The one question I get most often in regard to Finders Keepers is: what?s it about?
Fair enough. Logical first question.
Also a tricky one.
Most stories are more standard, or straightforward. For example:
After discovering that her fianc? was cheating on her with her best friend, Bonnie takes off for a summer escape to the Bahamas. There she meets a charming young writer from Denver whose family is far more mysterious–and deadly–than she ever could have imagined. (Hey, thThe one question I get most often in regard to Finders Keepers is: what?s it about?
Fair enough. Logical first question.
Also a tricky one.
Most stories are more standard, or straightforward. For example:
After discovering that her fianc? was cheating on her with her best friend, Bonnie takes off for a summer escape to the Bahamas. There she meets a charming young writer from Denver whose family is far more mysterious–and deadly–than she ever could have imagined. (Hey, that wasn?t bad. I just made that up in like 30 seconds!)
But you get my point. Easy to fit into a box.
But Finders Keepers is a tale of what I like to call cosmic lunacy. Here’s my pitch:
[i]Finders Keepers is a little bit different. It?s loosely based on a backpacking trip I took through Europe, set against a mad dash for a jar that just might contain the essence of the Universe[/i].
Like I said. Cosmic lunacy. Not as easy to put into a box.
From this, however, there are two points I want to talk about.
When I give this summary–this pitch–I pretty much get just one of two reactions. The first usually goes something like this:
?Whoa! That?s freakin? cool. I gotta check that out. Sounds amazing. I can?t think of anything out there quite like it. When?s it coming out? When can I read it??
I kinda like that reaction.
The other reaction usually goes something like this:
…
…
(blank stare, glazed-over look, with the person I’m talking to essentially thinking: ?Uh … yeah. Universe. Right. I?m going to leave now and hang out with the other grownups. I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about, and I don’t want to. Please go away.")
In fact, this happened to me just the other day. I was explaining my book to a friend of the family, someone in his 60s, and after delivering my pitch, his response was response No. 2?[i]the look[/i].
I kinda like this reaction a bit less than the other one.
There?s nothing quite like having someone look at you like you?re dumber than dirt. Although … the look on their face is almost priceless, because my pitch is so far beyond what they expect me to say, it?s almost worth the subsequent rejection.
Almost.
My other point is related to the first. Because Finders Keepers is indeed outside the norm–cosmic lunacy isn’t exactly run-of-the-mill–and because I [i]know[/i] that I?m pretty much going to get one of those two reactions, sometimes I get caught off guard when I speak to someone who I already think will give me the ?you?re a moron? look.
When that happens, I occasionally fumble over my words exactly because I don?t [i]want [/i]to get that look, even though I know?without a doubt?that at least some people [i]will[/i] react that way. And once in a while, when I assume that?s just how they?ll react, I preemptively feel like a jackass because I think [i]they?ll[/i] think I?m a jackass.
That?s something I need to change. Pronto.
Fact: not everybody is going to like what I do. Nothing will ever change that. And as I was reminded not too long ago, this business is filled with rejection. If I can?t handle that rejection, I should think very strongly about doing something else.
Doesn?t mean I have to like the rejection, but I need to be prepared for it, and be prepared to handle it in a way that allows me to keep my self-esteem.
In regard to getting caught off guard, it?s really just a matter of me practicing my pitch. Sometimes I?ll go a week or two, or maybe more, when nobody new asks me about my book, and I forget the exact phrasing I like to use. I fumble for the words. And especially with a high-concept book, the pitch is key. Either I hook them or I don?t. And if I don?t, I don?t get much of a chance to get them back.
So a little more regular practice on my pitch and I should be good to go. Along the way I?ll hold onto as many [i]Wow[/i] reactions as I can, letting them counterbalance the blank stares. [i]The look.[/i] It?s one heckuv an extreme, but it?s the world I live in.
Welcome to Finders Keepers.
Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/04/05 20:26
Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/04/05 21:42
Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/04/06 08:53
