The Pitch
The title reminds me of baseball, but I am not talking about a fastball.
Did you know I am going to a conference next week?
It is a speaking and writing conference. There I get to pitch my book idea to an agent and an acquisitions editor at a publishing house. To say I am excited is an understatement. A bit nervous, maybe.
In order to prepare to pitch my idea I need to develop an elevator pitch. A one-minute pitch that can be given while waiting on the elevator…Below is my pitch:
Hi my name is Angela Mackey and I wanted to meet with you today because I am looking for a publishing house to publish my book. or I am looking for an agent to represent me.
I’m writing a Christian living non-fiction book that I would like to tell you about if you have time….It is titled Difficult to Conceive: A Godly Perspective for the Road Ahead.
As an experienced girlfriend and registered nurse who has navigated the roads marked “infertile,” I will help shine the light of God’s word on the difficult journey of infertility and offer encouragement, hope, and direction. Difficult to Conceive will offer practical strategies to help women deal with common faith crises that arise while dealing with infertility and discover joy in the Lord even if He never gives her children.
I have been blogging since 2010 and am committed to my steadily growing platform. I have three articles about infertility on ezinearticles.com, one of which was published in Stepping Stones Newsletter, the infertility ministry of Bethany Christian Services. I also have two articles awaiting publication in MomSense magazine as well as several guest posts on popular websites including incourage.me.
Does that sound like something you would be interested in?
May I give you a copy of my one-sheet?
Why did I share my pitch with you? For one thing, I would love your input or thoughts. Is it clear, compelling, concise, interesting?
Secondly Brooke McGlothlin is offering a give-away as part of her new e-book Notes to Aspiring Writers coming out next week.
Finally would you please pray for me as I prepare for this upcoming conference? I want to honor God in all I say and do. Thanks friends! I can’t wait to tell you about my conference.
6 Comments
Leave a Comment
I will be praying for you, Miss Angela. I like your pitch, but may I make a suggestion despite never having done a pitch before?
They say you only have eleven seconds to make a first impression. You can probably eliminate your first paragraph as you are at a writing and speaking conference. Not to be too pedantic, but that would be like going to a KU basketball game and introducing yourself by saying, “Hi, I’m here to watch Jayhawk basketball.”
So I think the best idea is to launch into your concept right away. You should definitely use something that fits your personal speaking style best, so maybe something like…
“Hello, my name is Angela Mackey and I’m writing a book called Difficult to Conceive: A Godly Perspective for the Road Ahead. My book will offer effective, Bible-based strategies for ladies dealing with infertility or barrenness.”
Also, you mentioned that you were an experienced girlfriend, but not a mother or wife? If I didn’t know you personally, I’d assume you were childless. I think one of your best selling points is that you have the perspective of having children. You’ve had children both the natural way and through in vitro fertilization, and you’ve also been told you will never have children again. Again, this is merely a suggestion:
“I am writing this book even though I am a mother of three beautiful children and a wife of ten years. I conceived my first child naturally but health complications led me to have my next two children through in vitro fertilization. Then one day my doctor told me that I would never have children again.”
It may be too personal, but my understanding of the publishing world is that pitches have to answer the question, “Why do you want to write this book?”
Thanks for your input and prayers Daniel.
I agree with Daniel. I’d also find a different way to say “experienced girlfriend,” and qualify how being those things helps you to “shine light” on a Christian woman’s path of infertility.
Good luck!
Thanks Susan. I ended up going for a very short 30 second pitch that they could ask more questions about if they were interested. I actually said, “I am writing a non-fiction Christian book titled Difficult to Conceive. It offers infertile women hope, encouragement, and direction. It also provides practical tools for how to deal with the faith crises that arise while dealing with infertility.” Then if they sounded interested I added why I was qualified. Including my infertility story, my husband, my kids, and that I am a nurse. It went wonderfully because I gave out three proposals. God is so good!
I have to say, I totally agree with Daniel. Cut to the chase right at the beginning when you’re at She Speaks (however, if you meet an agent/publisher at the mall keep the first part in). And I never noticed it the first time around, but you didn’t mention that you’re a wife and mother…you definitely should.
But to answer your main question – yes, it is concise, compelling AND interesting! You know I’ll be handing out copies once it’s in print. And I have no doubt it will be…
Thanks Tyler!