The Pitch

There have been two things that have been the most difficult for me when it comes to writing, and writing isn't one of them. Writing just happens, that's the easy part (unless I get writers block, which happens to the best of us). It's coming up with a good title and coming up with a good pitch. The pitch is basically what you'd put on the back of the book. It has to be tiny; I'd say no more than 100 words and even that's pushing it.

So how do you sum up six years’ worth of work and 529 pages of story in only 100 words? Well that's the big question, isn't it.

SO not easy.

I had the opportunity to try my hand at a pitch on Saturday with someone special. I walked into Barnes and Noble to get a leather-bound, special edition Jules Vern for Diane for her birthday and sitting behind a table by the door was a gentleman with a bunch of books laid out for display.

Well, I was on a mission. I needed Jules Vern and to order the next Wheel of Time novel by Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson, so I got to it. But while I was ordering the final chapter in one of the greatest fantasy series ever written, I asked the young lady behind the counter who the gentleman up front was and all she could say was that he's a local fantasy writer.

Say no more! Immediately seeing several opportunities bundled into one, I headed up front and put myself in front of his table. I saw a chance to get interested in a new fantasy series, to support a local writer, and to ask a load of questions that I have about my own writing. So I asked who he was and what he wrote.

David Farland was his name. He writes The Nightingale, Of Mice and Magic, Runlords and On My Way to Paradice, and he's a New York Times Bestseller. Well didn't I feel lucky! Mainly because I was the only one at the table so I had him and his friend all to myself (I've been wracking my brains trying to remember who his friend was because he's a writer too but I'm drawing a blank! He even gave me a bookmark with his information on it and for the life of me I can't figure out where I put it. So note to self - Don't lose stuff!). Well I basically got to talk to Mr. Farland for nearly a half hour. It was awesome.

When I told him that I just wrote a book and sent it in for a copywrite, he leaned forward, immediately interested and asked the most difficult question that can be asked, "What's it about?" At which point I pulled a stupid and looked at him blankly for a moment before admitting that I'm still working on a pitch.

Luckily, he was completely understanding and with a disarming smile, said, "Give it a try." So I did. I don't think I did very well. In fact, I'm fairly sure my pitch totally sucked. But he was nice enough to tell me that the story sounded interesting enough, though I definitely needed to work on that pitch. He then asked me if I ever go to any of the writers conferences. Of course, I immediately threw LTU&E out there because going to that this last February was so inspirational to me.

Well, happy days, Mr. Farland is going to be there too and he told me to work on the pitch and find him at the conference so he could introduce me to some people.

I had to fight to keep from twitching right out of my shoes in excitement.

At that point, I bought one of his books - Nightingale - and he signed it. It wasn't until I got home and opened it up did I read what he wrote:

            Leah,

                Dare to Dream

                I'll see you on the bookshelves

                    -David Farland-

I actually teared up, I was so touched. And now I'm looking forward to LTU&E more than ever. In fact, every time I think about it, I get butterflies in my stomach and tickles up my pine.

I spent the next day out in Layton with Diane and her family, celebrating her birthday and since I often have difficulty in loud places, I kind of withdrew and worked on my pitch. Diane and her cousin, Colton Tran helped me the whole way. We asked Colton specifically because he works in the film industry and is exposed to things such as Pitches often. he was a HUGE help. And I believe we came up with something really good.

So, here it is. Please feel free to tell me what you think:

The Black Vale 

            The world of Oreth is still recovering from a devastating mage war that split countries and ravaged the land. A thousand years into this recovery, Thell—mages of chaos—are hunted to near extinction by the Ora—mages of order.

            Now two unlikely companions—Amalee, a highborn lady-in-waiting and Faith, a cannibalistic savage of the desert—find themselves ensnared in a conspiracy that could tip the scales on this ancient conflict.

            As the Ora close in on the last Thell haven, Amalee and Faith are drawn increasingly deeper into a dark world of intrigue and violence that will force them to rely on each other in order to survive.

Well, I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving, I know I'm going to have a great one!