Next Novel Contest: A Hint
- Thread starter Birol
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Imagine you are in a lift with an agent / editor. You have until they get off to pitch your novel ( so say twenty seconds or something). Generally one sentence that might make them say 'Ooh interesting'
And.....go!
And.....go!
Imagine you’re at a con. You get on an elevator (lift for you Brits) to go to your hotel room. The only other person in the elevator car with you is your dream agent. You have the length of the ride to introduce yourself and pitch your novel (2-3 sentences) in the hopes of having Dream Agent say, “That sounds interesting. Why don’t you send me the [first 50 pages/entire manuscript/synopsis and chapter outline]?"
ETA: What IdiotsRUS said.
ETA: What IdiotsRUS said.
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Having been in an elevator with editors and agents, I assure you that introducing yourself and saying hello is a good idea. Pitching while they are trapped in an elevator is kind of a bad idea.
That said, it's just a term for a super fast pitch, that will come in handy at the bar later while that editor is waiting for the bartender to come back with the next round and stops to say hello again.
That said, it's just a term for a super fast pitch, that will come in handy at the bar later while that editor is waiting for the bartender to come back with the next round and stops to say hello again.
The idea is supposed to be that it's NOT improv. The idea is that you figured out ahead of time a really clever way to explain what your book's about in an intriguing way, in three sentences or so. That way, when you find yourself on the elevator, you don't go, "Uh, well there's this guy, and he has a brother, and see, they're on vacation, but, you see, err..."
If you can do it in one, more power to you. The best writing professor I ever had didn't teach creative writing. He taught literature. He also did not assign a minimum length for essays; he assigned a maximum length and during the course of the semester, he kept dropping the maximum length until it was down to one page. By the end of the semester, you figured out what you wanted to say and how to say it without using a lot of unnecessary verbiage.
Three sentences? As much as that? I was going for one...
I may have to add something then
I just read somewhere recently that it ought to be about three sentences. (Oh, it was Nicola Morgan.) I guess it should be however much one can blurt out in an elevator, which in turn is correlated with how tall the building is...lSo yeah.
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From this thread in the Ask the Agents forum:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170463
caw
I didn't say I'd do it - the elevator pitch is a standard term, derived from that 'what if you were confronted with an agent saying 'what's your book about?'
Precisely. Speaking from newly-gained experience, it's useful for after the book sells, too. Friends, family, business associates, and that weird guy in the grocery find out you have a book coming out. The first question they ask is, "What's it about?" And what do you say? You have about 15 seconds to tell them something before the conversation moves on to the latest hit movie.
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Absolutely. Always have a 1 to 3 line pitch. It's wonderfully handy at book signings!
Would-be customer: "What's your book about?"
Author: "um, uh.... gulp. Just read the frigging backcover blurb, wouldya?"
Would-be customer: "What's your book about?"
Author: "um, uh.... gulp. Just read the frigging backcover blurb, wouldya?"
So . . . you get on the elevator with the agent, headed back up to her room, lean over and say, "Lesbian zombie dinosaurs in space."
Seriously, I've been to conferences and watched this kind of interaction take place, and it is about the most disgustingly oily performance imaginable. I am genetically incapable of such a thing. I'd feel more comfortable panhandling on the street.
caw
Seriously, I've been to conferences and watched this kind of interaction take place, and it is about the most disgustingly oily performance imaginable. I am genetically incapable of such a thing. I'd feel more comfortable panhandling on the street.
caw
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I'd feel more comfortable doing just about anything else than sneaking up to a poor agent when she's trapped in a lift. But it's handy to have one - especially at booksignings as Maestro says, or of course if, gods forfend, an agent should ask you what your book is about. At which point I'd probably forget my carefully planned pitch and gibber
Yipes, no need to get so squicked, it's just a blurb, no one is suggesting the actual hunting of agents and editors.
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