What's Your Elevator Pitch?

Elevator image by Bagzhan Sadvakassov. Unsplash.

Whether you’re working on your first draft, working with an editor on revising a draft, or in the process of publishing, creating your book’s elevator pitch is a magical skill you’re going to need to start developing.

Think of the last movie trailer you saw. Did they lay out the whole plot for you? No. They gave you enough hints to make you say “I’ve got to see that movie!” Book pitches are the same way.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “I’m writing hundreds of pages of world-building genius, complicated characters, and multi-layered plots! How am I supposed to sum it all up in one sentence? Why would I do that?”

What Do You Need In a Book Pitch?

The big thing your pitch needs is to draw someone in. What makes your book special?

If you’re still writing your book, this pitch may change as you write. Maybe the wording will change the more into your book you get- that’s ok! You’re going for a vibe at this stage. What do you think will draw people to your book?

For example, the book I’m working on is non-fiction, and still a Rough Draft. My current pitch is:” I’m exploring butlers in early mystery stories.”

Inevitably the person I say that to nods and says “The butler did it.” And I can follow that up with how I’m finding that this cliché is actually giving butlers a bad name- as long as we’re talking about murder. Why does that pitch work? They make the connection to the cliché I'm exploring ("the butler did it") so they're already connecting to the book.

• A trick for non-fiction is to engage your audience as early as possible. “Did you know . . .” “Have you heard of  . . .” type of thing. An extra teaser, if you will. It lets you judge the level of interest and knowledge your audience has.

• My approach also has a slight tongue-in-cheek, humorous approach. I’m letting them know that while the book might be nonfiction, it isn't going to be dry and overly serious and boring.

What if you’re pitching a fiction book?

• If you have any kind of an outline, that can be a good place to start looking for inspiration. Maybe you’ve even gotten a one-page synopsis to pull from. Don’t feel like you have to start fresh each time- if you have something, use it for inspiration!

• Remember with your fiction pitch that you want to create a sense of urgency. The potential reader needs to be drawn in by what’s happening, without giving away any spoilers. You want them to feel like "I need to read this book!"

Here’s a pitch example for Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express:

When the luxurious Orient Express is trapped in a snow drift and one of its passengers found murdered, famous detective Hercule Poirot knows the murderer is still among the passengers: but can he discover the truth before the killer strikes again?

This isn’t a perfect pitch, but you can get the idea. The highlights are here: A murder. A closed circle of suspects and a famous detective (a plus if you're already of fan of this character, not a negative if it's your first time reading him). But that closed circle also means the danger is still present. A limited amount of time to solve the problem. Danger and tension are expected when we read the book.

Always Remember

It's called an elevator pitch for a reason: you need to be short and to the point. You could be talking to somone on an airplane, at a conference, or even (wait for it) in an elevator. This is the answer to "what's your book about?" in two sentences or less. It might end your part of the conversation or have the other person asking you if you have a website or newsletter where they can follow you because it sounds really interesting. So start by asking yourself: how is my story unique? Memorable? What can I say to hook someone's interest in my book in under a minute? And that's where your pitch comes from.

Are you looking for a writing coach, marketing coach, developmental editor, or manuscript evaluator? Contact me for a free discovery call and let’s talk about your project!