Okay … just one more post-Comic-Con blog …
One thing that surprised me at Comic-Con, from a creator’s standpoint, was the way many of my compatriots behind the many booths "sold" their books, how they delivered their elevator pitch. That’s the "okay, you’ve got 30 seconds to grab my attention, so go, starting … NOW!" pitch. Like, "It’s Mary Poppins meets with Reservoir Dogs," or ?It?s Happy Days meets American Idol.? And even though it’s a rehearsed pitchOkay … just one more post-Comic-Con blog …
One thing that surprised me at Comic-Con, from a creator’s standpoint, was the way many of my compatriots behind the many booths "sold" their books, how they delivered their elevator pitch. That’s the "okay, you’ve got 30 seconds to grab my attention, so go, starting … NOW!" pitch. Like, "It’s Mary Poppins meets with Reservoir Dogs," or ?It?s Happy Days meets American Idol.? And even though it’s a rehearsed pitch that you can give dozens, if not hundreds of times, it’s amazing how quickly you can lose your edge, and fumble over your own words when someone asks you.
Sometimes you’re talking to someone about just about anything other than your book, and then someone new comes up, asks you what your book is about, and you can get that "huh, whuh?" look on your face. You’re not completely in the moment, and it’s like the gears in your brain just can’t spin properly, as if they’re stuck in molasses. Or else you?re tired, or distracted by any of the other elements of your life, or you?re hungry, or your back hurts, or you have go to the bathroom.
And I saw a lot of creators at their booths, who have done dozens upon dozens of shows, and how they struggled at times with their elevator pitch. Not because they don’t know it, but because it’s difficult to be completely "on" all the time. And when that’s necessary, it’s amazing how you can alter your language–your exact words–just slightly when you repeat yourself, and how that can either more effectively draw in new people, or even become less effective. Just a few words can make all the difference.
I’ll explain:
For me, Comic-Con was a great experience because it helped me–forced me–to get my elevator pitch nailed down solid.
As I noted in previous blogs, getting my pitch nailed down for FINDERS KEEPERS wasn’t easy, as it’s a big, rousing adventure with lots of characters and some wacky situations. Plus, at the beginning of my process, my phrasing–the exact words I used–was off just slightly. My original mini-pitch–my elevator pitch–was:
"FINDERS KEEPERS is loosely based on a backpacking trip I took through Europe, set against a mad dash for a glass jar that just might contain the essence of the Universe."
I kinda had the people who would be interested in this kind of comical sci-fi/fantasy, but those last words "essence of the Universe" were too vague and elusive. It took me many, many months to figure that out. So then I spent some time revising, and worked on that longer query letter to agents (which I’ve included below again), which now provides a much, much better big picture view of FINDERS KEEPES and much more enticing query. The feedback has been quite good.
But I forgot one thing. Something incredibly important.
When you’re sending in a query to an agent, they read it–it’s in writing–and so they can go at their own pace. The written word is a far different exchange than a verbal delivery. It’s a totally different experience. There’s just no way to give a longer, more detailed, big picture "elevator pitch" in 30 seconds when 30 seconds is all you get. I spent so much time focusing on book agents that I didn’t refocus my elevator pitch for Hollywood agents. In fact, it made me realize that I didn’t have the right description for when anyone would ask me what it’s about.
Several times over the last month or so people at work or when I was out socially would ask me about FINDERS KEEPERS, and I would stumble on my own words, because my agent pitch–though effective in writing–was too long for a 30-second mini-pitch. And as such, I would just say it’s a comical sci-fi/fantasy, or that it’s light sci-fi, and then direct them to my Web site. That is not optimal marketing.
So for the first few hours at Comic-Con I was pretty uncomfortable because I didn’t know how to talk about FINDERS KEEPERS. I knew how to describe it on paper, but talking about was something else.
And then I got back to basics.
I went back to my original pitch, but I made a few tweaks. I revised my language. But those few words seemed to make all the difference. I found my comfort zone, and it really did the trick, based on the very positive reaction I got from it. What I know say is this:
"FINDERS KEEPERS is loosely based on a backpacking trip I took through Europe with a friend of mine from New Zealand, set against a quest for a jar that contains the Universe’ DNA."
I added "with a friend of mine from New Zealand" to give it a buddy-movie feel, and also a more exotic scope, and I changed "dash" to "quest," to make it more specific and more epic. I also removed the words "just might contain" to "contains," making the plot more definitive, and I changed "the essence of the Universe" to "the Universe’s DNA."
That last bit, I realized some time ago, was the real key. "The essence of Universe" just had too many people rolling their eyes. "The Universe’s DNA" is scientific. It’ something anybody can wrap their mind around. It gives FINDERS KEEPERS scope, but with boundaries. It allows people to say, "oh, okay, I get that."
And the more I gave my tweaked elevator pitch, the more confidently I delivered it–and it showed. You can judge by the number of people who actually buy your stuff, and also by their reactions. You have to read their faces, their body language. It’s like being a stand-up comic. You have to gauge audience reaction to know if a joke works, and whether you need to tweak the joke, or else get rid of it. But you make adjustments until you get it just right.
I feel that I’ve now got my elevator pitch just right. It?s set. So now when anybody asks me what FINDERS KEEPERS is about, I’ve got the words down pat. I’m feeling super comfortable, which is the best way to promote anything.
When I first starting writing FINDERS KEEPERS, it hadn’t occurred to me just how big this venture can be. There are so many layers, so much to learn. There’s the writing, and there’s the business side of getting published, and then there’s the Hollywood/TV angle. It’s a massive undertaking. And while it’s hard work, there’s so much to glean from it.
And once again, just by being invested, I’ve been forced to improve my techniques and approach. And I?m so much better off for it.
***
Here?s the key part of my agent query for FINDERS KEEPERS:
What if, in some distant corner of the cosmos, there is a gossipy, Hollywood-like realm devoted solely to development of the Universe? And what if creation of planets, moons, stars and the like require but a few drops of the Universe?s DNA, which is stored in a protective glass jar? In regard to Earth, what if the supervisors assigned to overseeing its construction were unqualified and inexperienced? What if they were also newlyweds, who made love on the job site? And in doing so, what if they accidentally knocked that jar into the still-forming planet below, where it was lost for billions of years?
Fast forward to present day Earth, when wannabe-English teacher Jason Medley, one of the heroes of FINDERS KEEPERS, is stuck in that netherworld between college and a career until he reluctantly quits his go-nowhere waiter job on Long Island, and backpacks across Europe. There he meets Theo Karnes, an adventurous New Zealander who has already stumbled upon the hallucination-inducing jar–that won’t open–unaware of what’s actually inside.
As the new friends travel from city to city, trying to outrun their impending adult responsibilities, they encounter a young, sultry painter with a secret agenda, a haunted past and a habit for finding trouble. Meanwhile, Earth?s banished galaxy designer and her talking brown Labrador, the newlyweds with a famous friend, and a drag queen with a dream each have their own designs for Theo’s jar, forcing all involved to decide what really matters to them most, and why.
Traversing Europe, New Zealand and the backbone of Eternity, FINDERS KEEPERS is a tale of cosmic lunacy that not only tackles friendship, loyalty, sex and desire, but also God, reincarnation–and what really happened to the dinosaurs.
Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/08/05 09:58
