Part two of this series is in the works, but I have so many great links and tips to share that I can't resist dropping in with a short post in between the meaty ones. Hopefully you've had a chance to read How to Build an Author's Platform: An Overview by now. If not, go ahead. I'll wait. All done?

The next thing I'd like to focus on is the art of crafting your pitch. It's all well and good to have an eye-catching web site and an engaging twitter presence, but what really matters is your ability to catch the interest of an agent or publisher.

Few people have a natural talent for distilling an 80,000 word novel into one or two sentences, but it's a skill that belongs in your toolkit. When you're serious about seeking publication, you'll be called upon to summarize your book--and make it sound interesting--in just a few words. When a person says, "tell me about your book," do you have a pitch? Can you express what's unique and special about your book in a sentence or two?

Tony Eldridge has one of the better how-tos I've seen on Creating an Elevator Pitch for Your Author Platform. As with most aspects of the publishing industry, you only have a short time to catch someone's attention and sell them on your book or concept. It's akin to an elevator ride. If you can't get your point across in the time it would take to make an "elevator pitch", you need to read this article. Eldridge focuses on a nonfiction pitch, but the points apply to any genre.

Literary agent, Rachelle Gardner, goes in to more detail with her One Sentence Summary Critique & Tips. Rachelle recently collected pitches for a contest on her site, and this article analyzes the most common errors she encountered. Many of her tips seem obvious, but agents are bombarded with misspelled words and improper punctuation. She says it best with this: "Call me crazy but I think it's not that hard to carefully proof your 25 words to make sure they say what you want." For more inspiration, take a look at the pitch contest's winning entries. Your platform is the framework of your writing career. Pay attention to details and hone your pitch.

Other articles in this series:

• Building Your Author's Platform, Part 1.5
• Dora Machado on Building an Author's Platform
• Georgia McBride on Platform Building for the "Pre-published" Author

Image: Papelbon Pitches, a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from waldoj's photostream