Lee Wilson: Another Pitchapalooza Success Story

We met Lee Wilson the great bookstore in Manhattan beach called pages.   As shown as she pitched, we knew she had something special.  And we knew she was something special.  We were right.  Through lots of hard work, diligence, and with a little help from her friends, she has gone from being a talented amateur to having a professional publishing contract for her memoir.  Congratulations Lee, we are so excited for you.  Here is her story, in her own words.

I attended Pitchapalooza and ended up with a book deal.

It all began when my writing coach from UCLA, Jennie Nash, told me that Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, authors of The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, were coming to {pages} bookstore in Manhattan Beach, California. “They are brilliant,” she said. “No matter how good your pitch is, they’ll make it better.”

At the event, I pitched my dance memoir, Fleeing the Fifties in Pink Satin Toe Shoes: a Memoir of Ballet and Broadway, and Arielle and David gave me notes on the pitch. Then they asked, “Do you have a proposal?”

“Yes,” I said. “I used the template in your book.”

“We’d like to see it,” they said. “Do you know Toni Bentley?”

“I know who she is,” I said. “She danced with the New York City Ballet and wrote Winter Season: a Dancer’s Journal and Holding onto the Air, but I don’t know her personally.”

“We do,” said David. “Let’s talk.”

Arielle, David, and I worked together to perfect my proposal, and then David sent it to Toni Bentley. As I was wondering if Toni liked the proposal, I received a call from Meredith Babb, the director of the University Press of Florida, a publisher with a focus on dance. “We like your proposal and would like to see the manuscript,” she said. Toni Bentley had sent her my proposal.

I held my breath while my manuscript was being read.

“Are you willing to do a re-write?” asked Meredith.

Of course I was willing to do a re-write.

After forty pages of the re-write, the University Press of Florida offered me a contract with a projected publication date of fall 2014. I cannot thank Arielle and David enough. They are generous, brilliant, and fun.