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Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way to Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read
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Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way to Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read
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 List Price: $12.95 Sale Price: Too low to display. Availability: unspecified 
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Product Description
Your career can be made in 60 seconds - if you make the right pitch! Master the Elevator Pitch, even when you've got less than 60 seconds. Get your screenplay or Novel read by the major power of Hollywood - guaranteed!
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Rating
Michael Hauge is not only a master at helping you elicit emotion from your story, he now also shows you how to do it in 60 seconds and generate nothing but excitement for your project!
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In front of me were six Hollywood types. One a writer, one a director of commercials, one a Producer, one another writer and a couple more. It’s all a blur now. I stood, with my back to 200 people or so and pitched my idea. My legs shook, my knees knocked, was I going to fall over? Throw up? What was going to happen?
I started with the premise that I had thought up over 7 years prior: “What if two children went to visit Santa and found him to be a disgruntled bitter old man?” That was my leading question and I fell into my pitch after that. When I was through (which seemed like forever) – the Producer looked at me and pointed at me and said: “Now THAT’S the perfect pitch. I want to read that script. I can sell that script.”
She’s still my Producer/Manager – but the script hasn’t sold…yet. What did I do right? What did I do wrong? What can you learn from that experience?
Well, I can tell you that after I pitched I got peppered with questions from the panel and, well, I answered them. Which opened up MORE questions and I answered THOSE and then they thanked me and I sat down and people from around the country gave me a “thumbs up!” and “Good job!” And I sweated. I couldn’t tell you much.
Michael Hauge, though, can. In his wonderful book: “Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds” he breaks down the entire process of selling your story.
Now, he does not go into what makes a sellable story, how to best deal with the three-act format, which software programs are the best, character arcs and story beats. This book is what it is. A book on selling your story. Writing it and dealing with all those aspects are left to other books.
Where Mr. Hauge succeeds is in dealing with all the details of the sell. Figuring out what it is you want to sell, figuring out who you want to approach, the avenues, means and methods on how to approach them, the 60 second pitch, and then the aftermath. This is all spelled out in excruciatingly clear detail (which is GREAT). No big words (okay, he does use the word “antecedents”) – no convoluted paradigms or methodologies – just the basics on how to get your butt out of your chair and tell people about your wonderfully fantastic idea (which, of course, you should be doing already).
Another one of the excellent things Mr. Hauge does – is he devotes nearly 40 pages of a 180 page book to executives from all over the Hollywood food chain, to explain what works and doesn’t work during a pitch. I found this to be a fantastic tool. Whether they contradict or compliment what you’ve read in the previous 140 pages – it doesn’t matter.
This is an amazing book that really puts the nuts and bolts of the 60 second pitch in your hands but Mr. Hauge gives you the tools to really create something of worth and value out of it. A MUST for anyone with an idea to sell.
I’ve just finished a screenplay. I’m about to pitch it. It’s wonderful. I’m passionate about it. It’s a “High Concept” idea with great casting possibilities. Thank GOD for this book.
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Michael Hauge’s Selling Your Story in 60n Seconds will help writers for all mediums greatly improve the quality of their pitch. Hauge provides a clear proces that shows you how to build rapport, maintain professionalism, and market your idea while also including tips on how to approach publishers and production companies. Selling Your Story is a quick read and the bulleted sections are useful. Using this book, I was able to boil my stories down to their essence, cutting out anything that deviated from the main idea.
Selling Your Story is divided into two sections: preparation and presentation. It ends with quotes from publishing and production executives in the industry describing what they look for in pitches. Hauge doesn’t waste your time; his aim is to help you, and his insights are inspiring. I felt as if I was given the green light to approach the agents listed in the back of the book and pitch my story. This book is well worth your time.
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I read the book on my way down to Screenwriting Expo 5 in Los Angeles this fall. I had a couple of pitches set up and went into both of them using the ‘Let me tell you how I came up with the story…’ pitch from the book. Both executives were interested and asked for additional information about my script. The process and ideas laid out in the book worked like a charm! The writing is clear and concise, the style if easy to read and it really works well (as I discovered in my pitch sessions.) I highly recommend the book.
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Written by expert screenwriting coach Michael Hauge, who has consulted on projects for Warners, Disney, Columbia, New Line, CBS, and Lifetime among many others, Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way To Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read is a no-nonsense guide for novice to veteran novel writers and screenwriters to get noticed. Written in plain terms, Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds covers the 10 key components of a commercial story, how to design a strong pitch, targeting the right buyer, securing opportunities to pitch, what steps to take next if a potential buyer says yes or no, and much more. A no-nonsense “how-to” guide filled with industry tips, tricks, techniques and etiquette guidelines, and an absolute “must-have” for any writer trying to break into the business.
Rating
Don’t even think about pitching your script without reading this book!
Michael Hauge has been to more pitch fests and conferences than just about any screenwriting teacher/consultant out there — and he knows exactly what it takes to break through that glazed look in the Producer’s eyes and make them take notice of your story.
As a professional screenwriter, I, too, have been to a lot of pitches (And as a professional script consultant, I’ve heard even more). And I thought I had my formula down. But I found Michael’s specific techniques in this book to be really insightful and inspiring — and I’ve already changed my approach because of it!
In his honest, witty, and authoritative style, Michael walks you through every step of the process, from clarifying your story’s major turning points, knowing what to put in (and more importantly what to leave out) of the pitch, to how to create an instant connection with the one you’re pitching to…and leave them wanting more.
Before you pitch your next story, whether over the phone or in person, read this book — twice — and let it guide you to creating the pitch-perfect plan for pitching your next script.
In the meantime, Stay Inspired — and Keep Writing!
Derek Rydall
Founder, [...]
Rating
As an aspiring screenwriter, Mr. Hauge’s title offered me a “guaranteed way” to get my screenplay read. Needless to say, this title sold me immediately. I finished reading it in one evening, and highlighter in hand, I went back and reread it again. It now closely resembles one of my college textbooks. I can’t wait to implement Mr. Hauge’s tips and suggestions as I enter the world of pitch fests, contests, and (hopefully) pitch meetings. When that time comes, I know I’ll be well prepared and ready-to-go.
Rating
Writers are lucky to have this book available – it provides them with much specific & essential guidance on their quest for perfection and success. And it makes things easier for us – film company executives – as well, because dealing with writers who have been enlightened by this book saves us time, compared to dealing with those who choose the shaky road of “trial & error”. Thus this book is invaluable to both Writers and Executives. [...]
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I attended 2 of Michael’s seminars at Screenwriting Expo ’06 and this book contains the same “special” quality of Michael’s in-person class: He wants you to succeed. The book is an Instruction Manual for understanding, crafting and marketing your story. The material is digestible for beginners, valuable for all levels of writing, simple and thorough. There is a nice balance of “Do” and “Don’t” advice. The “Executives on Pitching” Section provides confirmation and flavor to the meaty material that precedes it. This book is not simply a compilation of quotes and buzzwords. Michael has command of his craft and endeavors with the heart of a mentor to infuse it in his readers. 2 thumbs up
Rating
I’ve always been a big fan of “How To” books, especially ones like “Shaking the Money Tree” and “Writing Down the Bones,” where a highly accomplished professional shares insider tricks and tips that I am able to use to solve a pressing problem.
Well, I recently had to pitch an idea for a new book. The subject (Citizen Journalism) was new for me, and I didn’t know how to communicate my passion for the book and the importance of the subject. Then a friend told me about “Selling Your Story In 60 Seconds.” I read the book in one afternoon, and using what I’d learned was able to pitch the idea successfully, four days later.
“Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds” is surprisingly well written and easy to read. Whether you are pitching a book, a script, or pitching an idea during fund raising–this book is essential.