Crafting an Elevator Pitch for Your Book

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

In my younger days, I thought this quote from Ernest Hemingway was incredibly profound. To write was to turn something inside yourself into something others could interpret and (hopefully) understand. It was this ultimate act of self-sacrifice, giving something vital of yourself.

In 2025, that quote might more accurately look like: 

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. Then post about it on social media, record a video about your process, generate a flywheel of ideas for your newsletter and blog, and make some updates to your site.”

Sure, the actual writing part is still about digging within yourself to share a story, idea, information, or insights. But if you want anyone to actually read what you’ve written, you have to be a relentless self-promoter. 

A lot goes into promoting yourself. But the first, and in my opinion most important, step is to craft an elevator pitch.

If you’re thinking, Paul, I’m not an elevator salesperson, come on… 

Then this post is very much for you. 

What is an Elevator Pitch?

Most simply, your elevator pitch is a quick response to the question, “What is your book about?”

The idea is to imagine you’ve just stepped onto an elevator with this curious reader, and they immediately inquire about your book. This pitch needs to be short enough to get it in before the doors ding again and that reader steps away forever. Your pitch is the one thing standing between your book and a new reader.

No pressure, though.

In practice, an elevator pitch is a short statement you’ll memorize and keep on hand to describe your book quickly and succinctly. You can use this practice for more than books too! A speaking engagement, online course, or video product are all content that should have a short pitch you can use to describe and promote them.

Creating Your Elevator Pitch

Writing an effective pitch is harder than it might seem. You’ve got to compress enough information into a single sentence or two to grab their attention but not give away so much that they won't need to read your book.

Luckily for you, I’ve broken writing your elevator pitch down into three key elements:

1. The Who - The reader your book is for
2. The Hook - The thing that makes your book different or compelling
3. The Proof - Why you (and your book) deserve attention

Let’s break them down in more detail. 

The Who

This can be explicit. Something like “This book is for photographers working to learn photo editing.” If that makes sense (which it often does for nonfiction books), you should do that. Just be clear and specific. This is also the formula for starting your elevator pitch.

You might change it up during revisions, but I strongly recommend you draft your pitch leading with the ‘who.’

The Hook

If your ‘who’ speaks to the reader, the hook should be what reels them in. I swear that is the only fishing pun I’m doing today. 

Your hook should clearly state why your book is different. What makes it unique? What makes it something a reader should pick up instead of any of the myriad other books they could be reading?

Your hook is the most important part of your elevator pitch, and really, it’s the key part of all of your book marketing. Don’t be afraid to overwrite your hook for that first draft; you might find some of the language you edit away is useful for email or social media.

The Proof

Finally, close out your elevator pitch with a little about yourself or the book's value. This could be something like ‘the fourth book in my award-winning series’ or ‘a heavily researched look into some-sciency-thing’. The goal is to—very briefly—create a qualification that makes the reader trust you.

Or, for fiction authors, you might tease out more of the plot to expand on the hook. In that instance, you should build on your hook by revealing (or partially revealing) something key to the plot. 

Examples of Effective Elevator Pitches

I’ve got a few pitches I think work pretty well and serve as solid examples to consider for your own elevator pitch. Note that, for most fiction novels, the elevator pitch is the first line (or lines) on the back cover. Because elevator pitches are that versatile.

Let’s break them down and give each a quick look. 

Fiction Examples

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (2025)

“Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the twentieth century.”

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (2024) 

“A brand new mystery. An iconic new detective duo. And a thrilling new murder to solve…”

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher (2023)

“A haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family.”

I chose these for a few reasons, but mostly, I liked how differently they approach the idea of an elevator pitch.

Emily Henry, for example, has written too much. Unless the elevator you’re on is old and rickety, you wouldn’t have time for that entire pitch. But she has a pile of name recognition and is known enough in her genre that she doesn’t need as succinct a pitch. Readers will buy her book on name recognition alone.

Meanwhile, Richard Osman’s pitch is insanely short. But it’s so pointed that it works. If you’re not into mysteries, this might not be the kind of standout pitch that sells you as a reader. For his audience though, it’s likely enough. Mysteries can’t give away too many details, or there’s no mystery, right? Osman takes that idea to the max and has seemingly found a way to say as little as possible while still actually pitching his work.

Finally, Kingfisher’s pitch is textbook. It identifies the who—in this case fans of ‘haunting Southern Gothic.’ And we’ve got the hook in ‘explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family’ to set us up. We know this is a haunting story about skeletons in the closet for a family. Finally, the proof comes from the accreditation: ‘award-winning master of suspense.’ This pitch nails it. 

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Nonfiction Examples

Nonfiction books need to pitch not just the book itself but also both the author and the transformation or growth the book is promising. Fiction authors are selling you a book to entertain you; nonfiction authors are selling you their wisdom. That needs to be clearly defined in your pitch. 

Profit On-Demand by Matt Briel (2025)

“Whether you're an artist, content creator, entrepreneur, or someone who just thinks the world needs more raccoon merchandise, this book shows you exactly how to build something real in the creator economy and scale beyond what your high school guidance counselor said was ever possible.”

Burn the Playbook by Joe Pulizzi (2025)

“For creators, new grads, or those stuck in a job that brings no satisfaction: The system was never built for your freedom. Burn it. Build your own. This isn’t a book. It’s a match. Light it.”

Both of these examples highlight how to inject the who clearly at the start and quickly make a pitch with their hook. The proof in these pitches is more tied to the author’s name brand, so both Briel and Pulizzi end their pitch with inspiration instead.

One thing I will note, which I think is maybe a mistake, is that Joe Pulizzi has opted to minimize himself in his pitch. That works because he’s well known to his intended audience, so selling himself further might be excessive. But for most of us who are eagerly looking to get new readers, we will need to call out what makes our book the right one. 

Building on Your Elevator Pitch for Book Marketing

You might notice that these examples are all a little off from the formula I mentioned. That’s not uncommon: your elevator pitch really needs to stand out—while also hitting those three key points (who, hook, proof). Sometimes you may need to downplay one to emphasize another.

When you go to write your own elevator pitch, here’s what I recommend doing:

1. Reread the feedback from your beta readers. See how others see your book.
2. Draft as many versions as you can, trying to keep them all to three sentences or fewer. Seriously though, the more you can draft, the better.
3. Use an AI to mash the versions you created together to see a new perspective.
4. Take all of these versions and set them aside for a week or so.
5. Come back and sift through to figure out which ones resonate the most, then refine those.

That should give you two or three really solid pitches. Now you just need to go find some elevators to test them out on!

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