One-Line Pitch: Don't Leave Home Without It, and a Contest!

The SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC (and yes, you can just show up on Saturday and register as a walk-in!) kicks off tomorrow with the writer's and illustrator's intensives, and I am EXCITED! And one thing every writer - whether you're attending the conference or not - needs to have ready is a one-sentence pitch for their book.

But how can I condense my whole, complicated, 70,000-word book into one sentence, you ask?


Well, let me show you.


First, take out a piece of paper and write on it three headings: Main Character, Conflict, Stakes/Resolution. So for example, for one of the picture books I'm pitching, I've written: Penelope, huge hair overshadows all her achievements, figures out how to do something even bigger than her hair.


Then you just connect them all together:


PENELOPE'S HAIRY PREDICAMENT is about a kid who hates that her huge hair overshadows everything else she does, so after several failed attempts to make it less noticeable, she finally figures out how to out-do her own 'do.


Remember: it's one line. There's no room - and no need - for subplots and secondary characters. Focus on the heart.

Which brings me to the contest!


Post your one-line pitch in the comments below by MIDNIGHT on FEBRUARY 4th, and my favorite will win a query critique OR first 5 pages critique OR full picture book manuscript critique by yours truly.


If I get more than 50 entries, I'll offer TWO PRIZES! So, tweet and blog away! (Although this is a contest, so you won't get any extra entries for tweeting or blogging, but you WILL double the amount of prizes, thus increasing your chances of winning something.)