Nora Princiotti: Nail Your Elevator Pitch
In this interview, author Nora Princiotti shares what inspired her book on how female artists redefined pop stardom in the 2000s.
Nora Princiotti is an author and a staff writer at The Ringer where she covers culture, from Taylor Swift to the National Football League. Princiotti also hosts the pop music podcast Every Single Album. She was previously a reporter for The Boston Globe covering the New England Patriots dynasty. Nora Princiotti lives in New York City.
In this interview, Princiotti shares what inspired her book, the first chat she had with her agent, and more.
Name: Nora Princiotti
Literary agent: Anthony Mattero (CAA)
Book title: Hit Girls: Britney, Taylor, Beyoncé, and the Women Who Built Pop’s Shiniest Decade
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release date: June 17, 2025
Genre/category: Nonfiction, music, pop-culture
Elevator pitch for the book: A nostalgic and funny rumination on how female artists in the 2000s redefined pop stardom.
What prompted you to write this book?
How devastating to start a Writer’s Digest Q&A with a cliché, but I really did write this book because I wanted to read it. There’s so much close reading and analysis of the current era of women in pop that I get so much from as both a writer and a reader, and I wanted to have that for the era I grew up on.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
The first chat I had with my agent, Anthony Mattero, about how much fun a book about aughties pop music could be was nearly five years ago, which is hard to believe. In earnest, it took about two years from medium-fleshed-out idea/proposal to publication. The idea—to write about my favorite artists of the 2000s and how they changed the nature of pop stardom—didn’t change much, but the chapters wound up coalescing around three themes of genre, technology, and celebrity that helped provide structure and clarity.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
This is embarrassing, but I didn’t understand how galleys are put together and had a brief hysterical episode when I thought my index was completely ruined.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
Going into my first draft, I assumed the way for me to get it done would be to take it slow and steady, writing a little every day. I found pretty quickly that I wasn’t building any momentum. The way I’d get work done was to spend whole weekends writing or take some extra vacation days and get in a groove.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
Of course, I hope readers will come away with a deeper respect for the art of being a pop star. But in total honesty, the thing I hope most of all for my readers is that the book makes them laugh and makes them feel confident the next time they go to bar trivia.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Have the elevator pitch version of your thesis nailed from the start. (I have yet to do this.)
