Writing the Pitch

The pitch is a short, 200 word synopsis of your story. This is a slightly longer version of your logline, and helpful for selling your book, say in a query letter.

There is no “one way” to write the pitch. I suggest you study the backs of book covers to get a sense of what these might be like. The purpose of the pitch is to give a brief description of your story so the reader feels compelled to learn more.
I have a general formula I use for my own pitches, although these suggestions are flexible and not hard-and-fast rules. If you’d like, you can follow along with me.

At the top of the page, write your fifteen to twenty word logline that describes your story.

Next, write an intriguing set-up of your problem or inciting incident in two to four sentences.

Next, write some of the problems that occur during the beginning-middle of the story in two or three sentences.

Next, hint at the deeper problems of your story in one or two sentences.

Finally, end the pitch on a one sentence cliff-hanger.

Next two entries I'll post two examples of pitches.