|
|
Why You Need an Elevator Pitch
Picture yourself suddenly standing in a small elevator right beside your favorite director. You know the guy, the one dude on the planet who could take your screenplay (or book) and turn it into the movie of the year - the one that is fawned over by and rewarded with mountains of box office receipts.
You have precisely 2 minutes before the ding of the elevator signals the parting doors and your once in a lifetime opportunity turns and walks away forever. Do you know what you are going to say?
Think about it, would you ramble on and on about the color of the sky outside, complain about the ever increasing cost of fuel, or would you take your few given minutes to wisely capitalize on the opportunity that life suddenly saw fit to hand you, doing all you can to convince the director that you are the right person to deliver him his next passion project?
Yes, the odds of finding yourself in an elevator with your favorite director are slim (if they even exist at all), but that isn't the point. Whatever dream you hold close to your heart should be treated with care. It is best to enter each day prepared to pull your dream into reality by whatever means necessary.
If (for example) you are writing a novel in hopes that you will one day see it in print, you should be able to sum up the book's basic synopsis in under three minutes.
This is what is called an elevator pitch.
So how does one draft an elevator pitch? How can you condense the dozens of story threads in your complicated tale to such a degree that they can be honestly delivered without the loss of their magic?
Aim for the bulls-eye. Trim your story down to only that which truly matters. Even the longest stories ever written contain a summary on the back. Your job with an elevator pitch is to thin the elements of your narrative, while thickening the essential theme.
There is tremendous value in the practice, as committing your pitch to writing will also enable you to understand your story better. Understanding your story will allow you to pen the best version possible. Most authors would agree, it is often unfocused writing that paves the road to an incomplete or unsatisfying novel.
If chapters do not fall like dominos, each in front of the next, the ending will likely find an author wrestling through to the end. Unfortunately, few writers are willing to fight the tough fight through to the ending of an unclear narrative, and there are even fewer willing readers.
Focus on the core of your book by finding the single thread that can pull it all together. Sure, the best stories contain multiple elements, but there is always something intrinsic to the tale that binds it all together; one topic, idea or element that clearly supersedes all others.
Pick up a pen and piece of paper. Attempt to write an elevator pitch for your project. You never know when you might find yourself in an elevator with an editor from Random House.
About the Author Sean Platt is a ghostwriter and blog writer. Visit him at GhostWriterDad.com and order your custom blog post, SEO web copy or press release today!
|
 |
Please Rate: |
|
Rating: |
 Processing ... |
(Average: Not rated) |
| Views: | 61 | |
|
| More Articles from Copywriting | | |
| Top Articles in Copywriting | | |
|
