How to Pitch a Book to Draw in More Readers

by | Nov 10, 2022 | Podcast for Authors

Reading Time: ( Word Count: )

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Figuring out how to pitch a book can be challenging, especially if you’re already well aware that it’s easy to get too close to your own work. Spoiler alert: that’s absolutely true.

But even under ideal circumstances, pitching a book successfully happens in steps.

We’ve done a few episodes on our podcast for authors and dozens of blog posts on different elements and phases of media pitching, so definitely check those out, but no matter what, selling your book to anyone, be it the media or to readers — starts with the elevator pitch.

Your elevator pitch is a 1-2 sentence introduction to your book as a product. 

It has to wow people. It has to have tension, and intrigue, it has to pose a question or provide a solution.

You have to imagine you have literally 1-2 sentences to sell your book, people get to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ based on that short pitch alone — what would you say?

No pressure right?

So that’s why we’re always talking about how it’s nearly impossible to figure out how to pitch a book all on your own. This kind of magic rarely happens in a vacuum.

A really great elevator pitch almost always requires objective feedback, and market demographic research, and competitive research.

What does that mean for different kinds of books?

For fiction authors it requires a really keen understanding of your genre and genre readers. And honestly, if you’re not a true super fan of your genre, you’re always going to be a couple steps behind.

For non-fiction authors it requires a realistic understanding of what’s going on for your topic in our current culture, how it ties into the news cycle, how your industry is changing, and even how views on your topic or needs for your kind of expertise and experience can change with the seasons.

Hopefully you’re intrigued enough to listen to the whole episode, and we look forward to your feedback on the show!

Full-length episodes from our book promotion podcast go live every other Thursday. You can stream episodes from our website, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Plus, you’ll want to follow us on your preferred podcast platform in order to catch our helpful (and often comical) minisodes that go live every other Friday.

The minisodes are a grab bag of topics to include industry rants, publishing predictions and breaking news, basic (yet critical) business advice for authors, and more!

Do you have suggestions for future episodes?

We would love to hear from you in the comments section!

Resources and Free Downloads

Download our free monthly book marketing planner.

Check out all the episodes of our book promotion podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Check out the media section on our blog.

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter on the right hand side of our blog homepage. If you haven’t opened a recent one your registration may have lapsed.

Definitely follow us on Instagram for book marketing tips and some much needed levity!

4 Comments

  1. Lora Arbrador

    As a self-published author do I need an imprint?
    Thank you

    Reply
    • Penny Sansevieri

      You do not! It also sort of depends what you plan to do going forward though. For example, some authors like having their own imprint because they have a lot of future books planned.

      Reply
  2. Sarah

    How do I use the elevator pitch once I write it?

    Reply
    • Penny Sansevieri

      You can use it on your website, on Amazon, and in any pitching you do. Good luck!

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *