Pitch Perfect

Today I went to this website http://accrispin.blogspot.ie/2012/10/guest-post-dear-agent-write-letter-that.html to hone my pitch.

Pitching isn’t easy and this is one of the best blogs I‘ve looked at so far with the most concise step-by-step instructions for constructing one.

(and believe me I need step-by-step instructions - first pitch available on request)

 

How do I distil the essence, the multifaceted nuances and twists, the pivotal plot points of my 110,000 masterpiece to the back of a Cornflake’s box?

LIKE THIS IT SEEMS:

How to create that 25-word pitch: 

(Note: these steps are a framework not a strait-jacket. Adapt if necessary. For non-fiction omit 1 and 2 and decide what your book is about and who it’s for.)

1. Take your main character (MC) and give him/her an epithet – eg vengeful divorcee, desperate aspiring author…
2. Identify the MC’s central mission/problem/fear and what he stands to lose if he fails.
3. Brainstorm words and phrases that your book conjures up, including themes, moods, actions.
4. Pick the 25-30 that sound most compelling.
5. Pick the 5-8 of those that sound even more compelling then the others.
6. Fashion those ingredients into a tight, heart-tugging 25-word pitch.
7. Include wolves.

1.  Kai - Lost boy (too peter pan)
2. Becomes increasingly isolated until his physic pain begins to manifest itself physically as a disruptive presence
3. *done in my head like the rest of this should have been* 
4. Winter, glass, ice, mirrors, Snow Queen, Supernatural, Nature, Charmed objects, dark magic, wolves, foxes, friendship, betrayal, loneliness, isolation, redemption, preternatural, misery, peevishness, cruelty, sorrow, love, fantasy, imagination, violence, escape, running, premonition, predestined, neglect,  snow, bleak, desolate, warm, forgiving, bonded, medal, crows, trees watching, birds watching, nature looms in to inspect the scene, the farm is alive, a voice shrieks out in the darkness, thwarted nature, Kai’s voice is stolen, he is powerless, the boy is cipher for all the negative emotion he cannot express makes him self-harm, disruptive behaviour, paranoia, destruction, girl, longing, farm, adventure, death, magic, protection
5. Supernatural, charmed, dark magic, betrayal, isolation, cruelty, destruction, longing
6. Lost boy Kai becomes increasingly isolated until his physic pains manifests itself as a destructive presence
7. Lost boy Kai becomes increasingly isolated until his physic pain manifests itself as a physical presence.  This destructive force tricks him into betraying his best friend Jimmy.  Preternatural forces surround the farm battling the sympathetic magic of nature, the charm that Granny left to protect him and the girl who dreams about him. 

So, you’ve got your 25-word pitch. Next, swell it to a paragraph by elaborating on that “must-read” core.

My guidelines follow. It’s hard to create guidelines that apply to every type of story, so do adapt at least 1 and 2. Again, for non-fiction, use common sense and omit points that don’t apply.

1. Focus on main plot only. (Obviously, if you have a dual story, or similar, you might need to mention both but aim for the minimum.)
2. Show MC’s central mission/problem/fear and what he stands to lose if he fails – and indicate (some) obstacles and journey.

Lost boy Kai becomes increasingly isolated until his physic pain manifests itself as a physical presence.  This destructive force tricks him into betraying his best friend Jimmy.  Preternatural forces surround the farm they are countered by the sympathetic magic of nature and the charm that Granny left to protect him. A girl dreams about Kai.  Her home situation mirrors his, it is bleak and uncomfortable.  They find each other and share an adventure as she uncovers how to break ‘the boy’s’ hold over Kai.  Ultimately ‘the boy’s’ hold is too great and Kai retracts from society into an inner landscape of cold, desolate winter (with wolves).    

3. Be concrete, not abstract. For example, avoid statements such as, “This is a book about survival” – show us who survives what and how.
4. Give a sense of the tone. For example, for a humorous book, convey this.
5. Do not praise your writing. It is not for you to describe your prose as “poignantly lyrical with flashes of genius”.
6. Stay true to your genre. For example, what might sound compelling in a crime novel may not sound compelling in a romance.
7. Do include a sense of the ending when pitching to agents and publishers. This doesn’t mean you must say exactly what happens, but we need to know something of the resolution.
8. Avoid unanswered questions such as “Does Larry save the world?” “Will Ella ever find love?”
9. Comparisons with other books can work but require great care. They must add something to our understanding of what sort of book it is. “My book is a cross between Twilight and Where the Wild Things Are” is not going to work.
10. Hone, hone, hone – imagine each word costs you $10.
11. Get others to read your pitch – it’s amazing how helpful an outside view can be.

 End Product - Pitch

Lost boy Kai becomes increasingly isolated until his psychic pain manifests itself as a physical presence – ‘the boy.’  This destructive force tricks him into betraying his best friend Jimmy.  Preternatural forces surround the farm, they are countered by the sympathetic magic of nature and the charm that Granny left to protect him. A girl dreams about Kai.  Her home situation mirrors his, it is bleak and uncomfortable.  They find each other and share an adventure, she tries to break ‘the boy’s’ hold over Kai.  Her compassion and empathy are not enough to save him as ultimately the hold is too great.  Kai retracts from society to an inner landscape, cold and desolate, bleak as winter.    

 (maybe a little clunky but workable?) 

(bearing in mind i'm leaving out death, an affair, someone getting stabbed with a kitchen knife and other random incidents of violence, sexual assault, knacker drinking and taking yokes!!)