Let’s discuss about another very important part of your book marketing initiatives The Elevator Pitch. The moment you tell people that you are writing/have written a book, the first thing they want to know is what your book is about. Grab it! This is your chance to interest, intrigue and impress them.

What typically happens is that you go on a fifteen minute rant about your plot and then run around in circles until you have confused the hell out of the poor soul who cared to ask. We have all done this at some point. Here is how you can avoid this.

Pitching your book:

Have you noticed how companies pitch their product/offering to their customers? It’s crisp, clear and explains the purpose of their existence in just a couple of sentences.

Example: Notion Press is a launch pad for books and writers. We help authors publish a good book and make it available to readers around the world.

Those two simple sentences are enough to explain what we do. It represents what we stand for. Let’s try this on a book.

Harry Potter: My book is a fantasy fiction novel about the adventures of a young wizard who is destined to defeat the evil forces that have been terrorizing the wizarding world.

Now, try it on your book. Whether it is a story or non-fiction, there is one underlying theme that represents what your book is about. Write it down. Try to cut it down to one or two sentences and remember to always keep it simple.

Voila! You have your pitch. This goes everywhere – when you explain your book in person, on your website, the ‘About’ section of your Facebook page, advertisement campaigns etc.  Remember, this is your pitch and not to be confused with the cover copy that goes on the back of your book. That is a whole different animal to tame. You can read about it here.