Reader Question: What’s the best way to approach pitching?

There’s not one way to pitch, but this way works.

From Anonymous:

In the next month I will be pitching for the chance to write the script for an upcoming film. A producer, having seen some shorts and a webseries I made along with reading some spec scripts, has asked me to go along but this will be my first time and I am unsure of which ‘way’ to pitch. Would you recommend giving a detailed rundown of the script and beats in 5 minutes, or should I give a quick rundown and concentrate on tone and atmosphere?

First off, there is no one right way to pitch. However, having sold several original stories and landed many more OWA’s, each based on pitches, I can share with you that general approach.

12 minutes. That’s what you should plan on having. Max. I break it up this way:

Act One [5 minutes]: Introduce the main characters, providing each one’s core essence and narrative function [you don’t need to say, “This is the Protagonist” or “This is the Nemesis,” you can make that clear in how you describe them, but you should know what their respective functions are]; establish story concept and set the plot into motion, basically what happens that jettisons the Protagonist out of their ordinary world and into the story’s adventure.

Act Two [5 minutes]: Do not do a beat for beat breakdown of the second act, rather spotlight 3–6 key subplots [depending upon the genre and type of story] and dynamics that are in play, and provide the listener both some key plot points and the entertaining value of each one. Most listeners are pretty smart and will be able to fill in the dots.

Act Three [2 minutes]: Build to the Final Struggle, show how the story ends up, a taste of the Denouement, and out.

This leaves you 3 minutes for follow-up Q&A’s. 15 minutes in and out.

Some tips:

• When you start the pitch, give them something which suggests your connection to the material. How it inspired you to develop the story. Something unique to who you are and what the story is to provide a personal context for the pitch.
• Memorize the pitch, then practice it verbally over and over and over and over again. You should know the pitch backwards and forwards, and be able to convey it conversationally, not like a robot.
• Make sure you hit some trailer moments. Try to come up with at least 5 moments that a buyer will be able to see as something they can use to market the movie.
• Be passionate. Buttressing a great story concept and well-constructed story is your own emotional connection to the material. A buyer wants to know you are excited about the content and will bring that energy to the writing. Plus there is a psychological subtext at work whereby they feed off your excitement.
• That said less is more. Don’t go over the top with your enthusiasm. And this extends to how much detail you provide. The tendency is to want to keep hammering home sales points after the pitch. At some point, you run risk of coming off as desperate. Have confidence in your story. It should sell itself. If it’s not good enough to sell, then no amount of your frenzied verbiage will make up for that.
• This is super important: You need to know what the key dynamics of your story are that will create an emotional connection with a potential moviegoer, then make sure you sell those in your pitch. Again not so much talking about those dynamics, but actually conveying through the sharing of the story itself.

Also check out this Go Into The Story post which features the advice on pitching from four successful Hollywood screenwriters: Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, Carter Blanchard, Eric Heisserer, and Ed Solomon.

Hope that’s helpful. Best of luck with your pitch!

What say ye, readers? How do you pitch a story?

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