video tutorials - writers · your elevator pitch the rules: •keep it short. under 50 words (and...

VIDEO TUTORIALS

We help you turn your literary dreams into a wonderful and saleable reality

HOW TO WRITE

©2018 Jericho Writers

IS YOUR IDEA FOR A NOVEL GOOD ENOUGH? How to check • How to Make it Better • How to Generate More Ideas


What we’re going to talk about

• You and me

• The Elevator Pitch:

• What is it?

• Why does it matter?

• What’s your elevator pitch?

• Is it strong enough?

• Improving your ideas

• Generating more, better ideas (and why inspiration is overrated)


Introduction

Me and You


I’m Harry Bingham


I’ve written a few books

HarperCollins fiction: The Money Makers - Sweet Talking Money - The Sons of Adam - Glory Boys - The Lieutenant’s Lover

4th Estate, HC non-fiction:

This Little Britain - Stuff Matters

Orion, Hachette: Talking to the Dead - Love Story with Murders - The Strange Death of Fiona Griffiths - This Thing of Darkness - The Dead House

Collaborations: Planet Ponzi - West End Girls - The Score - Short Story Collection


Some of those books have done OK

» Six multi-book deals

with Big 5 publishers » International sales

» TV adaptations

» Bestseller lists, prize

shortlists and plenty of

critical success


But it’s not about the sales…

…it’s about the joy

Writing isn’t a job

It’s a way to have fun

that can pay quite nicely


Enough of me. Who are you?

“I’ve got an idea – I really want to take it further.”

“I always wanted to be a writer.”

“I’ve written loads, but want to improve.”

“I’m almost there, but I know I need more help.”

“Hate my job, want a change.”


About you: all that matters

• There’s no such thing as a typical author

• Talent helps

• But passion, commitment and perfectionism count for more

• And learning the craft massively increases your chances


The Elevator Pitch

What is it?


What is an elevator pitch?

A very short description of your novel

Describes the Unique Selling Point – the key idea behind your novel

Vivid Concise Compelling

You’re looking for your listener to say/think, ‘Sounds great – tell me more!’


An example

Twilight

A teen romance between an ordinary American girl and a boy who is really a vampire



Another example

Harry Potter

Kids book: orphan goes to a school for wizards



And another example

Da Vinci Code

A mystery thriller that uses codes hidden in famous historical artworks / buildings / etc to unlock the secret of the Holy Grail



Something a bit more upmarket

Gone Girl

A husband is suspected when his wife, Amy, goes missing. Her diary implies she was a good woman struggling in a difficult marriage. The twist: Halfway through the novel, we learn the diary was faked – and discover what the real Amy is like.

[43 words]



As upmarket as you can get

Wolf Hall

A literary novel about Thomas Cromwell, the most important man in the court of Henry VIII.

Is that OK? Answer: a genre novel would see something more, but Hilary Mantel had long established herself as one of the best prose writers in English. So she needed a bit

less than you do!



Notice that we’ve used a wide variety of approaches

Situation Harry Potter ‘school for wizards’

Approach Hidden codes in famous artworks

Character Use a vampire in a teen romance

Twist Gone Girl – revealing the real Amy

Big theme Wolf Hall – using the magic of the Tudors


And that we barely scratch the surface of the book

Harry Potter School for wizards So? Is it any good?

Da Vinci Hidden codes in famous artworks So? Is it any good?

Twilight Use a vampire in a teen romance So? Is it any good?

Gone Girl Revealing the real Amy So? Is it any good?

Big theme The magic of the Tudors So? Is it any good?


The Elevator Pitch

Why does it matter?


Why does the elevator pitch matter so much? (traditional)

Writer » Agent » Editor » Acquisition Committee

» Sales team » Retail Buyer » Reader

Publicity team » Media » Reader

Designer » Book cover » Reader

Copywriter » Copy » Reader


If you’re self-publishing, you cut out the long chain that separates you from your reader…

But you only have an Amazon book description to entice them in

You’ve got maybe 100-150 words to “make the sale”

Why does the elevator pitch matter so much? (self-pub)


Why does the elevator pitch matter so much? (everyone)

What is word of mouth?

Easy transmission of recommendations: Hook + Reason to read

‘This girl falls in love with a vampire and he’s soooo sexy.’

And remember, at least to start with,

No one buys the book because it’s good

They buy it because it sounds good.


The Elevator Pitch

What’s your elevator pitch?


A Peaceful Going

Beautiful writing

Totally unsaleable

50 Shades of Grey

Terrible writing

Awesome sales

Your idea matters more than everything else combined


What’s your idea?

Exercise: Write your own elevator pitch

This may be the most important

writing exercise you ever do!


Your elevator pitch

The rules:

• Keep it short. Under 50 words (and ideally well under 50 words)

• If it’s not relevant – leave it out!

• You’re not writing a blurb

• You’re not writing a synopsis

• Focus only on what’s special about your book

Remember: A good pitch leaves the reader thinking, ‘Sounds great, tell me more.’


The Elevator Pitch

Is it strong enough?


Brutal honesty: was your idea strong enough?

“A teen romance between an ordinary American girl and a boy who is really a vampire”

versus

“A teen romance between an ordinary American girl and this sexy Canadian boy, who’s new to town”

Is there an edge?



“An ordinary boy finds that he is entrusted with saving a distant planet from destruction”

Does it feel new?

or

“A crime thriller where a cop has to catch a serial killer who’s killing women in increasingly horrible ways.”



“OK, so there’s this Swedish girl who’s really good with computers, but she’s got

Aspergers, so she’s quite strange and a bit hostile. She’s had some really bad

experiences with guys – she was raped by her legal guardian at one point – and

she distrusts people. Now – no, no, listen – she hooks up with

this journalist who …”

Does it feel waffly?


Improving your ideas

Different approaches


Improving your ideas: some approaches

• Cut it back. Find the heart of your idea and leave the rest.

• Ramp it up

• Smash ideas or genres together

• Add interest to your character

• Find a killer premise

• Find a killer twist


Ramping it up

Killer is going to detonate massive bomb beneath the

Pentagon

Killer has small bomb & is going to plant it in suburban

Arkansas


Smashing ideas or genres together

Dystopian fantasy + TV reality concept = Hunger Games

Teen romance + paranormal = Twilight

Literary relationship novel + crime thriller = Gone Girl


Adding interest to your character

Orphan discovers parents were famous

wizards = Harry Potter

Aspergers, genius computer hacker & sex crime

victim = Lisbeth Salander

A young James Bond = Alex Rider


Finding a killer premise

Two strangers, each with life problems, arrange to

murder the other person’s father / wife.

Strangers on a Train


Introducing a killer twist

Female narrator appears to be mother mourning the death of her child in a road accident

I Let You Go

She turns out to be the driver who killed the child

(And one more big twist/reveal right at the end of the book)


It’s OK to take your time

Don’t force the process

Getting it right is better than doing it fast


I speak from personal experience

All my books have sold for plenty of money and found plenty of publishers …

But only three of my books really nailed the elevator pitch idea


“The first complete look at the exceptional aspects of British history – empire, industry, democracy, law,

everything.” [non-fiction]

What happened next: multi-publisher auction, huge advance

“Three brothers have to race to make £1 million in three years – the winner grabs their dead father’s enormous

fortune.”

What happened next: multi-publisher auction, huge advance, bestseller

Two of those did well


And one of those is doing really well

Fiona Griffiths crime series: the elevator pitch

“A crime series featuring a young female protagonist who is in recovery from a genuine psychiatric condition called Cotards’ Syndrome.

In Cotards Syndrome, sufferers believe themselves to be dead.”



Fiona Griffiths: what happened next

• Book auctioned in UK with multiple publishers bidding

• Book also sold in US, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey, Greece – and loads of other places too

• TV adaptation achieved with ease

• Kicking around Hollywood with producers interested

Best of all: multiple books, passionate readers and a wonderful writing experience


If you’re not happy with your current idea . . .

Don’t pursue it!

A flawed idea will never sell

You need to ditch the current idea or fix it

Yes, you need to develop your craft

… but do that with a book that could really go somewhere


Generating more, better ideas

(and why inspiration is overrated)


How to develop new ideas

You’ve probably got the idea already!

You just need to develop it.


New ideas: where to look

• Books you love

• Activities you love

• Countries / times / places you love

• Anything you’re expert in

• Partial ideas you already have


Turning a passion into fiction – an example

What you CAN’T do:

• Write traditional Agatha Christie style novel set in 1930s England

(if people want that, they’ll just read Agatha Christie)

You love Agatha Christie and ‘Golden Age’ English

crime novels?


What you can do

What you CAN do:

• Set a traditional AC-style novel in a modern setting (Spa hotel? Special needs school?)

• Use a traditional setting, with a totally new element (Ghosts? Time-travelling detective?)

• Traditional setting, with radically different main character (Post-war PTSD? Socialist?)

You love Agatha Christie and ‘Golden Age’ English

crime novels?


Don’t give up on partial ideas

Premise:

Man is having an illicit office romance … when he happens to see his wife driving the getaway car in a major jewellery heist.

Problem:

Don’t know what happens next

Solution:

Give up (this might be quite a bad idea)

Write 30,000 words then give up (this might be even worse)

Develop the idea, then write (Yes, this could really work out for you)


The golden rule again

You’ve probably got the idea already; you just need

to develop it.

• Development isn’t usually a question of genius

• It isn’t a question of luck

• It doesn’t mean “make things up as you go”

• It doesn’t just mean “keep on going, no matter how many times you fail”


Development means disciplined, structured effort

• Writing is an art, born of talent and passion

• It is also a craft, which can be learned and practised

• Developing an idea is mostly about applying the CRAFT of writing in a structured way


Strong idea + craft = success

And that’s the purpose of this video course!

• We can’t give you the ideas

• We can’t give you the talent

• We CAN teach you the craft of writing

These disciplines have worked out for writers exactly like you. There is no

reason why they shouldn’t work for you too. It’s not magic. It’s just work.


And here’s a powerful thought to finish with

“The advice I like to give young artists … is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work.

If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of

the process; they come out of the work itself … If you're sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens.

But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction.

Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive.”

(Chuck Close, a US artist & photographer)


All done

Here’s the recap


What we’ve talked about

You and me A short intro

The elevator pitch What it is. Why it matters. What’s your pitch? Is it strong enough?

Improving your ideas Ramping it up. Smashing genres together. Adding juice to character, premise, twist . . .

How to develop new ideas Use your existing passions, then develop them

Want notes? Want audio? Want links? - Get them below


See you soon

And thanks for coming!

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video tutorials - writers · your elevator pitch the rules: •keep it short. under 50 words (and...

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