This coming Sunday I’ll be heading to a writer’s conference where I’ll be pitching my story ‘Jeffries’ for the first time, and I’m finding the pitch to be some of the most difficult writing I’ve had to do. Taking the most interesting elements of a fictional story and turning it into a persuasive piece designed to get someone’s attention sounds like it would be pretty simple. I imagine most readers like myself have tried to convince friends and family to read our favorite stories, written by other people that is. I even wrote a piece yesterday about how good I think ‘Blood Over Bright Haven’ is, and I write reviews pretty often, so you’d think I’d be an old hat summing up the most attractive qualities of a novel by now. It has helped a lot in terms of quality, but it sure doesn’t make it any easier. The thought of saying my pitch out loud makes me wanna go hide. I have it written at least, so maybe I can keep refining it over the weekend.

That’s why I decided to post it today and see if anybody has any suggestions before I head to the writers conference. Any comments would be appreciated! Anyway, here it is:

Dear [Name]:

In a grim near-future, both of Jeffry Morgan’s bodies meet every evening to synchronize their memories. Half of Jeffry’s forty-eight waking hours are those of a simple laborer, fulfilling his obligation to society as the law dictates. The other half he spends at his dream job in the most advanced biocomputing lab in the world, researching the technology that enables his split existence: the double-body program. 

He’s been moving up fast at Wetworks despite his young age, thanks in no small part to his boss and CTO, Tyrell Thompson. Tyrell promised him a leading role in the company, and a raise that may even be large enough to buy his way out of compulsory labor. It’s fantastic news to share, but upon arriving home, he realizes with a shock that he’s lost track of himself. One of his bodies is nowhere to be found.

Jeffry is forced to grapple with the morality of the double-body program after Tyrell pressures him to replace the missing body, even if the existing Jeffry Morgan may still be alive out there somewhere. Meanwhile, his other half attempts to deal with the ruthless abductors who have a mysterious purpose in mind for their stolen bioengineer. He can only hope that his other self will find him before it’s too late.

‘Jeffries’ (~35,000 words) is a hard sci-fi story set in a dystopian future about Jeffry Morgan’s abduction and his ensuing search for himself. The story appeals to readers of novella-length sci-fi in magazines like ‘The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy,’ or anthologies such as Ken Liu’s ‘The Hidden Girl and Other Stories,’ as well as anyone seeking an introspective tale about the nature of sentience and human rights.

I’ve been writing full-time for two years. I have published poetry in TulipTree Publishing’s ‘Stories that Need to be Told: 2023’ anthology titled ‘Mayflies’ and a short story in ‘The Book of Choices Vol. 1’ anthology from Wolf Grove Media titled ‘Death’s Dilemma.’ I also run a blog where I publish reviews, literary analysis, and personal articles.

Thank you for your consideration,

Benjamin Hawley