You’ve all heard the saying “It’s the little things in life that make us happy.” Right? Sometimes I think it should be “It’s the little things that drive us nuts.”

I’m attending the Michigan Writing Workshop this weekend – my first – and I’m pretty excited, and a tad nervous. This workshop is about the business side of writing, i.e. getting published. I’ve been in audio/video production for thirty plus years, so I know I’m pretty creative and can tell a story.  Sales and marketing? Not so much.

One of the options for this workshop is a ten minute pitch session with an agent. Needless to say, I’m taking this opportunity to pitch my first novel “The Black Arrow,” hence the nervousness. A book “elevator pitch” should take up ninety seconds, which to me says “Radio Ad.” I’ve written plenty of radio treatments and scripts, so this should be a no-brainer. Right? 145 little words to sell my book. One little script.

Writing the 145 words was pretty straightforward. I just hope I don’t blow the delivery tomorrow. Consider this: when I write a radio script, I call for specific music and sound effects to reinforce my story. Imagine what would happen If I start adding sound effects a la Bobby McFerrin during my pitch session. That poor agent is gonna get spooked and call the cops! I guess I better use my NPR voice.

Wish me luck!