What is an elevator pitch?

An elevator pitch is a one to three-sentence concept of your book that is designed to help a reader understand the genre and conflict and give an idea of the plot of your story. One of the things that many contests, including big contests like The Wattys, ask for is an elevator pitch. Since Wattpad usually focuses on a singular sentence elevator pitch (or logline, as they call it), I will focus on that for this section.

I'll be honest. I hate writing elevator pitches. I'd rather not cram my entire book into a short concept. It's intimidating to try to summarize your book. In fact, I would argue that it's something that I still struggle with. However, an elevator pitch is essential for two reasons.

1.     A good elevator pitch sells the story to a reader

2.     A good elevator pitch shows the uniqueness of your writing compared to other stories

There's a lot out there about elevator pitches. In my personal opinion, the shorter, the better. They aren't summaries, and they don't necessarily have a classic beginning, middle, or end structure. There's a lot of restraint in an elevator pitch. It focuses on the core of a story: Character, Conflict, and Change.

Here is the elevator pitch for my fantasy book, The Half-Giant's Guide to Seeing the Future:

"A tall teen learns that she is a half-giant princess and must join an elite squad of border patrol agents in the giant world for her own protection."

I introduce the main character and what is special about them in the first three words: "A tall teen." Elevator pitches don't necessarily need to contain the character's name. If someone is reading your pitch off a list with others, your character's name won't necessarily make a difference to the reader. Instead, you are telling the reader what is important about them. In my case, my character is female and abnormally tall.

Next, in the elevator pitch, you either need conflict or change. In my case, I used change. We learn that my character "learns that she is a half-giant princess and must join an elite squad of border patrol agents in the giant world." This action should shake your character out of their ordinary life. What makes them different from the other characters? What change causes the plot? It should be short and hook in with the conflict of your story.

You cannot forget conflict in your elevator pitch. Tell the reader what the stakes are. In my case, it is "for her own protection." Why is that important? My character's life is on the line. People want her dead. Similarly, your elevator pitch should try to capture the reason the reader should care about your character. This conflict should also distinguish your books from other books.

Character, Change, and Conflict. Write me your best elevator pitches in the comments, and tell me if you have any tips and tricks. The more we share with each other and help each other, the more we can all grow as better writers. Let me know what you think of this chapter. If you have any questions or ideas, don't forget to tag me @eliana_elf to ask the editor.

This is The Elf Editor signing off,

@eliana_elf