The Pros and Cons of Literary Speed Dating

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A couple of weeks ago I attended my first face-to-face pitching event: ASA literary speed dating, in Sydney. These events are generally held in Sydney and Melbourne every year, and are a rare opportunity for writers to pitch work directly to agents and publishers. This year the ASA also offered a similar opportunity for regional writers to pitch via phone or video conference in a virtual literary speed dating event.

For those who haven’t heard of literary speed dating, imagine a high school parent-teacher conference. With a lot of nervous parents. One agent and seven publishers were seated at desks around a large room, and eighty or so hopeful authors lined up for the chance to pitch their work. The time allowed for each pitch was three minutes, at which time a bell rang and you moved to the end of another queue. We had…