Question about three-line pitches

[Adriana Ryan]

Hi there,

I'm new here, and couldn't find the answer to my question anywhere, so please excuse me if this has been asked a zillion times before. :) For the three-line pitches, do we have to have the whole manuscript ready to go? Or is it a pitch for an idea for a book you have? Or do you have to have a certain portion completed?

As you can see, I'm totally lost, so any help would be very appreciated! :)

AR

[Vicki. Lee.]

I think its good to have something polished/completed to send if you're successful - these pitches show up regularly from different agents/ publishers. Check what they're looking for at the moment and if you have a story that seems a good fit - go for it. Not much point in pitching something which may not be ready for another year- they might no longer be looking for the same thing by then...
Hope that helps

[changeling]

AR,

It will say right there on the pitch page: Don't submit a pitch unless your manuscript is ready for submission.

The agent or editor is going to pick whose work they want to see in like a week or two, and then they want you to send them the full manuscript right away (meaning soon, not the v. next day, but soon meaning in the next few days or couple of weeks maybe).

I totally understand the desire to want to make use of every opportunity to seek representation(!), but think about whether you're going to make a better impression on an agent by having a fully written, fully polished manuscript, or rushing them with a concept that hasn't been fully executed yet? Remember, they don't know you. You have to prove to them you can write by actually writing a full story that's really good/very catchy.

There are no hundred percent rules, of course, but this is the industry standard.

Write on!