Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Picture Book Pitch WIP

Daily Word Goal: 500
Today's Total: 314

Look! Look! (*Points upward*) I made some words! I probably will make a few more words than this, but I'm both writing forward and editing some stuff already on the page and it will be hard to count what's new, what's been cut, what's old for the rest of today's writing. So we'll average the new stuff so far to 300-ish and call it progress. :D

In more progress-type news, I've been working on a pitch.

A pitch (or log line) is a one sentence description of your book that you're supposed to have memorized and ready to go in case you meet your dream agent in the elevator for example (hence the phrase 'elevator pitch'), or to use when you're attending a formal pitch session at a writers conference. Because I'm going to a conference in a few weeks, I've been advised by wiser souls than myself to have my own pitch polished and ready to go on the off chance that someone asks me for it. And, hey, practice never hurt anyone, right?

Boiling down your book into a one line sentence is just as hard as it sounds, for me anyway. And I was only working with a picture book here! I can't imagine how challenging it would be to get a huge novel with tons of characters and subplots all elegantly boiled down to a tiny pitch.

So here's my current work-in-progress pitch for Too Many Pants:

When Princess Grace buys too many pants and causes a national crisis, it takes the King, his ministers and a pant avalanche to convince her that she just might have more pants than she needs.


So what do you think, writer friends? Are you intrigued? Confused? All feedback is most enthusiastically welcome. :D And now, I must be off to try and squeeze a few more words out of my poor brain before the toddler wakes up and dinner has to be cooked.

-k.

6 comments:

  1. actually, I like it. It definitely makes me want to stop and ask to see the book. sounds fun and funny. and a fantasy, which is my genre anyway.

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  2. Thanks, Rachel. :D I love fantasy too.

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  4. I'm clueless about protocol, but I dig it! (previous comment deleted due to user error and raging typos.)

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  5. Great progress Karyn. And that hamster, I just cant get enough. I want to talk to you more about the pitch. WIll call Friday!

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  6. Karyn: it's funny, intriguing, modern for sure, and most importantly, actually has a strong voice (if a log line can have a voice). Want to read and view your illustrations for sure based on the terrific artwork of yours I've seen.

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