VIDEO TUTORIALS We help you turn your literary dreams into a wonderful and saleable reality
HOW TO WRITE IS YOUR IDEA FOR A NOVEL GOOD ENOUGH? How to check How to Make it Better How to Generate More Ideas
What we re going to talk about You and me The Elevator Pitch: What is it? Why does it matter? What s your elevator pitch? Is it strong enough? Improving your ideas Generating more, better ideas (and why inspiration is overrated)
Introduction Me and You
I m Harry Bingham
I ve written a few books HarperCollins fiction: The Money Makers - Sweet Talking Money - The Sons of Adam - Glory Boys - The Lieutenant s Lover 4 th Estate, HC non-fiction: Orion, Hachette: Collaborations: This Little Britain - Stuff Matters Talking to the Dead - Love Story with Murders - The Strange Death of Fiona Griffiths - This Thing of Darkness - The Dead House Planet Ponzi - West End Girls - The Score - Short Story Collection
Some of those books have done OK» Six multi-book deals with Big 5 publishers» International sales» TV adaptations» Bestseller lists, prize shortlists and plenty of critical success
But it s not about the sales it s about the joy Writing isn t a job It s a way to have fun that can pay quite nicely
Enough of me. Who are you? I ve got an idea I really want to take it further. I always wanted to be a writer. I ve written loads, but want to improve. I m almost there, but I know I need more help. Hate my job, want a change.
About you: all that matters There s no such thing as a typical author Talent helps But passion, commitment and perfectionism count for more And learning the craft massively increases your chances
The Elevator Pitch What is it?
What is an elevator pitch? A very short description of your novel Describes the Unique Selling Point the key idea behind your novel Vivid Concise Compelling You re looking for your listener to say/think, Sounds great tell me more!
An example Twilight A teen romance between an ordinary American girl and a boy who is really a vampire Vivid Concise Compelling
Another example Harry Potter Kids book: orphan goes to a school for wizards Vivid Concise Compelling
And another example Da Vinci Code A mystery thriller that uses codes hidden in famous historical artworks / buildings / etc to unlock the secret of the Holy Grail Vivid Concise Compelling
Something a bit more upmarket Gone Girl A husband is suspected when his wife, Amy, goes missing. Her diary implies she was a good woman struggling in a difficult marriage. The twist: Halfway through the novel, we learn the diary was faked and discover what the real Amy is like. [43 words] Vivid Concise Compelling
As upmarket as you can get Wolf Hall A literary novel about Thomas Cromwell, the most important man in the court of Henry VIII. Is that OK? Answer: a genre novel would see something more, but Hilary Mantel had long established herself as one of the best prose writers in English. So she needed a bit less than you do! Vivid Concise Compelling
Notice that we ve used a wide variety of approaches Situation Harry Potter school for wizards Approach Hidden codes in famous artworks Character Use a vampire in a teen romance Twist Gone Girl revealing the real Amy Big theme Wolf Hall using the magic of the Tudors
And that we barely scratch the surface of the book Harry Potter School for wizards So? Is it any good? Da Vinci Hidden codes in famous artworks So? Is it any good? Twilight Use a vampire in a teen romance So? Is it any good? Gone Girl Revealing the real Amy So? Is it any good? Big theme The magic of the Tudors So? Is it any good?
The Elevator Pitch Why does it matter?
Why does the elevator pitch matter so much? (traditional) Writer» Agent» Editor» Acquisition Committee» Sales team» Retail Buyer» Reader Publicity team» Media» Reader Designer» Book cover» Reader Copywriter» Copy» Reader
Why does the elevator pitch matter so much? (self-pub) If you re self-publishing, you cut out the long chain that separates you from your reader But you only have an Amazon book description to entice them in You ve got maybe 100-150 words to make the sale
Why does the elevator pitch matter so much? (everyone) What is word of mouth? Easy transmission of recommendations: Hook + Reason to read This girl falls in love with a vampire and he s soooo sexy. And remember, at least to start with, No one buys the book because it s good They buy it because it sounds good.
The Elevator Pitch What s your elevator pitch?
Your idea matters more than everything else combined 50 Shades of Grey A Peaceful Going Terrible writing Awesome sales Beautiful writing Totally unsaleable
What s your idea? Exercise: Write your own elevator pitch This may be the most important writing exercise you ever do!
Your elevator pitch The rules: Keep it short. Under 50 words (and ideally well under 50 words) If it s not relevant leave it out! You re not writing a blurb You re not writing a synopsis Focus only on what s special about your book Remember: A good pitch leaves the reader thinking, Sounds great, tell me more.
The Elevator Pitch Is it strong enough?
Brutal honesty: was your idea strong enough? Is there an edge? A teen romance between an ordinary American girl and this sexy Canadian boy, who s new to town versus A teen romance between an ordinary American girl and a boy who is really a vampire
Brutal honesty: was your idea strong enough? Does it feel new? An ordinary boy finds that he is entrusted with saving a distant planet from destruction or A crime thriller where a cop has to catch a serial killer who s killing women in increasingly horrible ways.
Brutal honesty: was your idea strong enough? Does it feel waffly? OK, so there s this Swedish girl who s really good with computers, but she s got Aspergers, so she s quite strange and a bit hostile. She s had some really bad experiences with guys she was raped by her legal guardian at one point and she distrusts people. Now no, no, listen she hooks up with this journalist who
Improving your ideas Different approaches
Improving your ideas: some approaches Cut it back. Find the heart of your idea and leave the rest. Ramp it up Smash ideas or genres together Add interest to your character Find a killer premise Find a killer twist
Ramping it up Killer has small bomb & is going to plant it in suburban Arkansas Killer is going to detonate massive bomb beneath the Pentagon
Smashing ideas or genres together Literary relationship novel + crime thriller = Gone Girl Teen romance + paranormal = Twilight Dystopian fantasy + TV reality concept = Hunger Games
Adding interest to your character A young James Bond = Alex Rider Aspergers, genius computer hacker & sex crime victim = Lisbeth Salander Orphan discovers parents were famous wizards = Harry Potter
Finding a killer premise Strangers on a Train Two strangers, each with life problems, arrange to murder the other person s father / wife.
Introducing a killer twist I Let You Go Female narrator appears to be mother mourning the death of her child in a road accident She turns out to be the driver who killed the child (And one more big twist/reveal right at the end of the book)
It doesn t matter what you do It does matter that you bother to do it! Twist Premise Situation Character Approach Theme
It s OK to take your time Don t force the process Getting it right is better than doing it fast
I speak from personal experience All my books have sold for plenty of money and found plenty of publishers But only three of my books really nailed the elevator pitch idea
Two of those did well Three brothers have to race to make 1 million in three years the winner grabs their dead father s enormous fortune. What happened next: multi-publisher auction, huge advance, bestseller The first complete look at the exceptional aspects of British history empire, industry, democracy, law, everything. [non-fiction] What happened next: multi-publisher auction, huge advance
And one of those is doing really well Fiona Griffiths crime series: the elevator pitch A crime series featuring a young female protagonist who is in recovery from a genuine psychiatric condition called Cotards Syndrome. In Cotards Syndrome, sufferers believe themselves to be dead. Vivid Concise Compelling
Fiona Griffiths: what happened next Book auctioned in UK with multiple publishers bidding Book also sold in US, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey, Greece and loads of other places too TV adaptation achieved with ease Kicking around Hollywood with producers interested Best of all: multiple books, passionate readers and a wonderful writing experience
If you re not happy with your current idea... Don t pursue it! A flawed idea will never sell You need to ditch the current idea or fix it Yes, you need to develop your craft but do that with a book that could really go somewhere
Generating more, better ideas (and why inspiration is overrated)
How to develop new ideas You ve probably got the idea already! You just need to develop it.
New ideas: where to look Books you love Activities you love Countries / times / places you love Anything you re expert in Partial ideas you already have
Turning a passion into fiction an example You love Agatha Christie and Golden Age English crime novels? What you CAN T do: Write traditional Agatha Christie style novel set in 1930s England (if people want that, they ll just read Agatha Christie)
What you can do You love Agatha Christie and Golden Age English crime novels? What you CAN do: Set a traditional AC-style novel in a modern setting (Spa hotel? Special needs school?) Use a traditional setting, with a totally new element (Ghosts? Time-travelling detective?) Traditional setting, with radically different main character (Post-war PTSD? Socialist?)
Don t give up on partial ideas Premise: Man is having an illicit office romance when he happens to see his wife driving the getaway car in a major jewellery heist. Problem: Don t know what happens next Solution: Give up Write 30,000 words then give up Develop the idea, then write (this might be quite a bad idea) (this might be even worse) (Yes, this could really work out for you)
The golden rule again You ve probably got the idea already; you just need to develop it. Development isn t usually a question of genius It isn t a question of luck It doesn t mean make things up as you go It doesn t just mean keep on going, no matter how many times you fail
Development means disciplined, structured effort Writing is an art, born of talent and passion It is also a craft, which can be learned and practised Developing an idea is mostly about applying the CRAFT of writing in a structured way
Strong idea + craft = success And that s the purpose of this video course! We can t give you the ideas We can t give you the talent We CAN teach you the craft of writing These disciplines have worked out for writers exactly like you. There is no reason why they shouldn t work for you too. It s not magic. It s just work.
And here s a powerful thought to finish with The advice I like to give young artists is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself If you're sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. (Chuck Close, a US artist & photographer)
All done Here s the recap
What we ve talked about You and me A short intro The elevator pitch Improving your ideas What it is. Why it matters. What s your pitch? Is it strong enough? Ramping it up. Smashing genres together. Adding juice to character, premise, twist... How to develop new ideas Use your existing passions, then develop them Want notes? Want audio? Want links? - Get them below
See you soon And thanks for coming!
VIDEO TUTORIALS