Pitching: What You Need To Know Now by guest @bramsayauthor

Interesting. The coaching call/chapter rewrite could be useful to help me get unstuck on my projects. I think I’m at the point of “don’t know what I don’t know” lol.

Wow. I thought I worked on my pitch before for my fiction novel, but it was more of a query letter. Now I understand the difference. A coaching call would be wonderful to talk about genre – mine is a”speculative fiction” – if that is a category at all. What happens when you take some current events and flip them? (I think I just had an idea…) An edit would tell me a lot, as I am on my fifth edit, tightening each time, and now I realize I need to possibly combine a bunch of chapters for better flow…but I need help…and obviously too many ellipses.

From one Book Blogger to another, Greetings! Although, to be honest, I have to admit I started writing reviews to garner name recognition while I worked on my manuscripts. My book reviews, as well as maintaining my social media sites have taken over my life as my scripts sit collecting dust. Nevertheless, I’ve met some terrific writers and believe my day will come.

Thank you for introducing us to the difference between an elevator pitch and a regular pitch. I bookmarked the pages you provided for referencing when my day does arrive. As an English major, I believe I have the other tips ingrained within my mind, namely checking for grammar and spelling. I firmly believe that anyone who intends to write a book should master their grammar and spelling first; this is especially the case for Indie Authors. I’ve declined to review a few books based on improper or incorrect grammar, lack of correct spelling, character dialect, and building, weak plots, et cetera. I get no pleasure out of writing a mediocre book review. I want all writers to be successful.

Thank you for being a part of the second year of #NaNoProMo.

Sincerely,
Donna

Thank you so much for this post! I love that it was clear and easy to understand and that you added some examples. I’ve been doing Twitter Pitch events this past year and that has really helped me craft short pitches.

Blaise,

Thank you for a very helpful article on what’s needed for a successful pitch. I’ve dealt with pitching as a screenwriter, but my screenplays are all comedies. My upcoming novel is fictional but with roots in actual tragedy (the rape and murder of a fifteen year old girl I knew). I’m donating from the proceeds to organizations that help rape survivors and their families. In many ways, I feel that I’m starting from square one on pitching. I appreciate having your article to use as a guide.

Sincerely,
Dana Lemaster

It is always a pleasure to participate in such an amazing event. Such perfect timing too as FyreSyde just opened our first round of submissions. Already, the information has been super helpful and informative. I can’t wait to see how this month goes! It’s always so exciting!

I’m a little confused – when you say you expect an elevator pitch prior to a query, does that mean the initial reach out to you should literally only have an elevator pitch in it? Or do you mean that’s the intro to a longer email/ letter?

I’ve never pitched a book, but I’ve tried something similar with potential readers. That is, I’ll mention that I’m an author and if they express interest then I hand them a business card. I’ve prepared a card for each of my books with a thumbnail of the cover, where it can be purchased, my web site, and the book’s blurb.
For an elevator pitch to a publisher or agent, would the business card idea be useful?

You’re tempting me to make the pitch when I probably wouldn’t otherwise. I’m going to give this serious consideration this weekend and (probably) take the plunge. Really useful post–I like the way you’ve made the distinctions in types of pitches and how-to steps to formulate your own.

I’m prepping for DFW Con and terrified about the pitch/consultation opportunity. I’ll be coming back to this post many times in the next month. Thank you! Readers are lost in the first chapters, getting unvarnished input is worth more than the suggested retail price would love to win the consult & revision.

So this article was really helpful.

It also made me feel a whole lot better about myself since I occasionally feel like I’m in a vacuum as an author. Or maybe an abyss…not sure.

Elevator pitches are something I am horrible at. I talk to people for a living, every day and I can talk about writing in general, pop culture, my kids, the shape of the damn clouds etc without missing a beat. Ask me about one of my books and go and on about it talking with my hands and a whole lot of inflection to the point I have bored the person senseless.

So thanks for the advice and course of action. It will help me practice.