Name-dropping and FOMO
What we can learn from novel querying about funder pitches and end-of-year appeals
Hello! It’s been a minute (or a couple months…) since I last posted, so thanks for sticking with me. I’ve been dedicating all my writing energy toward finishing my novel. Well, I finished it, signed with a literary agent, and am now refocusing on the Little Tiger Substack!
While I was shopping my novel around to agents, I realized that the agent querying process held remarkable similarities to—and applicable lessons for—the way in which mission-driven orgs pitch to funders and donors. I also realized that a well-crafted query letter holds fantastic insights for a well-crafted end-of-year appeal. And since ‘tis the season…
For background, here’s the TL;DR of the literary agent querying process. To get your novel published the traditional route (versus self-publishing, for example), you need an agent to represent your manuscript, since they’re the gatekeepers to major publishers. You do this by sending agents a query letter about your book. If they’re intrigued by your letter, they’ll ask to read your manuscript and then decide from there. Signing with a literary agent to represent your book is like getting a program officer at a foundation or an investor at a social venture fund to champion your org. The metaphor isn’t perfect, but you get the gist.
Anyway, here are the big takeaways.
Don’t summarize your story. Narrate the stakes. The point of a query letter is to get an agent intrigued enough to invest the time and effort to read your entire manuscript. A summary of the novel’s themes, followed by a play-by-play of the main characters and plot lines will not do that. They might think, “Sounds like a cool story,” and then forget all about your book because they already know everything that happens. In contrast, a narration of the stakes (why does this book matter? or what is the tension point? what happens?) teases them into wanting to learn more.
Similarly, the point of a pitch is to either get money on the spot, or more likely, get a funder intrigued enough to invest the time and effort to learn more about your organization so that eventually they’ll give you money. But mission-driven pitches often look like this: a summary of their mission (e.g. supporting teacher leaders or organizing youth climate activists) followed by a play-by-play of their partners and programs. A funder might think, “Sounds like great work,” and then forget all about your org, because there’s neither a sense of urgency nor a cliffhanger to hook them into having a subsequent conversation. Or, they tune you out because they’ve already heard a ton of other pitches like yours, because let’s face it, at least a dozen organizations share the same mission, almost verbatim. A pitch should focus on the stakes and the unknowns—what will happen if we don’t do this work now? why is your org, specifically, critical to the solution?
It’s not just about you. It’s about your audience, too. Spell out the fit. Literary agents get thousands of queries each year and often sign as few as three new writers. That means writers need to query several agents to up their odds. And even though agents know that every writer is querying multiple other agents, they still want to feel like a thoughtful and targeted choice. That means each query letter should include a few lines spelling out why a writer is approaching that each specific agent, e.g. “I was so excited that you represent Yaa Gyasi, since my book is also an intercontinental family saga,” or, “Based on your interview in Publishers Weekly, I know that you champion women authors who debut after being moms.” In other words, the query letter shouldn’t just be about your book, it should be about why a specific agent is the right one to represent your book.
Now, we all know that in the social sector, our fundraising strategy is often to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. This is a debatable strategy, based on how stretched thin you are in terms of staff capacity and how desperate you are for money. But it’s a definite reality! But it’s amazing how often orgs recycle the same pitch for different funders. But funders, like literary agents, get hundreds or thousands of pitches each year, and although they know that your organization is also pitching other funders, they want to feel like you approached them for a specific reason, e.g. “We were excited that you’ve been at the forefront of educational reform from the beginning…” or “I read your op-ed in The Chronicle of Philanthropy about collective activism and knew we were on the same page… “ In other words, the pitch shouldn’t just be about you; it should also be about why the funder you’re approaching is a great match for your work.
Name-drop. Sure, name-dropping might feel oily. But it’s also super effective. A best practice in query letter writing is to let agents know if a famous or respected writer has vouched for you in some way, e.g. “Jasmine Guillory said my manuscript was the funniest thing she’s read in years,” or “I started this novel during a workshop with Cheryl Strayed.” An agent might think, “Wait, I don’t want to be left out of a book Jasmine Guillory thought was great!”
Mission-driven orgs would benefit from more name-dropping in their pitches. I say this with some reservation, understanding that there’s all sorts of equity implications in terms of social networking. Your org founder was on a panel recently with Dr. Bettina Love? Slip it into your pitch! R.L. Stein volunteers as a tutor at your organization? Slip it into your pitch! Greta Thunberg is on your youth advisory board? Slip it into your pitch! Beyond bolstering your org credibility, name-dropping can also cast a halo of famous-by-association.
FOMO is a real motivator. The first thing I did after receiving an offer of representation by an agent was to let a few other agents know about the offer and then give them a week to put their hat in the ring. Turns out, middle school social dynamics still hold true for adults—agents, funders… all of us. People really care about missing out.
Mission-driven orgs should let prospective funders know about all the other folks who have already invested in their work. It’s unlikely that any prospective funder will think, “Well, looks like you’re already taken care of! Good for you!” They’re more likely to think, “If Gates is funding this org, that probably means it’s a good bet for making a real impact!”
April! Congratulations on signing with an agent! That didn't take long at all! Not surprised, since your story is amazing. I'm so thrilled for you. :)