Surviving the 30-Second "Elevator" Pitch

Acquaintance:  "I hear you wrote a book," says the acquaintance more to fill time than out of interest.

You: smile in anticipation of a positive response, a meeting of minds - author and reader locked in mutual admiration for the written word . . . your word!

"I did," you say and think (as your stomach does a roll), well, isn't that a dynamic opening!

Acquaintance: "What's it about?" asked with mild curiosity.

You: "Well, uh. There's a family . . ." And this is where it falls apart!

Writing a two hundred, eighty-six  paged book is easy compared to pitching a condensed 30-second "elevator" message. Most authors are tossed into panic; myself included. The defining moment for a beautifully written and well thought out plot begins with a throat clearing, a shuffle, and a stammer in a high pitched squeak. What would the hero or heroine in the book do? Not this, obviously.

With a little practice and forethought, the right words form through the sputters before the lone reader imparts and before the fight/flight response becomes palpable in the room and the acquaintance bulls his or her way into the crowd and vanishes.

For myself . . . if I think of telling the story as relaying a family classic (about the time Dad set fire to the . . .) then key words and phrases become natural and usually elicits a favorable response or chuckle from the person who naively asked, "So, what's it about."

There are three key elements to think about when preparing:

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE - You may start by asking the interested reader if they enjoy (whatever the topic or genre is). If you engage them first and learn a little about their interests, you may be able to refer to a page or chapter in the book that will hit a personal note with them. Find five adjectives that best describes your story and use them or cite excerpts from one or two of your best quotes or reviews.

KNOW YOURSELF - Hand them a card. Invite them to visit your website and FaceBook Fan Page. If they exchange cards with you, ask if they'd like to be notified of upcoming events or blogs. Make them feel a part of the experience, because they are.

KNOW YOUR BOOK - Where is it available? Do you have any special events coming up? Offer to autograph their copy. Give them a snippet of back story that not many people know. Most people love trivia. Do you have tie-in sales items, such as: bookmarks, pens, etc.? We all love gifts.

It's amazing how much information you can fit into 30 seconds. Is it possible for you to "brand" yourself in that little time? You betcha! With a little practice, and trial and error, you'll find yourself, your style and your audience.

I'd love to hear your success stories.

Teachable Moments

There are so many reasons why people write and the reasons are as varied as the noses on each face. With that being said, there are common denominators: the author has a message to share, a story to tell, a point to make, a yearning to entertain.

If we follow the most popular genres at the moment: paranormal, romance, murder/mysteries, and memoirs, it begs me to wonder out loud where do authors find real heroes to write about? 

It used to be a family could look up to professional athletes, actors/singers/artists, and politicians, and point with pride at what they'd accomplished. They were the emissaries from small town America, the embodiment of making it against all odds. Now, because of an entitlement mindset, these same "heroes" would rather sue than admit their failings (and feet of clay) which  leaves us weeding through the cheats, and swindlers, and murderers, to explain to our kids, "Why the fall from grace?" These may be the most teachable moments of all but my question to authors still remains . . . where do we find real heroes to write about? Everyday heroes for our children to emulate?

According to Webster's Collegiate Dictionary: acts of heroism are accomplished by those who show extreme self-sacrificing courage in fulfilling a high purpose or attaining a noble end. Maybe we need to reflect on the deeds of  the heroes first, then search for the common in the life of the hero with which our young can identify. There are excellent fantasy heroes (such as those in the Hunger Games or The Justice League) but where are the real life, flesh and blood, "just like me" heroes?

#Brad_Meltzer, Author and Comic Book Writer brought the answer in his new series of children's books Ordinary People Save the World. The first two books in the series, "#Amelia_Earhart" and "#Abraham_Lincoln" became available this week; there are more to come, including "Rosa Parks."

His premise is to instill in the young reader that even though these people are famous, now, they're still ordinary people. He relates stories of their childhoods when they took a stand or did something brave way before they became famous. Young readers can dream and realize that these famous people are just like you and me. We can all wear a cloak of bravery and save the world. Yay, Brad . . . you are on to something!

You'll find more about Brad Meltzer and his books on www.FaceBook.com or at www.BradMeltzer.com


Jo Ann V. Glim is a 40 veteran of freelance writing and author of the book BEGOTTEN: With Love

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Indie Authors Are Here to Stay

There were 391,000 self published titles introduced into the marketplace in 2012 according to Bowker's Self Publishing Report: 2012 by Laura Dawson (reported in November 2013). That's an impressive increase of fifty-nine percent compared to new titles in 2011.

For a newbie writer/author this news may be staggering. How do you get noticed in a pool of literally thousands?  It's not done through karma, crystals, or a friend of a friend who knows this guy . . . The most successful authors I know have a business plan and author's platform in place.

Business Plan
It's important to set goals and budgets for everyday living. The same is true for publishing a book. The following suggestions may help you organize and focus your thoughts and needs:

• Set a realistic budget: 1) everyday expenses; 2) publishing and; 3) publicity. 
• Choose a support team of professionals to assist you in presenting the best product possible. 
• Continue to educate yourself to keep fresh on new trends and equipment. 
• Network with like-minded, goal oriented, positive individuals. 

Author's Platform
Publishers, agents, and readers want to know who you are and what your book is all about. Practice a 30-second encapsulation of the story that can be voiced in any given situation. Difficult to do if you don't first know who you are and more importantly who your audience is. My suggestions are to:

• Select the top two niches in which your book will draw the most attention.
• Identify those audiences according to age and interests. 
• Build you publicity and marketing around those findings  
• Study the competition: What do you have in common? What sets you apart? 

The good news is, indie authors are here to stay. The market place supports their work. Readers vote for favorite authors and titles with their kindles and androids. Recommendations spread in nano-seconds through social media. With forethought and planning, a new author may gain confidence in presentations and develop a loyal following.

Jo Ann V. Glim is a 40-year veteran of freelance writing and author of "Begotten: With Love"  available in print and soon to be available in eBook format. To learn more . . .
visit: www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com
LIKE on FaceBook.com/JVGlim.author
Follow on Twitter.com/JVGlim_author

What's In A Name?

Thank you for stopping by! I've been sitting in front of this computer screen for the last 6 hours trying to come up with a clever BLOG name. I thought I had it but here I am, 2 days later. . . revising! I wanted something reflective of who I am and why I write in the first place. So, the new name came down to this: I write for the love and passion of the topic and for the ability to tell the truth as I see it based on research and observation. To sum it up, there's "Only One Way to Write."

Seeing as this is the first blog, it seemed appropriate to introduce myself.  I'm a published, freelance writer. My writing skills have brushed a vast landscape of styles from commercials and one-liners to in-depth articles and two award-winning, columns: one weekly, one monthly.

I've also worked in  business management: human resources to be exact. It was my job to hire staff for temporary employment and coordinate a "lunch and learn" educational series for non-management employees interested in advancing their careers at a company where the division I was attached to employed over 11,000 employees worldwide.

Now, after thirty years of research that took me all over our nation and to Sweden, Author Review Copies of my book, "BEGOTTEN With Love" rolled off the presses in February.  This was a lifetime dream and a gift for my children and grandchildren who knew so little about their ancestry.

Many of the people I had asked to review "BWL," encouraged me to publish it for the general public. It took a lot of thought and deliberation and prayer, and with my hubby's blessing (yes, we work as a team), we decided to go for it.

Two exciting things have happened to date: "BEGOTTEN: With Love" is receiving 5-Star reviews on Goodreads.com; and a Judge from Writer's Digest, after I submitted the book for the 21st Annual Self-Published Book Awards, sent me a commentary I am going to frame!  Did I win? No. . . but you've gotta read this:

"Begotten: With Love takes a creative premise for telling a family's story and succeeds beautifully. The fictionalization of ancestral history works well and makes this family history read more like an interesting novel. It also makes it a universal story - readers who had grandparents or great-grandparents who came to America through Ellis Island, or immigrated from other countries, can see themselves and their families in this narrative.

The author does a great job of capturing time, place and character, with enough history thrown in to help readers place themselves in time.  The book is nicely written, and the hard work the author did both with her research and getting the book just right shows.

The cover is professional and eye-catching, making a reader want to pick the book up and find out more about these interesting people. While she should deservedly be proud of her achievement, the book can stand on its own and readers only need to know what a good job she did with it.  It's about what the author says in the end, after all, not about who she is."

The one critique the Judge had was that the book could stand a professional edit because of punctuation. Editors are our best friends and I cannot tell you how grateful I am for the feedback. I want to make sure I offer readers the best product possible. The edits are being done right now so the finished book (both print and eBook format) will be available in December.

Well, 'nuf about me. I'm glad you stopped by to visit.  Please feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to get to know you too. Hope to see you next Tuesday.


Jo Ann V. Glim, Author
"BEGOTTEN: With Love"
WEB:  www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com
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BLOG:  only1way2write.blogspot.com
JGlim@tampabay.rr.com
P.O. Box 174
Bradenton, FL 34206