Speaker 1: Hey guys, I'm Michelle. Welcome back to my channel. If writing workshops and traditional publishing talk are your thing, please consider subscribing. So today's video is a response to Amelia, who a few weeks ago asked, any tips for elevator pitches, especially when the subject of your book isn't overly catchy? People are usually pretty interested in my story if I give them a longer overview, but I can't come up with anything short and snappy that does it justice. That's a great question, and it's something I struggle with myself. When I was little, my family used to tease me because they knew better than to ask me what a book was about, because I would sit there and ramble on and tell them the entire story, including the backstory, and everything about the main character, and every major plot point. And honestly, it was probably faster just to read the book yourself. Being able to pitch your novel concisely is really important. And while I know sometimes it seems like publishing is only interested in high-concept novels, I don't think a good elevator pitch is something only high-concept novels can possess. If your novel is quiet and introspective, if it's big and complex, if it blends genres, if it's unlike any other novel that you can think of, I believe you can still come up with a really solid, short pitch. And I've got two different exercises for you to try today to help you get that pitch. So exercise number one. I almost feel bad about trotting this one out again, because if you've watched any of my videos in the past on queries or synopses, this is going to be real familiar to you. But honestly, this is just the most helpful tool in my toolbox for writing a quick pitch. Of course, I'm talking about the query formula. Character was status quo until inciting happens. And here's how that affects the main character's life. Now character must goal despite conflict or else consequence. I think the key to remember here is that this formula is flexible. Some stories, especially high-concept stories, slide right into this formula really easily. I bet everybody watching this, for example, could take The Hunger Games and plug it into this formula and it would only take you about a minute. But again, I think no matter what kind of story you're writing, you can figure out a way to make this formula work for you. Let's say you're writing an epic family saga that spans generations. Which character do you choose? Well, if there's one character, one protagonist who you feel like their journey is the most important and their transformation at the end of the novel is the most impressive, then try going with that character. But you might also try treating the entire family as the character. If narrowing in doesn't work, then think more broadly. As a side note, I think sometimes the way we talk about story structure and the phrases we use makes them seem like terms that apply specifically to fantasy or action-adventure stories. The Hero's Journey uses phrases like call to adventure or meeting with the goddess. Save the Cat talks about bad guys close in and high tower surprise. Story Structure by James Scott Bell has the doorway of no return and final battle. And the thing is, when you read about all of these different types of methods, they'll tell you they can apply to quieter and more introspective stories as well. I just know that sometimes for me it's easier to see how a paranormal story, an adventure story, a fantasy or a sci-fi, how they fit into these formulas and how these terms work with them. It's way easier than it is to see how a quieter or contemporary novel fits into these structures. Your novel's antagonist might not be a mustache twirling villain. Maybe your antagonist is the protagonist's own inner demons. The stakes of your novel may not be life or death, but maybe something more like life with or without purpose. So my suggestion to you is if you struggle to fill out that query formula for whatever reason, first try zooming in. Try focusing on one specific character and their specific journey. And if that just doesn't work, then try zooming out. Look at your novel in more broad terms. What do your characters stand to lose? The second exercise I've got for you has to do with comps. I know not everyone is on board with the comp thing, but if you're really struggling to pitch your novel in a sentence or two, having good comps can really be an effective way of giving someone a solid idea of what your book is about in just a few words. There are a couple of different ways of pitching with comps. The most common that I see are blank meets blank. For example, Percy Jackson could be described as Harry Potter meets Greek mythology. Blank but with blank. For example, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is obviously Pride and Prejudice but with zombies. Or blank on or in a blank. For example, the movie Speed is Die Hard on a bus. If your novel is really character driven, more so than it is driven by plot or premise, then you can always try just pitching your character instead. For example, Wednesday Adam on antidepressants. 40 year old Ferris Bueller in a soul-sucking corporate job. Don Draper but in the coke-addled 80s. The tough thing is finding just the right comps and the right combination. Whatever comps you choose, they need to combine in a way that actually shows how your novel is different from these two things. I know that sounds weird, but hear me out. If someone said to you, my story is James Bond meets Mission Impossible. Well, those are two very different franchises, but when I hear that, I don't really know what makes this anything other than another spy action thriller. Now, if you said James Bond but with fairies, that's something different and an excellent pitch for the series Artemis Fowl. For me, I struggle with this because one of two things happens. One, I just get really stuck on trying to think of a movie or novel or story that is similar to my idea, and when I can't think of anything, I just give up. Or I'm so stuck on trying to convey one particular element of my book in my pitch, like only the world or only this one particular character, that I forget to consider comps that might highlight other equally important elements of my story. So if you struggle with this too, here's another exercise for you. Take a few minutes to consider all of the elements of your novel. Characters, plot, setting, themes, all of it. Make a list of all of the standout details in your novel that you can think of. For example, West African folklore, differently abled heroin, genderless ghosts, an absurdist exploration of depression, anything. Next, create a list of five to 10 comps for your novel for each of these categories. Books, movies, TV shows, artists, including authors, showrunners, directors, producers, characters, and other. The other list can be literally anything, podcasts, comic books, musicals, musicians, or bands, anything. Write all of these on separate note cards and spread them out on a table or on the floor. Then just start mixing and matching. You are almost certainly going to come up with a bunch of combinations that surprise you, and they'll either trigger new ideas for you, or maybe you'll just find the perfect match. So how do you know when you've come up with the right pitch? One that shows how your novel is similar to something familiar, but also what makes it stand out and what makes it unique? If you can tell your pitch to somebody and they smile, not because necessarily they think it's funny, although they might, but because they recognize it, they immediately understand what you're trying to say. That's how you know you've got a good pitch. Like I said, I have always struggled with coming up with these kind of comps for my books, but if you're curious, here's what I've got for a few of mine. The Secrets of Topsy series is Wayside School meets Welcome to Night Vale. Spell and Spindle is a Grimm-inspired fairy tale about puppets and the patriarchy. The Cats and Clairophiles is Nancy Drew becomes a Ghostbuster. And Olive and the Backstage Ghost is Coraline on Broadway. If you guys found this helpful, I'd appreciate it if you hit that like button. That's going to be it for this video. I hope you have a great week, and I will see you on Friday with another vlog. Until then, keep writing.