DEFEATING THE DRAGON: How I Overcame My Dread of the Verbal Pitch

By Lisa Malice

Like most debut authors, I am most comfortable with the written word, so, when I’m called upon to talk about my book in a short, succinct manner, I often get flustered.  

I returned from Bouchercon Sunday, buoyed by the knowledge that I had conquered this fear of the verbal pitch. How? By facing the dragon head-on and slaying it during the conference’s Author Speed Dating party.

This two-hour set-your-alarm-clock-it-is-so-early event (doors opened at 7:15 am) really did zip by as pairs of authors hop from table to table (18 of them!) offering 144 readers their best two-minute sales spiel for their book.

The night before the event, however, I still hadn’t figured out my approach—and invariably, I was nervous of needing to be not just short and succinct, but most importantly, not boring. When I asked for advice on what to say, a friend (that’s you, Martha Reed) said to mention big name authors whose names and books would resonate with readers. That suggestion hit the nail on the head, as one industry review did compare Lest She Forget to the books of two internationally bestselling authors. The challenge was to write up a pitch that included this and other key elements, including the book’s storyline, in an engaging manner.

In a moment of inspiration, I saw myself delivering a sales pitch, putting forth reasons my book was a must-read. It was fun exercise to write and practice—I felt like one of those celebrity spokeswomen hawking some wonderful new beauty product in a TV ad. 

Try to visualize the following script as such and the fun I had delivering it.

“Hello,” I said, after the starting bell rang. “Are you looking for a suspenseful mystery/thriller, something filled with twists and turns that will keep you turning pages into the wee hours of the night? “If so,” I continued, holding up my book for all to see. “Then Lest She Forget is the book for you.”

“Hi, I’m Dr. Lisa Malice. My debut psychological thriller, Lest She Forget, was released by CamCat Publishing in December of 2023 to rave reviews similar to the one you just heard and a month-long stay on Amazon’s bestseller list for new thrillers. Here’s the gist of the story.”

My back cover story teaser is the best two-paragraph synopsis of my tale, so I simply flipped over the book and read. “After surviving a car crash, Kay Smith wakes from a coma with amnesia, a battered face, and no one to vouch for her identity. Her psychiatrist is convinced that her memory loss is connected to the horrific nightmares and flashbacks haunting her. As she digs for clues to her past, Kay uncovers a shady character following her every inquiry. Who is he? What does he want from her?

“As her probe deepens, Kay realizes that everyone around her has deadly secrets to hide—even her. Emerging memories, guilty suspicions, and headlines-screaming murders push Kay to come out of the shadows and choose: Will she perpetuate a horrendous lie or risk her life to uncover the truth?”

“Intrigued? Need more convincing?” I pointed to one of the blurbs on the front of my four-page marketing brochure. “The Library Journal’s starred review said readers would be hooked by Lest She Forget from the very beginning, especially if they were fans of Paula Hawkins' Girl on the Train and Alex Michaelides' The Silent Patient.

“Wait there’s more—Lest She Forget won the 2023 Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal for Best New Voice in Fiction from the Independent Book Publishers Association.”

“But I am convinced that if you read my first chapter,” I said, opening up my brochure to reveal two pages of text, “that you will be hooked.”

“The Whopper candies you have in hand,” I said, referring to my version of swag, passed out by my speed dating partner, Sharon, “are a simple reminder of my story, that other people may tell us lies, but often the biggest whoppers are those we tell ourselves.”

I finished up, noting that Lest She Forget was on sale in the book room at a great discount and that Amazon had the best prices for the eBook, audiobook, and print.

How I pitched was important to me, too. As I spoke, I leaned forward, made eye contact, and moderated my voice to the words being spoken for specific effects (e.g., a low, slow voice to portray mystery, a more fast-paced, higher pitched voice to portray the excitement of blurbs and awards). It didn’t take long for me to get the pitch down. Somewhere around the fourth or fifth recitation, I could deliver my spiel without even glancing at my script.

My approach to pitching Lest She Forget worked on at least one reader.  When it was my partner’s turn to pitch, I walked around the table passing out her bookmarks and spotted a big word on one woman’s notepad next to my title— “BUY.”  

Author Speed Dating was a great learning experience for me. Pitching my story, as I noted earlier, was always hard for me. I would sputter and stutter and not come across well. By the end of this two-hour event, I had it down pat. Moreover, I felt like I had connected with readers, engaged them in listening and learning about my book and what it offered them as readers.

This newfound ability to verbally sell my book came in handy afterwards in various situations, such as standing in line with readers as we waited for the doors to open to the evening events, or hanging out in the hospitality room to meet my target audience--avid readers, book club members, crime fiction bloggers and podcasters.

But the biggest benefit came Saturday morning, when my newfound confidence allowed me to jump at the chance to record a podcast with Terry Shepherd, a member of the Outliers University faculty and the host of multiple podcasts targeted to fans of crime fiction—an amazing opportunity to reach a wide audience. 

Terry and I had a fun, engaging chat about me, my writing journey, the genesis of my story, then he asked me for a quick summary of Lest She Forget. My back cover teaser rolled off my tongue beautifully. I celebrated with a big smile inside and out. Terry smiled back and told me I did great. D.P. Lyle thought so, too. This co-founder of Outliers University invited me to join him for an upcoming episode of the group’s podcast, Get To Know: Interviews with the Authors You Love.

Although I came home with a stack of unsold books, I do believe I pitched myself proud, selling both me and my book. Attendees can carry only so many books home in their luggage, and usually that space is reserved for signed copies of NY Times bestselling authors appearing at Bouchercon. The proof of my assertion is the Amazon rankings for Lest She Forget’s eBooks and paperbacks, which jumped almost two thousand points each over the conference weekend into the low 1000’s--not too far off from the rankings I had early on after the launch of Lest She Forget.

Let’s hear from the gallery. Authors, as a debut author, what difficulties or fears did you have to conquer to fully sell your book to readers? Readers, what are you looking to hear from authors when they are pitching their book to you?