Julia Buonincontro

Untitled by Julia Buonincontro

Have you ever been mistreated? Neglected? Maybe run over by a car? Forks are used in most households during almost every meal, but how often do they get credit? They maintain the health, dignity, and cleanliness of each person they serve, and we often take them for granted! Has anyone ever asked them how they feel about this? What must they think of us? Utensils have feelings too, and they deserve to be respected!

 

The Book Doctors: I love the idea that utensils have feelings and deserve to be respected. I never thought about it like that. It’s great when a pitch can make you see the world in a new way. It’s part of why we love books and storytelling and words. It feels like these could be a whole series of books and characters: The knife that’s not too sharp. The pickle fork that doesn’t think he’s manly enough. And I really like how the pitch starts with normal questions you might ask anyone who’s disgruntled. And the list of grievances escalates until we’re getting being run over by a car. It was very intriguing; it really hooked me in. I had to read it twice to make sure it said “forks.” This feels like it could be a Pixar movie. That being said, it needs to have more here to make it into a pitch for a book. I have no idea what this book is to be honest. It’s just a very cool idea. But is it a picture book? Is it an absurdist novel? Is it a Samuel Beckett play? A Kafka story? The pitch needs to let us know exactly what we’re getting ourselves into, what you’re going to do with this fantastic concept that you showed us. If you’re actually trying to get an agent or publisher, they need to know what kind of book it is, what kind of reader it’s going to attract. And that’s really not clear from this pitch. Again, remember to include your title when submitting a pitch.