Pitching Yourself and Your Book

• August 22, 2022
• 1 comment

Pitching Yourself and Your Book

by Susan Violante, Managing Editor

In the Indie Publishing world, many authors, me included, have had to pitch something to someone at some point in our lives. In fact, we pitch ourselves a lot more than what we think in our daily lives. So why is it that when it comes to pitching ourselves as authors and our creations, we panic? That is a question that we struggle to answer when we are trying to sell book to the media, booksellers, and readers. Honestly, I believe the answer is not important. Furthermore, I say let’s forget about that question and focus on the pitching! Below are some things you should consider when preparing your pitch.

Clear sense on who your audience is and what they want.

When we are writing we have an idea of who we are writing for. But when we publish it sometimes, we realize that our market target is a different audience. Before pitching research, who buys similar books by looking at who comments on them and leaves reviews on social media. Reading the reviews and looking at who they suggest the book is for. You need that information to choose who you should pitch to and where you should have your events.

Target places where your audience shops and get to know them before pitching your book or event to them.

Once you zero in on who is likely to be interested in your book or at least in the book’s topic, find out where they shop or hang out.Be creative in selecting venues and type of book event you are planning. If your book is a children’s picture book about giraffes, you could go to the kids’ section in Barnes and Noble. But you could also go to a zoo, an eco-store or a toy store that sells zoo animals stuff animals and see if they would be interested in doing a book signing event or at list take few books in consignment to test it out. Pitching niche stores or places that relate with you book in any angle might be easier than pitching to Barnes and Noble.

Be organized, genuine and adaptable.

Be open to change but keep genuine to the book and your passion on the topic. Keeping track of where, when and who you have pitched will help you know when and how to revise your pitch so that you are not repetitive and boring.  If your pitch didn’t work, revise it by researching another angle that store might be more receptive and try again later!

We write because we have something to say. We publish because we want to share our message with as many people as possible to make a difference or bring entertainment to an audience. Do not give up on the latter because it doesn’t happen right away. Sometimes the right timing and your book take a while to meet. So be persistent and enjoy the pitching ride.