by @LynetteEason 

What is an Elevator Pitch?

An elevator pitch is a spoken snapshot of your novel. A summary that is clear enough to understand in seconds, specific enough to feel market-ready, and intriguing enough to earn the interest of the person on the other side of it.

For an agent or editor, it should answer three things fast:

1. What is it? (genre + concept)
2. Why will readers care? (stakes + emotional hook)
3. Why is it different? (fresh angle / twist / setting / voice)

It’s not a synopsis and it’s not really even a back-cover blurb. It’s a conversation opener designed to spark curiosity, not explain the whole story.

What a Strong Elevator Pitch Includes:

Aim for 20–40 seconds (about 3-5 sentences). The pitch should include:

1. The protagonist – this is who we’re following. It’s always good if this character has a defining trait or vulnerability.
2. Goal – this is what they must do by the end of the story.
3. Opposition – this is what stands in the way of the protagonist accomplishing said goal.
4. Stakes – this is what happens if they fail? There should be internal and external stakes.
5. Unique hook – what makes this premise feel fresh in the market.

Optional but powerful:

• Setting if it’s a selling point—i.e. a remote island, locked-room mansion, war zone hospital, etc. You get the idea.
• Tone comp (“in the vein of…”) – ONLY if you can do it like it should be done.

Steps to Build the Elevator Pitch:

Step 1: Write your “core sentence”. Here’s a template to play with. This will give you the foundation you need to move to step 2.

When [protagonist] must [goal] before [deadline], they face [opposition], and if they fail, [stakes].

Step 2: Add the “why readers care” layer

This should be one short phrase that signals emotion/theme:

• “forcing her to confront the secret she’s been running from”
• “testing the faith she thought she’d lost”
• “making him choose between duty and the one person he vowed to protect”

Step 3: Add your hook.

Choose one memorable element. This should be the thing that stands out to the listener. Examples include:

• a profession with built-in tension (air marshal, 911 dispatcher, forensic accountant)
• a setting that traps them
• a twist on a familiar trope (witness protection, cold case, hidden identity)

Step 4: Be ruthless and trim it hard.

Remove character names if they don’t add value. Replace explanation with sharp nouns/verbs. You want clarity and tension, not lore. What does that mean? It means: Don’t explain your world and backstory. Sell the problem.

Templates you can use if you like:

Template A: The clean, classic pitch

[Protagonist], a [role/descriptor], must [goal] before [deadline]—but [antagonist/opposition] stands in the way. When [complication], [stakes].

Example: Felicity Bowman, a former military dog handler trying to stay under the radar, must find and deliver a piece of evidence to federal authorities before it’s found by the wrong the people—but the powerful official she’s exposing has already sent men to recover it. When her family is targeted and her safe haven is breached, she and the quiet spoken veteran she’s falling for must stay alive long enough to bring the truth into daylight—or watch innocent people take the fall.

Template B: The “choice under pressure” pitch

When [inciting incident] forces [protagonist] to [goal], they must choose between [option A] and [option B]—because [stakes].

Example:

When a 911 dispatcher realizes a caller is using coded language to report a kidnapping, she’s forced to break protocol to track the victim before the line goes dead. She must choose between staying quiet to protect her job and reputation or pushing the evidence to a skeptical detective who could expose her past—because if she hesitates, the victim won’t survive the night.

Template C: Romantic suspense-specific (agent/editor friendly)

[Protagonist] is trying to [goal], but [danger/opposition] escalates when [inciting incident]. With help from [love interest role], they race to [goal] before [deadline]—all while [personal/emotional cost].

Example: When a late-night break-in leaves a reclusive bookstore owner holding the only evidence of a crime, she’s forced to turn to the deputy sheriff who once broke her heart to stay alive. She must choose between running alone and risking capture, or trusting him with the secret she’s hidden for years—because the men hunting her won’t stop until the evidence (and she) disappear.

Other Examples:

Historical

Clara Whitfield, a widowed telegraph operator in 1892 Chicago, must intercept a coded message that could expose a political assassination before it’s delivered—but the man who wrote the code is already dead and his killers are watching the wire. When a U.S. Marshal with his own secrets offers protection, Clara must decide whether to trust him with the truth… because if she fails, the city burns and she becomes the next message erased.

Women’s Contemporary

After a viral mistake costs her career, Maya Rivers, a high-achieving single mom, must rebuild her life by taking the only job she can get—running the community center she swore she’d never step into again. But the director who remembers exactly why she left makes her confront the fracture she’s been hiding from everyone. When the center is threatened with closure, Maya has one chance to fight for something bigger than her pride… or lose the place that might finally feel like home.

Speculative Fiction

In a near-future city where memories can be legally extracted, public defender Rowan Hale must prove her client’s innocence before his sentencing hearing—but the only evidence is locked inside a witness’s stolen recollection. When Rowan discovers her own memory has been edited, she has to decide whether to expose the program and destroy her career, or stay silent and let an innocent man be condemned—because the people who control the edits don’t just erase crimes. They erase people.

The Elevator Pitch: What is it and why do I need it? by @LynetteEason on @BRMCWC #Writing #Writinglife #BRMCWC Share on X

Fantasy

Liora, a palace healer with forbidden magic, must cure the prince’s mysterious illness before the coronation—but the sickness isn’t natural, and using her gift will mark her for execution. When the king’s assassin is assigned to watch her, Liora realizes he’s not there to protect the prince—he’s there to make sure Liora can’t speak. As the curse spreads through the court, she must risk her life to break it… or watch the kingdom fall to a throne built on poison.

YA

Seventeen-year-old Jo Park, an overachiever desperate for a clean future, must clear her brother’s name after he’s accused of a hit-and-run—but the only witness is a girl who refuses to talk. When Jo learns the accident ties back to the school’s golden-boy crowd, she has to choose between staying silent to protect her scholarship and going public with the truth. Because if she’s wrong, she loses everything… and if she’s right, they’ll come for her next.

Middle Grade

Twelve-year-old Milo Cruz must find the missing library book that keeps rewriting itself before the town’s annual Story Festival—but every time he turns the page, a new clue appears and a new problem follows him home. When Milo realizes the book is changing his life, not just the story, he teams up with a rule-loving new friend to put the ending back where it belongs… or risk trapping their town inside someone else’s unfinished plot.

Time Travel

When Harper Lin enters a century-old clocktower, reads the poem on the wall and is transported back to 1910 with one day to stop a young woman’s wrongful arrest—but every attempt to help only tightens the noose. With a determined reporter at her side, Harper must uncover who’s framing the girl before her twenty-four hour deadline is up. Because if she fails, an innocent life is ruined—and the clocktower won’t let Harper go home until the past is set right.

Tips Editors/Agents Notice Immediately

• Specific nouns beat adjectives.
  • “Former military interpreter” is better than “strong woman.”
  • “Gun-running ring” is better than “dangerous criminals.”
• Stakes must be concrete.
  • “She’ll lose everything” is vague. “Her brother will take the fall / a child will die / her identity will be exposed” is pitch-ready.
• Don’t pitch themes without story.
  • “It’s about healing” lands better when attached to action: “She must return to the place she swore she’d never go.”
• Avoid character lists. One protagonist (and optionally the love interest if in the romance genre) is enough.
• Practice out loud. If you run out of breath, it’s too long. If you stumble, it’s too complicated.
• Have two versions ready:
  • 10-second (“It’s about…”)
  • 30-second (the full elevator pitch)

And that’s it folks. You have the tools you need to make your pitch perfect. And no, in this instance you don’t have to sing to have a perfect pitch. I hope this helps answer a few questions for you.

Now go work on that pitch and I’ll see you at the conference where you can share it with me.

Blessings and Peace,

Lynette

Read the other Mentoring Moments posts here:

WEEK 1: Make The Most Of A Writing Conference

WEEK 2: Six Tips to Prepare for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference

WEEK 3: Paid Mentoring – Preparing the Writer for The Blue Ridge Conference

WEEK 4: Paid Faculty Critiques at BRMCWC

WEEK 5: Business Cards for Writers: What to Include Before Attending a Writing Conference (2026 Guide)

Lynette Eason is the best-selling, award-winning author of over sixty books including the Women of Justice series, the Deadly Reunions series, the Hidden Identity series, the Elite Guardians series, the Blue Justice series, and the Danger Never Sleeps series. She writes for Revell and for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense line. Her books have appeared on the CBA, ECPA, and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller lists. She has won several awards including the Carol Award, the IRCC award, the Selah, and the Christian Retailing’s Best 2017 Award. She placed in the top ten in the James Patterson 2016 co-writer contest. The movie, Her Stolen Past, based on Lynette’s novel with the same title, aired February 2, 2018 on the Lifetime Movie Network. Lynette is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), Romance Writers of America (RWA), Mystery Writers of America (MWA), International Thriller Writers (ITW), and Faith, Hope, and Love (FHL) chapter of RWA as well as the Kiss of Death (KOD) chapter.