Saturday, December 5, 2015

Elevate Your Pitch!

Now that November is over, it's time to start editing the hell out of that NaNo manuscript. Getting rid of all the plot bunnies, the useless (yes, even if fun) tangents, the darlings and the indulgently purple prose.

And nothing helps focus on—even discover—the core of your novel like a cut-'em-to-the-bone pitch. Which is why Samantha Redstreake Geary, spectacular author and freelance writer for the music industry, has opened the Elevate Your Pitch competition.

Got a novel? Whether it's this year's NaNo project or something you've been working for longer than 30 days (and nights), you probably know that it's going to get nowhere without a brilliant elevator pitch.

What is an elevator pitch?
The way writers convey the promise of what reading their book will deliver on.
(paraphrased from Chuck Sambuchino @ WD)

He follows that with a tidbit of magic to illustrate:

"An unforgettable novel about finding a piece of yourself in someone else."
~ And The Mountains Echoed, Khaled Hosseini

Think of the pitch as the teaser trailer to your book. You have 20 seconds to hook a potential reader; how will you do it?

The best part: for this contest, you get to do it with music (like the pros!). Sam's providing all tracks of the Elevation album on the contest page—and if these awesome pieces don't inspire you to take your pitch to the next level, nothing will.



So go for it. Take a listen to the Elevation tracks, choose one that feels right for your manuscript, polish that pitch (max 3 sentences!), and submit via the comments form. Remember to mention which of the tracks you chose, so the judges can listen to it while reading.

Speaking of judges, I'm one of them—and I'm in excellent company, with author Amy Willoughby-Burle and Really Slow Motion director Agus González-Lancharro. Contest is open from now until January 8th, and prizes include:

— For the top three favorite pitches, digital copies of the Elevation album and of The Miracle of Small Things
One lucky overall winner will receive a gratis license to one of the Elevation tracks for use in a book trailer, and a signed paperback of The Miracle of Small Things



Sound cool? Sign up here! (And check the contest site for guidelines.)

If, for whatever reason, you're not ready to participate, you might still want to follow along; several guests and judges will be providing pitch-rocking tips while the competition runs. (And Sam's blog is totally worth following anyway, for content and visuals. And music.)


12 comments :

  1. It will be interesting what people come up with because I would assume this is one of the most difficult

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    1. I agree, Birgit! I'm horrible at these things... I think it requires a special skill set (which I lack). So yes, like you I'm very interested in seeing what people come up with—and learning from it :)

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  2. Excellent contest, Guilie and Sam!

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  3. Oh you are just too cool for school, Guilie! I suck at elevator pitches, blurbs and synopses. I have to pay someone to delete all the extraneous! I will be all agog to see what people much cleverer than I come up with!

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    1. Can I please have the number & email of the person you hire for the extraneous, Denise? Seriously... We all need one (or three) of those :D I suck at these things, too, so I'll be very much looking forward to seeing what these creative minds come up with. I hope, though, that people have fun with it...

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  4. Hi Guilie - that's an amazing opportunity and - yes all of us can benefit by joining you in the journey ... great idea - and we definitely need to be succinct. I'll be along - cheers Hilary

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    1. So glad you'll be following, Hilary! I'll look forward to your comments there, too :) Oh, how elusive that goal of "succinct" can be...

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  5. Sam always has magical ideas. This sounds really cool.
    I'd love to enter.
    We'll see...

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    1. I really hope you do, Michelle! I'd love to see what you come up with :) (And ditto on Sam's ideas... She's magic personified ;) )

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  6. I don't feel especially competent in delivering such a pitch. I get too wordy I think. I need to practice. Don't know if I can do any kind of competition though.

    Arlee Bird
    Wrote By Rote

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    1. I'm like that, too, Lee. Way too wordy. But, from your blog posts, I get the feeling you'll ace this once you set the goal of cutting out the "extraneous" (like Denise says). You're good at finding the core of ideas, and of giving them an unexpected background—which makes them pop. I think you'd rock it :)

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