Elevator pitch: Can you sell your book in one quick phrase?
by Ruth Harris
Give ’em the old razzle dazzle
Razzle dazzle ’em
Give ’em an act with lots of flash in it
And the reaction will be passionate
What works on Broadway in the hit musical, Chicago, also works for selling a book because you do want a reaction that will be passionate.
Don’t you?
Is this a dream? Or will it be a nightmare?
There you are—
- At a conference in line for coffee. You turn around. The person behind you is Big Shot Editor at publishing colosus, Simon, Macmillan & Random Penguin.
- Waiting for a taxi in the rain when an empty cab/your Uber pulls up. The woman next to you is publishing’s hottest agent. She is drenched and on her way to an important meeting. She asks (begs) to share your ride.
- On a plane and your seat mate is the famous movie producer who’s known for lavishing Big Bucks on hot, new properties.
It’s do or die time.
You have seconds…
Then what?
Do you panic?
Freeze?
Are you tongue tied?
Do you babble?
Or have you prepared—and practiced—a killer elevator pitch?
Are you ready to razzle dazzle em?
And if not, why not?
Because the well-crafted and polished elevator pitch can make the difference between meh and a reaction that will be passionate.
Meaning before details: start with the big picture.
Readers/editors/agents take only a few seconds to make their buy decision.
Authors have the same few seconds to make their sale.
According to molecular biologist John Medina of the University of Washington School of Medicine, the human brain requires meaning before details. When listeners doesn’t understand the basic concept right at the beginning, they have a hard time processing the rest of the information.
Bottom line: explain the hook or basic concept first.
Then go into the details.
Elevator Pitch Example #1:
“Susie is trying to kill David by putting arsenic in his Red Bull because he cheated on her with her best friend, Elaine, but then Peter and Marie die.”
Uh. What? Who’s doing what to whom and why should anyone care? Big Shot agent yawns, checks the time, can’t wait to get out of elevator.
Instead: A betrayed wife’s murderous vengeance ends in the death of two innocent children.
Big Shot agent’s ears perk up. S/he is dying to know more.
Then come the details.
Elevator Pitch Example #2:
“Tim has to get to the coal mine before Wyatt so he can warn his brother about the goons hired by the 93-year-old evil mastermind who owns the mine and plans to destroy humanity with nukes.”
Huh? Followed by sound of confused Very Important editor’s brain switching off as s/he thinks about what to have for lunch.
Instead: Estranged brothers must work together to make their way past vicious dogs and armed guards to enter an abandoned mine and save the world from nuclear annihilation.
Very Important editor’s eyes widen. S/he can’t wait to hear what comes next.
Then come the details.
Don’t be afraid to be outrageous.
A famous but obnoxious TV chef hides from a serial killer in a London training school for snooty butlers.
An opposites-attract romance between a plumber’s apprentice and a poet with a stopped-up sink.
A loud-mouthed, crass political pundit gets drunk and comes to in a Buddhist monastery dedicated to serenity and meditation.
Don’t be afraid to refer to other books or authors, hit movies or TV series.
Gone With The Wind—as written by John Le Carré.
Gone With The Wind—as written by Barbara Cartland.
James Bond meets Hannibal Lecter. They do not discuss fine wine and gourmet menus.
Game of Thrones. In a submarine.
Gone With The Wind—as written by Mickey Spillane
Bottom Line: Sell the sizzle. Not the steak.
It’s old but relevant advice.
Before launching into the details of plot and character, you need to provoke excitement and curiosity first. That’s why the hook or the killer concept is the most important thing you’ll write.
It must be short, simple, clear, memorable, and easily repeatable.
Keep it short.
But my book is a 200K fantasy epic. You expect me to explain it to someone in a short sentence?
Yep.
Two Stanford grad students had an idea they thought would change the world, but they needed money to turn their idea into reality. Here’s their pitch to potential investors. “Organizes the world’s information and makes it universally accessible.”
In 9 simple words and 69 characters (less than the length of a Tweet), that elevator pitch bagged the needed $$$.
The two grad students, Sergey Brin and Larry Page—and their company, Google—were in business.
KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).
Shakespeare said it this way: “Brevity is the soul of wit.”
Mies Van Der Rohe’s approached it from another angle: “Less is more.”
So did Albert Einstein who explained his Theory of Relativity in three letters, one number and an equal sign: E = mc².
Steve Jobs heeded their advice to make Apple one of the world’s most successful companies.
- 1984 won’t be like “1984”
- Think Different.
- iPhone — “Apple Reinvents the phone”
- iPod — “1,000 songs in your pocket.”
- MacBook Air — “The world’s thinnest notebook.”
Apple website and stores, company execs, sales reps, and press releases are all on board and repeat these simple phrases over and over.
You can follow the same approach by using your hook—short, simple, memorable, repeatable—everywhere.
- As a headline for your blurb
- As a tweet or newsletter subject line
- To introduce yourself to your audience when you start a speech
- On the home page of your website
- On your business card
- Or your author page
- In your author bio
- As a keyword
How simple? How about this?
The hot new bestselling thriller, The Chain, was launched with a three-word pitch: “Jaws for parents.”
Simple, to the point, easy for everyone to remember, easy for anyone to repeat.
Or this?
English mystery author, Adam Croft, launched his successful self-publishing career with a simple question: “Could you murder your wife to save your daughter?”
Embrace the power of repetition.
Successful politicians—ones who become President—embrace the power of repetition.
- The New Deal
- Make America Great Again
- Nixon’s The One
- Give Em Hell, Harry
- I Like Ike
- All the Way With LBJ
- Change We Can Believe In
Advertisers have learned the same lesson. They spend millions of dollars to repeat the same simple phrases over and over because they understand the power of repitition.
- Nike — Just Do It
- Hallmark – When you care enough to send the very best
- Burger King – Have it your way.
- U.S. Marine Corps — Semper Fi
- Bounty — The Quicker Picker Upper
- Lay’s — Betcha Can’t Eat Just One
- Dunkin’ Donuts — America Runs on Dunkin’
- The New York Times — All the News That’s Fit to Print”
Savvy politicians and advertisers don’t get bored with the repetition. Neither do their audiences. Emulate their success and don’t be afraid of repetition.
Make it memorable—and easily repeatable.
You will be the first to use your elevator pitch—but you do not want to be the last.
- Agents need a powerful hook to pitch publishers and TV and movie producers.
- Editors need a potent pitch to persuade their advertising, marketing and sales departments that your book is worth their time and energy.
- Your fans and readers will use your great hook to spread the word when they recommend your book to friends and family.
- Bloggers and reviewers will use your words to attract their readers.
10 Tips for Creating a Powerful Elevator Pitch.
1. Research the headlines and blurbs of the bestsellers in your genre. What exact words do they use? What exact words occur over and over? Make a list of the ones you find most powerful and exciting, and use them for inspiration.
2. Read the book descriptions on promo sites and keep the ones you love to refer to when you write your own fab elevator pitch.
3. Be on the lookout for taglines other authors use to pitch their book in their FaceBook, BookBub, and Amazon ads.
4. Read your own book—even if it’s for the fiftieth time!—to search for interesting words and turns of phrase. You might come upon a forgotten gem that’s just perfect.
5. Consult your dead darlings, the ones you killed, (You do save them, don’t you?) for more ideas.
6. Consider chapter titles that might make a great hook or pitch intro.
7. Here are 5 suggestions from BookBub about how to write a killer elevator pitch.
8. David Gaughram offers excellent advice about how to compose great text for ads and shares some terrific examples from the movies that will give you more good ideas.
9. E = mc² might not mean much to a lot of people but the right audience (other physicists) will feel the thrill. Focus on your readers—romance/horror/
10. Practice your pitch over and over. In front of a mirror, your significant other, your friends, family, the dog until you are completely comfortable and confident sharing your brilliant idea!
Heed the 3 Rs: Remember, Repeat,
Recycle to ride your elevator pitch to the top.
As the Nike ads advise: Just Do It!
***
by Ruth Harris (@RuthHarrisBooks) July 28, 2019
What about you, scriveners? Do you have an elevator pitch? Have you used it—or heard someone else’s pitch? Were you impressed? Was the editor on the receiving end? Do you create your EP before you write the book as a prompt to help you focus & stay on track?
For more on the elevator pitch and how it differs from a hook or a logline, see Anne’s post Hooks, Loglines, and Pitches.
If you want to know what Anne’s up to, check out the post on her book blog on “Bag Lady Syndrome.”
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Thanks, Ruth! I love your examples. Some of the one-liners sound like they could have been used as story prompts.
Thanks, Kathy! 🙂
Fabulous! I love the pithiness you non-epic folks can come up with. And you are spot-on, even 200k needs to be boiled down to that irreducible pitch.
I limit my exposure to agents, publishers, or other toxic substances, but having the pitch line ready is THE ice-breaker at fairs and book cons, library talks- you know, actual customers- when they finally ask, “so, what’s this one about?”
William—Oh, you mean actual readers? As opposed to, you know, toxic substances? 😉
Got it!
I’m a career marketer, so doing the elevator pitch came naturally to me. Used to working with few words to create maximum impact. This is an excellent blog, Ruth! I always say to my students: If you can’t say what your book is about in one sentence, then you don’t have a plot. (Or worse, you don’t know what your plot is!)
Melodie—Great point! Thanks for the kind words and thanks, too, for sharing the fine example just below. Succinct and to the point! 🙂
Forgot to leave one! Here’s the elevator pitch on my latest book Crime Club, out in Sept:
“Her dad is in prison for killing a man. That doesn’t stop sixteen-year-old Penny from solving a murder.”
I used to run pitch sessions for a regional writer’s conferences (the organization went bankrupt when the economy tanked). These are some common mistakes when doing pitches:
1. Too much chatting, not enough pitching. We had a very generous 10 minutes for the writers. Yet, we had writers who never actually got to their pitch…
2. If you are in a pitch session, the agent should represent your genre. One year, we didn’t get a lot of genre agents. Fiction writers signed up to pitch to non-fiction agents. They listened, but really, it wasted the agents’ time. No matter how good you think your story is, pitching to agent who doesn’t take the genre is still an automatic no.
However, if you’re in the hallway, an elevator, or a volunteer at the conference and the agent asks, it’s fair game–and good practice.
3. Not having a finished project. If you have three chapters of a novel, don’t pitch. Many writers never finish, so you’re only going to annoy the agent when he finds out you can’t give him a full.
And if it’s a short story, don’t even bother with a pitch session (yes, this really happened).
4. Never burn bridges, even with the volunteers. We carefully controlled the arrival of the writers and the time of the session. One writer showed up and tried to crash the session. He first said he wanted to meet with a particular agent since she didn’t have anyone. The agent was on break and we protected that–told him no and to leave. Then the writer said he was in the next session and wanted to stay. We told him he had to go back to the waiting room (and he lied about that. I think he wanted to sneak past us to talk to the agent on the break). We told the conference committee who he was and they banned him from the next conference. The conference had a good reputation with the agents and did not want writerly bad behavior to ruin that.
And a big tip: Toastmasters is a great way to practice your thinking on your feet skills. It’ll help give you confidence and reduce your nervousness.
Linda—Thanks for sharing another POV. And for your valuable tips. Much appreciated!
Wow. This sort of thinking is — hands down — my weakest writing-related skill. I need to print this out so I can highlight, study, add marginalia, then do it all again. Thanks for knowing & understanding all this, Ruth.
CS—Hope it helps. Composing —and delivering an effective pitch—is in itself an art and a craft. Corporations, ad and marketing agencies devote teams of copywriters to hone and refine. Not easy or fast, but those few words can be worth their weight in whatever precious metal you prefer!
Very helpful–article and the comments. Thank you, Ruth.
Thanks, Leanne. Happy to hear you found the post helpful!
Helpful advise, I do have a question though. Pitching to an agent specifically, are you trying to sell a book or are you attempting to promote yourself as a client worth working with?
Sam—Glad you found the post helpful. You’re referring to two different situations. The first is about pitching a book, so should be specific about the plot, genre, setting, character etc. The second is more general and would refer to your overall track record and past successes or, in the case of non-fiction, your qualifications. HTH
Ruth, another very, very helpful post. Taking the time to distill a pitch is a good investment. My mind is now spinning with possibilities. Thank you.
Here’s a related idea–try out a pitch by using it in an Amazon or BookBub ad and tageting it to readers of authors you’d like to read your book. Does the pitch resonate enough to lead readers to click on the ad? If not, keep refining and testing your pitch until it moves the needle.
Carmen—glad the post triggered new possibilities. Thanks for the fab suggestion! Absolutely terrific advice!
I like that idea, Carmen. I wonder if you could use it some how on a blog, too. Have to think more on this.
Thanks for a great post It’s certainly got me thinking about my elevator pitch.
Thanks, Naomi. Give it time and patience. Will be worth it!
Hi Ruth, such a worthwhile post, thanks. I started my career in retail advertising and we had a TV presenter, Joe the Gadgetman aka Joe Sandow, whose catchophrase was “bring your money with you.” He was a friend till he died many years back but people still remember this phrase.
Valerie—What a great example! Thanks! Once again, proves the long lasting power of short, simple and easily repeatable! Hard to do, but so powerful!
Great post! I am terrible at writing a synopsis and even worse at trying to write a one-liner about my books. AACK! This post really helps, though, and the examples are great!
Thank you.
Patricia—I’m sure you’re not terrible at writing the hook, just give it Time and patience. Hang in. You’ll be fine!
This is a huge help. I’m bookmarking this page. Thank you!
Liza—Thank you for the kind words. Glad to hear you find the post helpful. Good luck with your pitch!
Very helpful, thank you!
Ruth—Glad you find it helpful. Thanks for taking the time to say so!
Excellent advice! Brevity is hard to achieve but it goes a long way.
Now, where is my rain drenched hot agent looking to share an Uber?
Great post, Ruth!
Ingmar—Thanks! Yes, brevity can be difficult, but it can be extremely powerful.
Maybe next time try Lyft? 😉
Excellent post! It gives me hope that I might actually be able to come up with a pitch. It may be a dozen words or so, but I swear it’s harder work than the whole book.
Celia—Thanks and glad to hear the post resonated. Yes, short can be a challenge, but it’s worth the effort. Just hang in and good luck!
Memorable and useful post. Thanks.
SK—Glad you found it useful. Thanks for taking the time to comment and good luck on your EP!
A most helpful post. Thank you. I’m totally useless at this part of writing. This will be a great help.
V.M.Sang—Thank you for taking the time to comment. I’m so glad to learn you found the post helpful. Good luck with your EP!
For authors that are still struggling with this, do you know of any technological resources that could help? Is this something Scrivener could do, for example?
Shanna—you could certainly write your elevator pitch in Scriv if that’s what you mean. Maybe paste in your blurb and start from there. HTH