Right off, we want you to know that you should be shameless when it comes to marketing your book. Your success as an indie author depends on it.
But there is an art to pitching your book to agents, booksellers, media, bloggers, and ultimately to your readers.
If you have a Facebook or Twitter account there are even rules to pitching there, especially on Twitter. You can read our take on that here.
As you’re moving toward a marketing strategy for your book, including developing copy for your book summary, resist the urge to use the following words in your updates, tweets, pitches, elevator speeches, and in any of your other marketing endeavors.
These words are overused, redundant, and don’t illustrate the heart of your book’s magic:
Best
Cutting-edge
First
Only
Least expensive or cheapest
Everyone
Amazing
Most
Greatest
You Must
New
Ultimate
Outside the box
Largest or Top
Instantly or Suddenly
Won’t be able to put down
Gripping
Mezmerizing
Unforgettable
Better than ________
When trying to create the perfect pitch, ask yourself: Who, specifically, am I trying to reach with this pitch? Is it for the media, readers, agents, etc.? Pay attention to what makes your audiences different, and think about how this should make your pitches different. If you’re pitching readers, use language that ties your book to something else they’re interested in reading. If you’re pitching media the media or agents, they’re interested in why a book is different than what they’ve come across in the past, and you’re better off thinking about what their audience wants. For agents, their audience is publishers, and publishers want to know why your book will be lucrative. For media, their audience is the general public, in which case you should use a pitch that ties your book to a human interest story, event, or trend their audience would be interested in.
Readers, what words to you get sick of hearing in product pitches?
Great list! I’d also have to add to stop using, “In a world. . .”
The voice in my head turns to Don LaFontaine.
Haha! “In a world…” should be struck from playbooks and lit on a fire! Good one!
I am learning all the time from you! Thanks. I’d put, probably, to my list as a negative word.
I would agree that “probably” is a negative word. Thanks so much for the comment and compliment Dannie! I’m also adding “They say…” to the list.
I love this list. There is a similar issue in Hollywood. Phrases like, “This will be a big hit!” and “It will be number #1 at the box office!” are overused and don’t help when pitching.
I wrote a post about it here: http://goodinaroom.com/blog/the-most-common-pitch-meeting-mistake-that-you-dont-know-youre-making/