The Art of Pitching

The Art of Pitching – (Teaching in the NYC workshop) – Catherine Ann Jones

In olden days in Hollywood, studio heads such as Louis B. Mayer or David Selznick would say, “Just tell me the story”-not let me read the story. The fact is most Hollywood execs do not like to read. This is as true today as then. Jack Warner (Warner Brothers) once said, “I would rather take a fifty-mile hike than crawl through a book.” Sam Goldwyn (MGM) remarked, “I read part of it all the way through.”

Not many know the origin of the word ‘pitch’ but it might help understand the importance of the pitch. Here it is. Torquemada, during the Spanish Inquisition, would tell imprisoned playwrights that if they could interest him in an idea, he would let them live long enough to write it. If not, they were dropped into a large vat of boiling tar, hence the term ‘pitch’. So never underestimate the value of a well-executed pitch!

As a playwright and short story writer, I never wrote story outlines. Knowing what I know now, I would first write an outline before writing any narrative form. Why? Two reasons: it helps to nail the structure of the story, and two, it is an excellent marketing tool. It lets the buyer or funder know in three to five pages exactly what the story is. So whether submitting a book proposal to an agent or publisher or trying to sell a movie idea, writing the story outline helps to move the writer from vision to the marketplace.

When I first came to Hollywood as a New York playwright, I was invited to pitch stories to executives. They would ask if I had a story outline to leave with them. You rarely pitch to the person who has the power to green light the project, but to someone lower on the totem pole. They, in turn, go and pitch to their boss. Hence, it helps them, and you, if they have a concise and clear outline to refer to when they in turn tell your story to the powers that be.

Once I did a script consultant job and had to tell a new client that he had to cut the first forty pages of his script. The problem was the story did not begin until page forty-one. Writing an outline would have saved him time and effort. By writing and re-writing your outline, the story structure becomes solid. Think of it as a blue print for your story. This way when you go to script, you save a lot of time and grief in re-writing. And when you face the marketplace, you have a ready tool to help pitch a great story.

Catherine Ann Jones will be a guest speaker at the upcoming NYC workshop. She is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter whose films include The Christmas Wife (Jason Robards), Unlikely Angel (Dolly Parton), Angel Passing (Hume Cronyn, Calista Flockhart), and the popular television series, Touched by an Angel. Ten of her plays, including Calamity Jane, have been produced both in and out of New York City. In addition, she has published several essays and short stories. Ms. Jones, M.A. in mythology and depth psychology, lives in Ojai, California, teaches The Way of Story workshops internationally, and also works as a story and script consultant.