Pitches at Bookends

Jessica Faust at Bookends did the next six pitch critiques today. Again, I found her critiques very helpful and easy to understand. Most of the critiques in this round had the same problem: they weren't focused on the right part of the story.

To quote a few things she said (which are better understood in context, so go read her post):

We need to get to the conflict in the plot.

Is the book really about the fact that they make plans to meet each other each year? Or is it about what happens each year?

Also, she explained why stating the theme of the story rather than specific things that occur in the story doesn't work:

This is exactly what I mean when I warn against describing your book by using themes. Few readers care what the theme of a book is. We don’t buy a book based on themes. We buy because we’re looking for a riveting plot and engaging characters.

Again, thanks for doing these critiques, Jessica!