The Art of Pitching: A Story in a Sentence
Whether talking about our projects or submitting them for publication, writers need to be prepared to present their work in a compelling way. Having a good manuscript is not enough anymore. We need to pitch our work and follow through with a well written manuscript or proposal.
Pitching is a technique that started in Hollywood. Screenwriters would meet with producers and verbally pitch a story in a few quick sentences. The producer says either “no” or “tell me more about that one.” It was a quick way to sell a screenplay.
Today, writers can attend conferences and sign up for three or five or ten minutes to pitch to an editor or agent. The goal is for the agent or editor to ask to see your manuscript.
What is the pitch? A carefully crafted, short, verbal statement that will make an editor or agent want to know more? It should be concise and compelling. Its purpose is to intrigue and inform. Think of it as a type of advertisement.
How to start? Boil your story down to one sentence.
A good place to find examples of a story in a sentence is the TV Guide movie section. Here are some examples:
– The tale of a love struck giant ape rampaging through New York City. [King Kong]
– The Marvel comics’ superheroes band together when the government tries to eliminate them. [X Men]
– Happy romp about a penguin colony that finds its mates through song, and an outcast who can’t carry a tune but can dance like Fred Astaire. [Happy Feet]
– Indiana Jones is assigned to find the mystically empowered Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain it for their own evil use. [Raiders of the Lost Ark]
– A fairy godmother helps a woman meet a prince. [Cinderella]
– A woman forces boys at a detention camp to dig holes. [Holes]
Look at these sentences and think about how they are answering these questions: who, what, when, where or how. This is a good clue to help you start boiling your story down to a sentence.