Put it on a Post-It!

merits of a 3x3 elevator pitch

Last Saturday, I went to the Bath Book Bash, which was an incredible time — tons of authors, a lot of books, packed with excited readers, and very well organized.

Here I am signing the last copy of Rick the Rock of Room 214. This photo was obviously taken before the events described in this newsletter. (Events! Ha! Me writing on sticky notes is an event? Sure!) Photo by my friend and neighbor Susannah Green.

At each of the author tables, we got a stack of Post-It Notes, a sharpie, and a laminated sign that said “Be Right Back!”

I assumed the Post-Its were for having people write down the proper spelling of the name of who they wanted the book signed for. I used one to say I was reading Help Wanted: One Rooster in the Storytime Nook, and stuck that on the “Be Right Back!” sign. Sticky notes are handy!

There was a costume contest, which is why some of these people are dressed in bonnets and pinafores. Also in this photo (behind one of the Bonnet People): the most excellent Susannah Richards, who is one of my favorite people in the kidlit community, and who I stole to help me with this storytime. (Photo also by Susannah Green.)

But soon I noticed the authors across the way, Sashi Kaufman and Anica Mrose Rissi, were doing more with their Post-Its. Saying a book is a Maine Student Book Award book. And, well, that’s all I could read. They were on the other side of the tent. And the tent was packed with people! It looked like Anica, who clearly had her act together (she smartly brought a whole stack of book stands, where I brought the one I could find), had a sticky note on each book, and that the sticky notes might be pitching the books.

Which is genius.

If you are a reader or the parent of a reader, and you are at a book event where you have told your child they can choose one or maybe a few books, and then you realize there are HUNDREDS of books, how do you choose?

1. The cover

2. The title

3. Having to interact with an author to ask what the books are about, which is fun (we’re nice!) but then you might have to walk away if you decide their books aren’t for you.

I’m good at pitching my books out loud, but there’s a point where I start to feel like a carnival barker.

So, during a lull, I wrote a quick synopsis for each of my books, and stuck the Post-Its on the covers. 

I didn’t keep track of how many books I was selling, but my sense was that the Post-It note pitches caused a sharp spike in sales. 

There were two lessons I took from this:

1. You know how there is standard advice to have an “elevator pitch” for your book, in case you (when???¹) find yourself in an elevator with an editor? THIS is why. Be able to write the premise of your book on a 3x3 square, in a way that makes people want to read it.

2. In my experience, most readers want to be reading. They don’t want to be interacting with humans. Or, I mean, they might, but they’d rather be reading. So if you want them to know what your book is about, give them something to read, instead of making them interact with a human. They can still talk to you, but you’re giving them an option not to.

Here are my Post-It pitches (click on the image to find out what the book is). Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book!) was also on the table, but I didn’t write a sticky note for it, because the title is the elevator pitch.

This last one is for Chester Barkingham Saves the Country, which comes out next week! Did you know that Booklist called it frolicsome? 

I’m almost done with the book trailer, so I’ve got to get back to that. You’ll see that next Tuesday when the book is officially out in the world, along with a post about how I got the idea for Chester Barkingham.

1. Seriously, has this ever happened? In a way that’s fun and normal and not you suddenly shouting about your book in an elevator or over a bathroom stall? (Please tell me you have never pitched your book in a bathroom.)