Pitching Your Story

Before you go in for a pitch ask yourself these questions:

Do you have a title?
Do you know your genre?
What's your Hook?
Have you decorated you pitch with Phraseology and Specifics?
Have you practiced saying your pitch at least a hundred times, and find yourself mumbling in your sleep?

How long is a pitch?
As short as possible. You need to give an accurate impression of the main characters, the genre, setting, story, conflicts, and maybe even a reversal or two. If you can sell your idea in once sentence, do it. If it takes a hundred, so be it. Every story has different demands. Your goal is to create a compelling impression of your story. You may encounter questions about the word count, page count, how long it took you to write your project, how long you've been marketing it, and to whom. If you know the answers, have them handy. But don't make them a part of your pitch.

Scott FrancisAuthor

Scott Francis is a former editor and author of Writer's Digest Books.