The Elevator Pitch Formula

Distilling Your Story Down To Its Core

I interviewed the divine Ruth Ware last year, and during our discussion, she remarked about finding the “What If” behind the story. And of course, that sent me to my notebook to identify the “What If” of my novels.

This is a super method for distilling your story to its core. What if? leads you directly to the infamous — and dreaded — elevator pitch, which, if you’re trying to land a deal/find an agent/get readers interested in your work, is essential to be able to identify. They’re hard to do, but if you can nail down your story in a sentence or two and express that in a dynamic, exciting way, you’ll be golden.