Poppin’ Tags
Ok, ok, let me preface this post by acknowledging the obvious: You’re all sick to death of hearing about the conference. And about writing. And about my books.
“Oh my gosh, Erika,” I can just hear all of you thinking, “give it UP already and move on with your life! Get a different hobby! YOU’RE SO BORING NOW!”
Believe me, I understand. I get it. The conference (“Again with the conference!” you all say) is two weeks away and I’ve been so completely subsumed by research and prep I’ve become a one-track thought-station that shuttles solely between writing and kids. Since I don’t blog about my kids, that leaves writing so…Sorry about that.
Peggy Olson doesn’t care that you’re tired because your kids got you up at 5 AM. She wants pitches on her desk and doesn’t care what you have to do to get them there.
In case all my blathering about the same topic hasn’t made you want to swear off the Internet altogether, I thought I’d share my new approach to writing my pitch for the conference. I started off just writing a simple A-to-B pitch, this happens, and then this happens. It got the point across, but it was kind of boring and flavorless. It in no way hinted at the sarcasm that (I hope) will make my books fun to read.
Frustrated by the certainty that this pitch would wow no one, I decided to crib from Mad Men and start writing pitches like my boss ordered me to produce fifty pitches by the morning. (Except in Mad Men, the copywriters are expected to produce copious tags, not pitches. Hence, the title.) In this scenario, my boss is like an evil red pigeon, perched on my shoulder, who’s threatened to poop on me if I don’t get to work. It’s surprisingly effective.
The whole churning out pitches thing is working well. I still feel like I’m circling my really good idea, but I’m closer now than I was. I’ll just keep chiseling away until I hear the distinctive sound that means I’ve struck gold at long last.
How much you want to bet that happens right before I step on the plane to New York in a couple weeks?
