Pitching Your Book at the Supermarket

We speak with a lot of authors at Book Publicity School—and at our sister company Press Shop PR—and we frequently hear about the trouble they have figuring out how to pitch their books.

They know the work so intimately it can be difficult to zoom out and cut it down to the couple of sentences necessary to interest media folks (or event coordinators, or potential book buyers).

One thing we recommend to authors trapped in that situation: shut your laptop and close your eyes! 

Don’t use a word document—or even a notepad. Instead, imagine yourself in a random boring place—perhaps the dairy aisle at the supermarket. You run into an acquaintance, and they ask what you're working on. And go! What do you say to someone who has no expertise in your field or knowledge of your plot? How do you make them care before they head to frozen food?

When you are talking about your book to someone in person, you are (hopefully!) attuned to how people interpret what you say and you automatically position your work in a way that’s most interesting to them. You don't get lost in a description of your research, obscure your point with jargon, or trudge through a recitation of all your novel’s plot points. You prioritize clarity, brevity, and wow moments.

Now write down what you just told that nice person at the market! Voila, a short and compelling paragraph that can get you on the road toward a compelling media pitch.