Three tips for pitching your book

From the Book Pitch Doctor, James Spackman

James Spackman calls himself The Book Pitch Doctor, and with good reason. He is brilliant at seeing what it is about a book that someone is going to love, and what is going to connect with the person being pitched. When I saw his new book all about pitching your book, I got in touch to see if he would write something for this newsletter.

The tips he has shared are mainly for authors seeking agents or publishers, but they 100% should be relevant to others too. Whether you are pitching to a bookshop, a podcast host or anyone else you want to speak to about your book, these tips should apply. One of them is about mindset, one about framing and one about information.

Take it away, James…

Tip #1: Who cares?

Most authors find it extremely hard to get their head out of the book they – necessarily and rightly – know and love, and see it as a newcomer might. But it’s vital to commit to that thought experiment: ‘what will this thing mean, to an agent or a commissioning editor?’ You can’t ever know for certain but you can make an educated guess about what they care about as a person and a professional and how your work might fit with that.

Why do you need to do that? Because publishing is not a meritocracy of texts. It’s creative commerce. Agents and publishers aren’t self-appointed gatekeepers grading books on which ones are ‘best’; they are trying to make a living by buying books for less than they sell them for (I’m simplifying) and achieving success by spotting or creating an opportunity.

So, don’t present your book as an assignment to be graded. Present it as an opportunity for that individual person to have their own personal success.

Tip #2: Have a ‘theory of victory’

… as military theorists phrase it. Or a ‘theory of change’ if you prefer the charity sector formulation. Know what success actually looks like, for you – could be a hardback to give your grandchildren; could be a window display in Daunt’s; could be a review in the Mail on Sunday, an appearance on BBC Breakfast or it could be a million quid in royalties – and sketch out what steps or events might bring it about. Obviously you can’t guarantee any of it, but the ‘success’ bit probably won’t happen if you can’t see a sequence of events that will make it so.

Once you have your theory of victory/change, it will inform the way you talk about your book to the people you need to persuade; you’ll be able to be more specific and therefore more credible. Compare ‘I hope this will be reviewed by mainstream media’ with ‘I’ve noticed that Radio 4 regularly features non fiction about xyz topic, so I’m optimistic about getting similar coverage’. It should also give you confidence in the opportunity (see point 1) you’re offering to the agent or publisher.

Tip #3 When to write like a journalist vs. when to write like a novelist

This is a blatant steal from Louise Willder’s book Blurb Your Enthusiasm, which I would urge you all to buy (along with mine, please, thank you).

She observes that good cover copy writers make informed judgements about when to write like a journalist – getting to the point and delivering the key facts quickly and clearly – and when to write like a novelist.

Novelist mode involves holding back information to create intrigue and a desire for more knowledge. The same holds true for query letters and other book pitches.

There’s no one right formula, and there are lots of variables (including what type of book you’re pitching, obviously). The key is to be deliberate about what blend of journo and novelist you adopt.

Thank you so much, James!

If you have a book to pitch, keeping these three points in mind could be so useful to make sure it lands with the person you are speaking to. And if you want to find out more about James’ book, How to Pitch a Book, you can read more about it on his website.

James has worked in books since his eyecatching ‘96 debut in the postroom of Bloomsbury Publishing. From there he moved on to sales, marketing and management roles for Hachette and Osprey. Currently he combines his work as an agent at The bks Agency with coaching publishers in presentation skills as The Book Pitch Doctor. He also founded Profile’s cycling imprint Pursuit and the regional diversity non-profit The Spare Room Project.