Pitch Perfect: Crafting a Meaningful Book Pitch

Writer: Hannah Larrew

For many writers, developing an elevator pitch for their books is one of the most difficult aspects about self-promotion. The process of boiling a project down to a couple of quippy lines is kind of intimidating. However, it’s something that every author should do. You may notice if you’ve landed a book event at an indie bookstore, or solidified a feature article, the point person will ask for a “brief description” of you and your work. Key word: brief. Most event venues, festivals, and media outlets don’t want to (and simply won’t) read a page or more long synopsis of your book. The question is, when you put your heart and soul into something, how can you possibly summarize it in 50-100 words?

As a publicist in the literary world, pitching authors’ books is a massive part of my job. It’s also one of the hardest parts. We want to make sure we highlight the plot and what readers can expect to take away from reading your book, while being intentional with our words. Though difficult, crafting a creative and concise pitch will make it a lot easier to answer the question, “so, what do you write about?” to anyone who asks.

Let’s talk about how we come up with a good pitch for your book:

Step 1: Do what I like to call a complete word purge. Write a long pitch for your book and include all the details you want in it. Include context for the story. AKA, why should your readers care? Don’t worry about making it pretty, just write.

Step 2: Make a list of the takeaways you want your readers to have when they finish your book. Highlight the ones you think are most important.

Step 3: Go back and look at your word purge and takeaway list and EDIT! You’re a writer, so you’re no stranger to the editing process. Take out sentences that feel empty, combine takeaways that are saying the same thing. Chances are, you’ll be looking at a much shorter description.

Step 4: Include your accolades as a writer. Have you won awards? Are you a well-respected thought leader writing nonfiction? Adding relevant accolades will help add weight to your pitch.

Step 5: Add some personality to the pitch. We’re sharing your story; we want a little piece of you in there. This will sell not only your book, but your author brand, too.

Some of my favorite book pitches that get the job done are:

From New York Times bestselling author, Lisa Jewell, comes a chilling thriller called The Night She Disappeared. On a beautiful summer night in a charming English suburb, a young woman and her boyfriend disappear after partying at the massive country estate of a new college friend. One year later, a writer moves into a cottage on the edge of the woods that border the same estate.

Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Powers crafts the thought-provoking novel, The Overstory, about nine Americans whose unique life experiences with trees bring them together to address the destruction of forests. Powers was inspired to write the work while teaching at Stanford University, after he encountered giant redwood trees for the first time.

In her new novel, Hieroglyphics, award-winning writer Jill McCorkle beautifully traces the lives of four characters whose lives are shaped by horrific losses. It all begins with Lil and Frank, a married couple in their 80s, are each marked in childhood by the sudden death of a parent by violent accident.

Something I like to tell my authors is that this should be a fun project. You’re a storyteller, telling your story’s story. The goal is to make the person or group you’re pitching to want more – you don’t have to give them everything they need to know from the get-go. Your story is good. They will come back for more if you do it right.

About the Writer