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Why Does Your Book Pitch Matter?

October 16, 2016

texture
There’s a Lot of Noise Out There.

As a writer, I find I’m always listening to other people’s conversations. Don’t get me wrong … I don’t do it to eavesdrop … it’s just a habit I developed to help me understand how people really talk to each other. It’s enormously helpful when crafting realistic dialogue.

I was at the recent 2016 Rochester Writers’ Conference at Oakland University, when something I overheard really struck me.

While standing in the registration line, I heard one of the attendees ask another, “You’ve published a book? Super! What’s it about?” The question wasn’t directed at me, but I have to admit I was looking forward to the answer.

Unfortunately, the author responded with a long, rambling, hard-to-follow discourse that demonstrated an utter lack of understanding about what he really needed to do … quickly get across the premise of what his book will deliver.

I walked away (so did the questioner), certain I no longer cared.

The experience really made me think. As an indie author, you will be asked many times what your book is about. Will your answer draw people in, make them curious, and let them know right away whether or not it’s something they might be interested in reading?

Or will it make them walk away?

What Should It Be About?
In the business world a brief, persuasive sales speech is called an elevator pitch (a good one lasts no longer than a short elevator ride, hence the name). I’ve talked about it before.

Consider the information that must be delivered in mere seconds and you can see why crafting a great pitch is a bit of an art form. You need to be able, in 30 seconds or less, to explain why your book stands out from the crowd.

I was in the advertising business for a long time and our most creative minds spent endless hours focusing on the “promise” of a product. Most of the effort was to describe the product’s emotional payoff rather than its efficacy.

In other words, sell the sizzle, not the steak.

So how do you prepare to sell your book to a stranger?

Write It Down, Then Edit
You need to give a good idea of the genre, the book’s main hook, your qualifications, comparable books and why it’s different or exciting. It’s a lot to talk about, so once you have some idea of what to include, write it down.

Then condense that information and choose the points you think will best help you sell your book in the shortest amount of time. Go over your pitch until you’ve tailored it to pique your audience’s attention. It’s not easy.

I remember a quote attributed to German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. He wrote a letter to a friend that started: “I’m sorry to send you such a long letter. I didn’t have time to send you a short one.”

I don’t mention it to be funny.

Just as Goethe was implying with his letter, it’s a challenge to create a summary that highlights exactly why your work would be of interest, and combines it all with clear benefits for the reader.

Remember It’s a Conversation
Although essentially a sales pitch, you can’t afford to come across like the stereotypical overzealous used-car dealer. Communicate your ideas clearly and concisely, focusing on your passion for the story.

Also be aware of body language, because it sometimes speaks louder than your words. To look comfortable is to be comfortable. Believe in your words and try not to sound too rehearsed.

And for Heaven’s sake, don’t forget to smile – you’re a published author and you’re proud of your work!

Crafting and perfecting an elevator pitch gives you a valuable resource for those times when you have to flip a switch and promote your book in the quickest, most efficient way possible.

When that stranger asks, “So, what’s your book about?” you have your opening … and you’re ready to go for it.

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I’ll be at the “Books & Authors” book-signing event at Leon & Lulu in Clawson, on October 23, 2016, practicing my elevator pitches. Hope to see you there.

On November 19, 2016, I’ll be in attendance at the Readers Favorite award ceremony at the Regency Hotel in Miami.

On December 3, 2016, I’ll be signing books from 1:00-4:00 pm at the annual “Giving Season” event at the Orion Township Public Library (825 Joslyn Rd).

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My books have all garnered some terrific reviews and you can see the ones I have available by using the Amazon link below. Look for them. Better yet, buy one and read it. You just might like it.

You’re invited to visit my web site, BROKEN GLASS, or
like my Book of Face page. You can find me on Goodreads, or follow
some of my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

If you’ve written an interesting book too, consider submitting it to the Readers Favorite annual contest by using the banner link below.
What do you have to lose?

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Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags:award-winning writing, book marketing, indie writers, self-publishing, storytelling
Posted in Branding, Market Your Book, Storytelling | Leave a Comment »

Why Write?

July 1, 2016

Detroit Fireworks Fireworks Over the Detroit River.

As we ease into the holiday, I sometimes look back on things I’ve talked about here. I often get asked why I write, and if you follow this blog you know it’s one of the subjects I’ve mentioned before.

I don’t know that I’ve ever said it’s sometimes a tough question to answer … but it is.

It got tougher this week when I had to answer my grandson about it. He knows I’ve been writing books, and our conversation (which came out of the blue, mind you) went something like this:

“How many books did you sell today, Grandpa?”

Now, I had been watching him and his friend Gavin play with water balloons in the back yard, so his question caught me totally by surprise. “I don’t know, Lucas.”

“Well,” he said, putting his balloon down carefully on the grass, “How many did you sell yesterday?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

He rolled his eyes. “How many have you sold altogether?”

“I’d have to look it up, Lucas … I don’t know that either.”

He put his hands on his hips and gave me a stern look. “Well, don’t you think you should?”

When I shrugged, he looked at me, still dead serious, and asked, “Why else do you write them?”

After he was asleep, I mentioned his earlier cross examination to my wife, and together we had a good laugh.

Making a lot of money writing books would be nice, but I’ve explained here before that I don’t really do it for the money. I write because I have stories to tell.

Besides, I’m still working on the whole marketing thing, and that’s hard to explain to a nine-year-old.

Of course, I hope people will begin to notice my work so sales will take off. I often tell folks I sell enough right now to buy my bride a nice dinner out once in a while. She usually rolls her eyes if she hears me say it (I’m beginning to think the whole family practices the look).

I have stories to tell.

I sometimes think my bride is right when she says that can’t be the real reason. She thinks I do it for the acclaim, although I doubt I have to point out to her that sales haven’t been exactly been overwhelming the past four years, despite some good reviews.

For instance, I had several good reviews this week for my latest novel, BLOOD LAKE. One was from Carla Trueheart for Readers’ Favorite who gave it Four Stars and said: “… extremely original … characters were done very well … I do recommend it ….”

Another came from The BookLife Prize in Fiction (Publishers Weekly), who said “… Strong prose and well-developed characters are the novel’s strengths …”

The other was from Top Book Reviewers who loved it.

However, sales for the book the first few weeks have only been so-so (but it is still early).

So Why Do It?
Thinking about it made me pause and look up top-selling authors I’ve read, to see if they had ever commented on why they write.

What I discovered was interesting.

Anne Rice signing

Anne Rice
Born Howard Allen Frances O’Brien, Anne is an American author perhaps best known for her popular and influential series of novels, The Vampire Chronicles. When you listen to her comments, you realize the motivations for an author to write can sometimes be far different from what you imagined:

“Writers write about what obsesses them … I lost my mother when I was fourteen. My daughter died at the age of six. I lost my faith as a Catholic. When I’m writing, the darkness is always there. I go where the pain is.”

george-orwell George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (1903–1950), who used the pen name George Orwell, is probably best known for his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) and the allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945). In his 1946 essay, Why I Write, he revealed what he believed are four explicit motives for writing.

“Sheer egoism, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse and political purpose.” The essay examines these motives in his own work, then boldly concludes: “All writers are vain, selfish, and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery.”

Stephen King
King’s memoir On Writing, published in 2000, offers advice about the craft through tales of his childhood and life-changing incidents like his near-fatal accident in 1999. He said that, in the end, all writing is about “enriching the lives of those who read your work, and enriching your own life, as well.”

Although many may imagine him brooding at his desk, King’s ultimate reasons for writing are far more cheerful. “It’s about getting up, getting well, and getting over,” he said. “Getting happy, okay?”

If I had sales like his I’d be very happy, indeed.

Mickey Spillane
Never one of my favorite authors, Mickey Spillane (1918–2006) started as a writer for comic books. While critics scorned his artless plots, reliance on unlikely coincidence and simplistic understanding of the law, he answered them with the terse comment: “If the public likes you, you’re good.”

There’s a kernel of truth in his remark. While, in my opinion, he never got to be a noticeably better writer, Spillane felt age and experience made him better, and he pressed on (a large following undoubtedly helped, too).

“If you’re a singer you lose your voice. A baseball player loses his arm. A writer gets more knowledge and if he’s good,” Spillane said, “the older he gets, the better he writes.”

I’m not sure that’s true (it wasn’t, in his case) but, given my age, as far as I’m concerned that’s great news (wink). I’ll have to share it with my grandson.

I don’t compare myself to any of these well-known literary figures, but I understand what drove them. It’s the same thing that’s had me publish six books in a little over four years, and keeps me working now on number seven.

I have stories to tell.

Although my bride would rather it was for the money.

Why do you write?

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My books have all garnered some terrific reviews, and you can see the ones I have available by using the Amazon link below. Look for them. Better yet, buy one and read it over the holiday. You just might like it.

You’re invited to visit my web site, BROKEN GLASS, or
like my Book of Face page. You can find me on Goodreads, or follow
some of my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

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Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags:indie writers, self-publishing, storytelling
Posted in Award-Winning Fiction, Storytelling | 6 Comments »

When Did You Start to Write Stories?

April 3, 2016

kid writing
When You Feel the Urge to Write … You Write.

I’ve been thinking about all the wannabe authors out there. I don’t know why. I suppose it’s because I’m in the same boat with them. I write because I feel the urge to put my stories down for others to read. It’s something I have to do.

Have to.

Even though I occasionally wonder if I’m relevant.

I often hear young people talking about what cool new music they’ve been listening to and, if they bother to ask me about it, all I can think of is stuff from the 60’s. Some of them might even laugh at some of the songs I mention.

Nobody seems very interested in my opinions about the sorry state of music these days which, I suppose, is the way it should be. I had my turn, with my father not liking all that yeah, yeah shit I listened to.

Except …

Music isn’t just for the young. I noticed a few months ago that SiriusXM Radio quit their 40’s channel (it actually went away in 2014), which would have been a great shock to my mother … if she knew anything at all about XM Radio.

She would have missed the music, if she had subscribed to the station. That, alas, was never going to happen. Her shock would have come because she distinctly remembers radio coming through the airwaves for free. Why would she ever want to pay for it?

Is it really the same thinking to wonder why my sons (or most anyone else in their generation) wouldn’t want to listen to The Last Train to Clarksville, by the Monkees? It was a really big song in 1965, and I still know all the words.

Am I going to wake up some morning to discover SiriusXM Radio has discontinued their 60’s channel … because there aren’t enough subscribers in that age group anymore?

I suppose it’s inevitable.

That was the same year I wrote my first serious short story (I was a little older than the kid in the picture). Most of the magazines I sold a few shorts to over the years don’t even exist any more.

I didn’t really sit down to write fiction full-time, however, until I left the nine-to-five grind in the first quarter of 2008.

My first novel (published in 2012) was set in the 60s.

It was something I knew about, which was a very good reason to write about it … but just because I lived through it doesn’t mean it’s the only thing I can write.

The same should be true for you.

Personal experience shouldn’t be something limiting, despite the phrase write what you know. I’ve also written short stories dealing with Alzheimer’s, the war in Iraq, quantum physics and a meeting with the devil … none of which I’ve been directly involved in.

I can, however, read … and I do a lot of it.

That’s the key. Read. Read a lot. Read everything you can get your hands on. And, if you want to write … write. The stories will come.

I can’t vouch for how good they’ll be. You’ll have to take responsibility for that. But I promise you … if you sit down and do the work … they will come.

My latest, BLOOD LAKE, will be out this summer. Look for it.

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My books have all garnered some terrific reviews, and you can see the ones I have available by using the Amazon link below.

You’re invited to visit my web site, BROKEN GLASS, or
like my Book of Face page. You can find me on Goodreads, or follow
some of my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.