Friday, April 27, 2018

Pitch me your book in 15 words!

To follow up on a comment in today's earlier blog post about what an effective pitch looks like, let's get some volunteers to pitch and see if they're effective.

Here's how to do this:

Write out your pitch ahead of time (as in don't type it directly in the comment column first!)
Let it sit for a bit.
Go back and review/revise.
Do this till you have something you like.

THEN POST your entry in the comment column of this blog post.
ONE entry per person (sorry 2Ns, it's a time management thing)

NO DO OVERS.
(that is, you cannot erase your entry and start over)
This means it's essential to draft in a place that is NOT the comment you intend to post.

Fifteen words max. Fewer are fine.

Be prepared for me to discuss your work here on this blog if you enter.
If you do NOT want me to do that, DO NOT ENTER.

Comments for this will open tomorrow at 7am.
They will close sometime thereafter, sooner if we get a lot of entries, rather than later.

Closed at 10:56am with 64 comments. That's about all I can look at in a day. 

My comments will be posted no earlier than Monday cause I'm traveling on Sunday.

Questions? Tweet to me @Janet_Reid

63 comments:

KariV said...

Saving his friend cost Prok his future. Saving the world may cost him his friend.

Gigi said...

When King Phillip IV unjustly executes her husband, Jeanne turns pirate to get revenge.

**

Thanks for doing this, Janet! So interested to see your takes on the pitches.

Elissa M said...

Hero unknowingly befriends conquering wizard he's supposed to kill. Also dragons. And a manipulative sword.

One Of Us Has To Go said...

Sonja blackmails long-term friend who knows this time she MUST kill Sonja. Problem: their co-dependency!

Just Jan said...

A twelve-year-old finds the cure for a sick dragon while outsmarting a dragon hunter.

Unknown said...

Aydin reopens the portal, but his expected saviors prefer to watch his planet die.

Emma said...

An undercover’s troubled son vanishes. Russian mobsters, confidential informants, an ex-husband. Wrong choices are deadly.

Anonymous said...

Security expert's covert evaluation turns nightmarish, complicated by her inscrutable client, his dragon, and magic.

french sojourn said...


Perfect fall-guy?

Careful.

He’s after them, now.

Hard.

Enter a stunning Judge, because convictions matter.

E.M. Goldsmith said...

This epic fantasy begins with exorcism. From the demonic protagonist’s point of view.

Unknown said...

Zarah uses an alter-ego to cope with PTSD, but then she meets Greg.

Sharyn Ekbergh said...

Brendan McCabe must decipher a mysterious theater production to solve a young girl’s disappearance.

InkStainedWench said...

Unwelcome lovers, family, and murderers stalk a reclusive reporter. She thwarts two out of three.

Margaret S. Hamilton said...

An imposter posing as an Economics professor coerces college students into his escort service.

KMK said...

DIVA IN TROUSERS: Swashbuckling soprano in 1899 New York solves mystery, charms wicked Duke.

LynnRodz said...

After years a homeless man, Michel learns the truth about his best friend's betrayal.

tmblayte said...


Miles should investigate, or be blamed for murders, executed with power only he can wield.

Dena Pawling said...


Extraterrestrial girl avoids discovery, rescues boy in foster care from monster wave and bullies.

Christine said...

Hunted by a corrupt leader, four teens with special abilities hide in a Georgia town.

Anonymous said...

Hollywood agent is tasked by God to save the world. Love thy neighbor or else.

Jill Warner said...

Swampy island. Runaway slave. Questionably sane princess. Dragons.

Aphra Pell said...

1642. Besieged and bereaved, Rebecca finds a friend in her enemy, and faces her ghosts.

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

Evelyn is a survivor. Think Ruth Madoff waiting tables and having to share her tips.

S.P. Bowers said...

Banishing her sister was necessary but hard. Now her sister is coming for revenge

Melanie Sue Bowles said...

Kip, thirteen, discovers the tragic reason her father hates horses. Repercussions reveal they're her destiny.

Kate Higgins said...

An accidental stowaway from OZ reluctantly learns adaptation from starkly non-magical residents of dustbowl Kansas.

JordanStephanie said...

Gender-bent classic monsters compete for a panacea. The only thing in their way— each other.

Gabby said...

A fairy, a reluctant pirate and a terrified girl free Neverland from Pan's tyrannical grip.

Unknown said...

Branca escapes the samurai's destruction of her village. The samurai will not escape her vengeance.

Sarah said...

Enchanted prince.

Betrayed.

By her.

Now she’ll rescue him, whether he wants saving or not.

Unknown said...

Cecily's
15 word pitch;
Presumed dead by suicide, Carys' father resurfaces decades later only to break her heart.
cecwinter1@gmail.com

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Laura said...

In the 1920s South, Phoebe idolized her father. Then she befriended her aunt’s new servant.

RKeelan said...

A deposed god saved a slave from suicide. Now he must save her from oblivion.

Timothy Lowe said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Claire Bobrow said...

Most yaks don’t dream of opera stardom. But most yaks are not…ARLETTE!

CynthiaMc said...

Pampered Southern belle turns Civil War blockade runner to save her family's shipping business.

Peter Taylor said...

George Lucas battles his brother who, for 25 years, has barricaded himself inside their home.

Jennifer Delozier said...

Wow - 15 words is tough! Here goes nothing:

Frank hides from the mob by joining Superheroes, Inc. which molds wannabes into true heroes.

John Davis Frain said...

Carefree Rob loves his freedom. Until nine-year-old Penny interrupts. Now Rob must save Penny’s mom.

Cecilia Ortiz Luna said...

Miguel suspects psychologist Emily committed a perfect murder.

Emily believes she conducted a perfect experiment.

Julie Weathers said...

When war comes calling, Lorena has to make a decision . . . sometimes spies wear crinolines.

******

(I'm not sure why it's counting the the elipsis as separate words, but it's fourteen words, not seventeen.)

Lisa Bodenheim said...

Close-knit millennialists.
Media silenced attack.

East Prussian survivor.
A winsome Russian's necklace.

Rock. That. Boat.

Brenda said...

Domestic suspense with a wilderness twist: a teenager held captive by his father.

Shelly Steig said...

Twelve-year-old must overcome fear of Elvi (plural) to save family’s struggling Vegas pawn shop

Unknown said...

Black Panther + Stormlight. Kisaro can avenge his father’s murder or accept his mother’s legacy.

charlogo said...

Little House on the Prairie meets Gone Girl: coming-of-age on the Texas frontier.

DeadSpiderEye said...

Surgery, pieces of suicide bomber removed from your thorax, just another day at work...

Luanne G. Smith said...

Witch breaks a deadly curse and vows revenge. If only she knew who to kill.

Unknown said...

Did Graham’s daughter commit suicide? His wife and a global genetics conspiracy know the truth.

Richelle Elberg said...

Ten years after 9/11, Ellen’s world is whole again--until she realizes her husband survived.

Anonymous said...

A cowardly nebbish kills several superheroes and becomes a world-class supervillain - by accident!

Ryan Neely said...

Immature Max draws a monster to life and must learn responsibility to save his family.

Mallory Love said...

Rachel joins a medical trial to become indestructible. Side effects: murdering others against her will.

Unknown said...

Interdimensional monsters.
Kay's normal response to trouble? Run.
Not this time, monsters.
She's fighting back.

Kat Waclawik said...

Urban fantasy Silence of the Lambs. He's a magician. She's a curious student. Too curious.

Unknown said...

Abandonment fears lead Daria to unsavory friends. Kidnapped, twice, her only road home is self-belief.

Craig F said...

The tamed wormhole should be a game changer, but it’s unveiling is a President late.

Anonymous said...

A girl gets mistaken for an alien. And accused of violating the Statute of Secrecy.

MA Hudson said...

Underachieving girl discovers fairyland and must prevent a trickster gang from destroying her new home.

Luralee said...

Post-Dystopian
Altered Universe
Time travel
Love story

Paranormal clones

Hero+anti-hero=mc2

shanepatrickwrites said...

Dystopian future who's protagonist only wants to get the girl, not save the world.

Kristin Owens said...

A scavenger hunt on a luxury cruise ship. Motivation? Money, revenge, and a killer buffet.