Perfect Pitch: INFERTILE BLACK GIRL by L'Oreal Thompson Payton
Wow friends, it has been a long time since I’ve done one of these. The last one of these was for Leslie J. Anderson’s adult horror novel back in 2024!
A lot of the projects that I had come out last year were option books (second or third of fourth books with a publisher) that didn’t require a pitch, because they were current clients. And then I moved agencies. But I’m hoping to share pitches and proposals and more with you again, throughout 2026.
Starting off with L’Oreal Thompson Payton and her stunning memoir. Let’s talk about her query, which was one of the very first pitches to land in my inbox when Neighborhood Literary launched.
Hi Eric,
Congrats again on both the new book and starting your own agency! I just know that Neighborhood Literary is going to do so much good in the world. Your timing is also serendipitous as I’m currently seeking representation for my next book: INFERTILE BLACK GIRL: On Motherhood, Mental Health and The Journey to Hope & Healing, a memoir-in-essays that explores the emotional, physical, and systemic challenges of infertility, pregnancy, and postpartum through the lens of Black womanhood. Given your interest in memoir, essays, and wellness titles in the non-fiction space along with your own experience with infertility treatment (and the fact that we’re both Scorpios), I believe you would be an incredible advocate for this book and its message.
At its core, INFERTILE BLACK GIRL is about breaking the silence around reproductive and maternal mental health in Black communities. When I was diagnosed with blocked fallopian tubes at 32, I searched all over Beyoncé’s Internet for infertility stories that reflected my experience as a Black woman navigating a medical system that all too often dismisses us and our pain. I found very few. The presumption that infertility is a “white woman’s issue” persists, despite research showing that Black women are twice as likely as white women to experience infertility, yet far less likely to seek treatment or receive proper care. So, I decided to write the book I needed to see in the world, to paraphrase literary icon Toni Morrison.
Told with my signature candor, INFERTILE BLACK GIRL blends memoir, research, and cultural critique to document my journey from a grueling myomectomy that removed nearly 20 fibroids, to a devastating infertility diagnosis, to four failed IVF cycles before finally receiving a long-awaited positive pregnancy test—only to be met with perinatal depression, PTSD, and postpartum anxiety (plus a recent endometriosis diagnosis and we’ve started undergoing treatment for Baby Payton #2).
Woven throughout the book are deeply personal essays on medical gaslighting, the myth of the “strong Black woman,” and the often-invisible mental, emotional and spiritual toll of infertility. Through my story and those of other Black women, I illuminate the gaps in reproductive healthcare, challenge outdated narratives, and make space for a more honest conversation about what it truly means to build a family in this political era of America.
This book sits at the intersection of memoir and cultural commentary, making it a natural fit for readers of Weightless by Evette Dionne, The Mamas by Helena Andrews-Dyer, and Motherhood So White by Nefertiti Austin. My platform as an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and keynote speaker includes bylines in The Cut, Fortune, Essence, Romper, SELF, and Well + Good.
My debut book, STOP WAITING FOR PERFECT: Step Out of Your Comfort Zone & Into Your Power (BenBella Books, 2023), was a #1 new release in Amazon’s self-help category, and I’ve also been featured on CBS Mornings and NPR. With a dedicated audience of more than 20,000 followers across social media and a growing newsletter readership, I am well-positioned to engage readers eager for this conversation. In fact, many of them have already pledged to pre-order INFERTILE BLACK GIRL once it’s available!
I would love the opportunity to discuss how INFERTILE BLACK GIRL can find its perfect publishing home. Thank you so much for your time and consideration and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Best,
L’Oreal
This was a lightning fast request for me, for many reasons. And I couldn’t wait to share this pitch letter. Thank you L’Oreal for sharing, and please do subscribe to her newsletter or pre-order her book (when it’s available!) as a thank you.
A Personal Hook: A few months before L’Oreal sent this pitch my way, I’d published an essay in Men’s Health about how bros should talk to each other about going through fertility treatments. My wife and I were trying to have Baby #2 (happy to say that Zadie is now five months old), and I decided to be a bit vulnerable on the Internet. And my wife is a Black woman. So what L’Oreal was writing about was deeply personal to me and my family.
When you can add a personal flourish to a query letter, it’s an extra way to get an agent’s attention. She nods to the agency opening, a new book I sold, and the fact that we’re Scorpios, all of which is great and fun. But that specific deeply personal angle was what grabbed me the most.
That said! Only go deeply personal if the potential agent or editor is actually out there with that info. Don’t go lurking on Facebook or deep into someone’s Instagram to make a personal tie. This? I was very, wildly public about it. A whole essay in a magazine.
Voice in the Pitch: So this is a risky move! Sometimes being too voicey in a query can distract from getting the pitch across. But L’Oreal balances it just right. From the personal tidbits to the quick quips. It kept the levity up while digging into a serious topic, while at the same time showcasing what her writing style is like.
To read L’Oreal’s work is to read someone who really knows how to handle delicate subjects with a smile and a kind touch. And she does that in the pitch here.
Answering the Big Non-fiction Question: So the one big question every agent asks when considering a non-fiction project? Why is this the person to write this book? What makes them the expert? L’Oreal doesn’t just stress her life story here as the reason, but showcases the many, many places she’s written about the subject she’s tackling. Her platform is firmly in publication, and she makes sure that shines through.
There are other things in here done wildly well too. Great comp titles, and the whole pitch is a clear example of someone who really did their research before querying. But those tidbits up top? The personal touch, the voice in the pitch, explaining how she’s THE person to write it? Those are the big learning takeaways I’d love for you to carry with you here.
Watch out for Infertile Black Girl, due out next year with Beacon Press. And be sure to follow L’Oreal via her newsletter and social media, and to stop by her bookstore!