If you read yesterday's post, you saw that I swore off (that's off, not at) one-sentences. Given them up as a futile exercise. Thrown them under the truck. Declared them impossible. The pressure was relieved for me because I had decided to buck tradition and forgo them.
Then, just as I finished my evening Bible study and slipped the black satin ribbon between the pages, I knew exactly how the one-sentence for Up the Rutted Road should read. No more tinkering. No more tweaking. It's done.
NOTE: Barbara Scott, senior acquisitions editor for fiction at Abingdon Press, wrote an excellent article about one-sentences, and that piece helped switch on the lightbulb. Hopefully, I'll get to try it out on her at the upcoming ACFW conference.
I have a tagline for some of my books but not all. I think it's a good exercise, but while it may be required for a proposal, it's not absolutely essential for a pitch. Editors and agents are well aware that writers struggle with distilling their work to such a fine point. They understand we're not marketing people.
ReplyDeleteThat said, they like it when we do as much of the marketing for them as possible!
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteMy RUTTED ROAD "one-sentence" actually is two that can be presented in fewer than ten seconds, so I count it as a one-er. For SECOND CELLAR, I'm accepting the elevator pitch that runs 20 - 25 seconds.
Right now, I'm going through RUTTED ROAD with a fine-toothed comb--and actually finding things to tweak. I've grown (I think) as a writer since first I wrote those words. Since the last time I revised it, actually. :-) Are we ever totally "finished"?
Can't wait to see you in September!
Write on!
Because of Christ,
Sharon