Pitchapalooza!

Tonight I attended Pitchapalooza, and whoo-eee, what a ride!

Pitchapalooza is an online event where the hosts choose 20 writers out of a hat and each writer gets 60 seconds to pitch their book. It’s run by authors Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, also known as “The Book Doctors” and the creators of America’s Next Great Author.

Billed as “American Idol for Books,” the event is aptly named, since each author gets a limited time to impress the judges, with instant feedback. Fortunately for us writers, Arielle and David are much nicer than Simon Cowell!

Well, that four-leaf clover I found this summer must have paid off, because they chose me to pitch my novel-in-progress. I raced through the 200-ish words that I’d written an hour before, and I brought it in right at the buzzer. Although I didn’t win (congrats Hannah Jackson), both the judges and audience seemed to like my pitch, and the judges’ feedback was absolutely spot-on. It was incredibly nerve-wracking, but I’m so glad I did it. I’m still on an adrenaline high several hours later!

I highly recommend every aspiring book author attend one of these events. If you get selected to pitch, it is great practice, and even if you don’t, you learn so much from watching other people’s pitches and the judges’ critiques. Some tips they offered at the event:

• Delivery is important. Be lively; don’t read in a monotone. The pitch is your audition, and your unique voice needs to shine through. Tell that story like you were telling it to your buddy at the coffee shop or the bar.
• Structure the pitch well. Make it clear as early as possible whether it’s fiction, nonfiction, a story collection, a memoir, etc. Outline most of the plot, but not all of it. Leave them wanting more.
• Practice. Video record yourself reading your pitch. Play it back to find areas that could be stronger.