THE ANATOMY OF A PITCH
You have only a few minutes -- you want your pitch to make clear what type
of book you're offering and what the theme or the plot line is -- in
general. You can't go into every plot detail here. You shouldn't.
Another thing you shouldn't do is brag shamelessly about your book. Most
new writers are too nervous to even think to do that, but every once in a
while, someone breaks that golden rule. Agent Rob Cohen has run across it
often enough. "I don't like it when someone tells me their book is
great," she says. "Some of the best writers I know think their
own work is terrible."
A good place to start is to come up with a one-line pitch -- a pitch line
-- to give an idea of your plot. Feel awkward just blurting out something
that might sound like a movie poster or a book-jacket blurb? Then simply
tell them you've prepared a pitch line. We're sure they'll ask to
hear it.
What is a pitch line? A pitch line is a short, punchy, oral presentation
of your plot. It must be short -- it would be pretty difficult to memorize
a three- or four-line pitch and you must deliver it effectively.
The best pitch lines elicit the ooh factor. It makes the listeners say,
"Ooh, I want to read that book."
What's another way to say "ooh factor?" It's the
"hook," the angle. Hollywood types call it "the
premise." We talked about the hook in chapter three. If you are
working on a book that doesn't have a hook, you're going to have a
difficult time describing your project -- you are also going to have a
difficult time selling your project. That hook must be in your pitch and
in your query letter. If it isn't in your book, you can't get it
anywhere else.
Make sure you have your hook established in your mind before you get too
far into your book, or better yet, before you even start it. If you're
having trouble coming up with a pitch line that elicits the ooh factor, it's
a sign you need to go back to your novel's plot and create a hook that
is more intriguing, more compelling. To sell your book it has to have an
angle different from all the other books on the shelves. That's the
first thing you need to come up with -- an idea that is the hook.
The spoken pitch line can be jazzy, but it has to have the most important
elements in it. What's most important to your plot? Conflict! Every
novel needs conflict -- your pitch should show the main problem your hero
or heroine will face.
Here's one of our favorite pitches: "Recent law school grad is
offered a job that seems too good to be true -- and it is." Do you
recognize that? Right. John Grisham's The Firm.
Here are a few other examples:
* "Young female FBI agent risks her life and resolves personal
issues as she seeks help from an imprisoned serial killer to catch
another." (The Silence of the Lambs)
* "Writer is tortured by psychotic woman claiming to be his number
one fan." (Misery)
* "Greedy man offers wife as vessel to bear child fathered by
Satan." (Rosemary's Baby)
AFTER THE DELIVERY
Your pitch doesn't have to give the whole plot (although you'll
probably discuss it more after you give your pitch line); you just have to
give the agent or editor a handle on your book. During your appointment,
just as you would in your query letter, you could also compare your book
to something similar. This is another way the agent or editor can get a
handle on your book.
Make sure you also tell them the title, the genre, and the word count. The
setting is important, too. Agent Kathleen Anderson says, "You should
be sure, wherever possible, to be specific about setting in your pitches.
Instead of a small town, say what town, where; instead of Africa, where in
Africa."
Allow the agent time to ask you any questions. Try to make the
conversation give-and-take.
After the appointment is over, take a deep breath -- you survived after
all! Then make a quick not of what the agent or editor had to say. You
might be meeting with several. You don't want to confuse what they asked
to see or how they asked for your material to be submitted.
With permission from the author, pages 89 to 91
