finding an agent has changed since the last time I was represented by Harold Ober. But that was now 26 years ago. I have always been tech savvy, and I did win a pitch event at Harvard, not to mention I taught "How to Pitch" workshops in a leadership organization. People can only read or hear so much of a pitch, so even the few words (not too esoteric and gimmicky) may or may not land quickly. Keep it simple. Even if a literary agent doesn't say a Yay now, the goal is to be remembered--or brought up in a future conversation. In a query letter, the pitch has to blend in naturally but without compromising one's writing style. Personal style still needs to jump at the reader. This is writing after all.
And so yes, the voyage continues. It's 2025, and I am #querying.
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