Recently, WestBow Press partnered up with Author Solutions to participate in an exclusive and unique event called Book-to-Screen PitchFest, in Los Angeles. The Book-to-Screen PitchFest was held at the historic Century Plaza hotel and was kicked off with a cocktail reception on Friday, July 12. Authors were able to relax at the outdoor reception on the breeze lawn of the Century Plaza. At the reception, Keith Ogorek, vice president of global marketing for Author Solutions, Robert Kosberg, Hollywood’s “King of the Pitch,” and Danny Sherman from Thruline Entertainment talked about what the authors could expect from the exciting events that were planned for the weekend.
Authors gathered bright and early for breakfast on Saturday morning. After breakfast, Robert Kosberg gave a lecture on how he got his start in Hollywood and how he worked his way up by mastering the art of pitching a movie. Kosberg provided authors with helpful tips on crafting their pitch and gave examples of famous movie pitches for reference. Authors seized this opportunity to learn what is essential for a great pitch, and you could see a flurry of note taking as they made changes to what they had previously prepared.
After the lecture, the authors were separated into three different rooms where everyone had two minutes to deliver their pitch to Robert, Keith or Danny. Then, each author was provided with feedback on how to best present their pitch. The group setting allowed authors to benefit from the direct advice they received for their pitch as well as the advice other authors received, and once again, authors were busy editing their pitches to be ready for the pitch sessions later that day.
Finally, it was time for the authors to deliver their fine-tuned pitches to Hollywood representatives. There were seven representatives at seven different tables – set up in a speed dating style. Each author had an assigned block of time when they would go in and present their pitch to a representative. To enforce the two minute pitch, a bell would ring to let authors know that it was time to end their pitch and move on to the next representative. While listening to the pitches, the Hollywood representatives take notes and indicate if they are interested in received a copy of any of the manuscripts for further review.
Two minutes may not seem like enough time to get the point of your book across to anyone, but throughout Book-to-Screen PitchFest you’ll realize that two minutes is actually more than enough. In fact, two minutes can sometimes be longer than pitching professionals get, making this a great opportunity for self-published authors. The Book-to-Screen PitchFest insures that each author will get two minutes of face time with several Hollywood representatives, something that not all self-published authors are lucky to get. It’s important to have a solid elevator pitch prepared for your book because you never know when you’ll run into someone or what opportunity may lead to your big break!
Have you ever thought your book could be a television show, or even a movie? WestBow Press has once again partnered with Author Solutions to provide our authors with this great opportunity to pitch their books at Book-to-Screen PitchFest New York in October. This time, the event is being held in the heart of Times Square and Broadway, giving authors the chance to meet with theater representatives in addition to film and television representatives.