Thursday 17 January 2008

A New Pitch














This week, as well as work-overload, I’ve had dental appointments and a hospital appointment, meaning messy chopped-up days. It's so frustrating to rush to an appointment, then sit -- waiting for two hours -- when you have other things to do!

But, while lounging around at the hospital, I remembered some pitch-writing advice I’d read on editor Cheryl Klein’s website, Talking Books:

If someone asked you before you met your significant other, “What kind of person are you looking for?” would you have described the exact person you’re with now?

For instance, if you asked me that question, I would not have said “A Chinese-American corporate lawyer from Queens who really likes Dungeons and Dragons,” which pretty much describes my last boyfriend.

And if you pitched that guy to me as a possible date, I might have been, “Ehhh, not so much.”

But if you said, “I know a really sweet, funny, smart guy who likes to read and is taller than you are”—well, there you go!


This makes sense!

And last night, in the after-glow of this light-bulb moment, I re-wrote my pitch in a flash. So, if my current submissions are rejected, I’m ready for the second round.

There is so much advice, so many examples out there of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ pitches, and I’d been trying to make mine 'fit'.

But this is not a pitch and letter writing exam. The purpose is to sell something unique.

Perhaps I’ve veered slightly from the standard. Maybe I’ve broken a couple of ‘rules’. But... I also did that in my novel!

My thanks to Cheryl Klein.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

If someone had asked me before I met my husband, “What kind of person are you looking for?” I would have answered, "Someone who's the exact opposite of my father" which perfectly describes my husband.

Whether or not this was a wise choice is debatable!

Mary said...

If your father is anything like mine -- you made a wise choice!!! LOL

Barrie said...

I bet your book pitch is perfect!

I'll have to think about a pitch for my dh. Because you're right; it's all in the spin. :)