What"s an Elevator Pitch and Why Do I Need One?
You've finished your manuscript, polished it until it shines, and are ready to begin shopping it to prospective publishing houses.
Or you have a novel in your head-you might have even written a couple hundred pages-and you're off to your first writers' conference to learn the craft and hopefully make an impression on someone.
It is never easy to condense a full length novel into a one-page synopsis-or a one-sheet as they're called-but you must do this before you arrive at the conference.
If you are fortunate enough to schedule an appointment with an editor or agent, you only have about a ten-minute window to get noticed.
Not enough time to launch into a lengthy presentation about why your book is the best thing ever put to paper.
Even more crucial to have on hand-especially if you did not land a face to face appointment with the agent of your choice-is your elevator pitch.
An elevator pitch is a brief one to three sentence description of your novel so named because it can be presented during the average elevator ride.
These are also useful should you find yourself in line to the restroom or across the dinner table from an agent or other power-that-be.
These situations arise at conferences more often than you think so the savvy writer is always prepared.
Have your elevator pitch ready and memorized before you head to the conference.
Just don't let it sound memorized.
It is safe to say I have quoted the elevator pitch for my first novel thousands of time.
When someone asks-and they still do-I give the shortest description possible.
"On the day of her father's funeral a young woman discovers he was once the prime suspect in the disappearance of an old girlfriend.
" If the person seems interested I continue, adding a sentence or two as time and interest warrant.
The key to preparing a successful elevator pitch is brevity.
Get straight to the heart of the story and reel your listener in.
Remove any extraneous words.
Practice in front of the mirror before leaving home.
Even your mother or best friend doesn't have time for a lot of "Um's" and "It all started one cold winter day...
" Countless elevator pitches have earned new authors invitations to submit to publishing houses.
Make sure yours is flawless and brilliant.
You will never interest anyone in your fabulous book idea without one.
And what good is that masterpiece locked in your hard drive if no one gets a chance to read it?
Or you have a novel in your head-you might have even written a couple hundred pages-and you're off to your first writers' conference to learn the craft and hopefully make an impression on someone.
It is never easy to condense a full length novel into a one-page synopsis-or a one-sheet as they're called-but you must do this before you arrive at the conference.
If you are fortunate enough to schedule an appointment with an editor or agent, you only have about a ten-minute window to get noticed.
Not enough time to launch into a lengthy presentation about why your book is the best thing ever put to paper.
Even more crucial to have on hand-especially if you did not land a face to face appointment with the agent of your choice-is your elevator pitch.
An elevator pitch is a brief one to three sentence description of your novel so named because it can be presented during the average elevator ride.
These are also useful should you find yourself in line to the restroom or across the dinner table from an agent or other power-that-be.
These situations arise at conferences more often than you think so the savvy writer is always prepared.
Have your elevator pitch ready and memorized before you head to the conference.
Just don't let it sound memorized.
It is safe to say I have quoted the elevator pitch for my first novel thousands of time.
When someone asks-and they still do-I give the shortest description possible.
"On the day of her father's funeral a young woman discovers he was once the prime suspect in the disappearance of an old girlfriend.
" If the person seems interested I continue, adding a sentence or two as time and interest warrant.
The key to preparing a successful elevator pitch is brevity.
Get straight to the heart of the story and reel your listener in.
Remove any extraneous words.
Practice in front of the mirror before leaving home.
Even your mother or best friend doesn't have time for a lot of "Um's" and "It all started one cold winter day...
" Countless elevator pitches have earned new authors invitations to submit to publishing houses.
Make sure yours is flawless and brilliant.
You will never interest anyone in your fabulous book idea without one.
And what good is that masterpiece locked in your hard drive if no one gets a chance to read it?
