The Art of Selling Without Selling Your Soul

Today is all about pitching. I worked with one of my coaching clients last week and he needed help with his pitch. It prompted me to really dive in and get into the nitty-gritty of how a pitch should be written and developed. You’ll notice that the process of developing a pitch is quite similar to the process of developing a story. So I think there’s a lot to learn here even if you’re not yet ready to develop a pitch!

Let’s get into it!

Back in the early days of the studio system, screenwriters weren’t the rock stars they are today (can you hear my sarcasm there?) They were really just seen as factory workers in a storytelling assembly line. Writers were expected to churn out scripts quickly, sometimes in as little as a few weeks. Hmm…now that I think of it…are we still living in 1935?

But let’s look at Casablanca as an example. The script was still being written while filming was happening, with pages handed to actors the morning of their scenes. The idea of “pitching” back then was less about securing funding and more about convincing studio heads that your story was solid enough to make a good movie, fast.

By the 1970s, the age of the Movie Brat directors like Spielberg, Lucas, and Coppola, the pitch became more of an art form infused with the big money business of Hollywood. Jaws was famously pitched as “What if a shark was the villain?” Short, somewhat terrifying, and immediately bankable. It hadn’t been considered before, and guess what? Completely unique, big audience movies suddenly became…well…blockbusters. Then came Alien, summed up in one of the most famous pitch lines ever: “Jaws in space.”

These days, pitching is a little more structured, but the core idea remains the same: get people excited about your story in as little time as possible. And to do that, you need a plan. I know that I can hear a lot of you saying, “Yeah, but how do I find the people to pitch to?!” I get it…this is an ongoing problem for every writer. Do you want to know my answer?

You just have to get out there, meet people, network, send cold outreach, submit to contests, join writing groups, go to festivals and conferences, MEET PEOPLE! Yes, you need to constantly develop new material, too, and then…rinse and repeat for the rest of your life until you die (I’m only kind of exaggerating). I’m telling you…it’s the only way to get your butt in front of the people who can actually make something.

For this article, though, I’m focused on crafting and developing your pitch. It’s one thing to get in front of people, but if you don’t know how to develop and deliver an amazing idea, all of those contacts won’t do nearly as much as you think they will. OK…let’s back into it.

How to Build a Killer Pitch

If you’re staring at your blank page, wondering how to sell your movie idea without sounding like you’re rambling at a dinner party, don’t worry - I’ve been there, and I’m sometimes still there, but you do get better at it the more you do it. So…here’s a breakdown of how to pitch your script in a way that makes people lean in and want more.

1. Start with the Hook (Who & Why)

Your hook is the why of your story. Why should we care? Introduce your main character and their emotional struggle in a way that immediately grabs attention, BUT place them in a SITUATION that will draw out that character’s flaws and personal issues. “This type of character in this type of situation.”

Example:

“Charlie is a bummed out, pessimistic, washed-up musician who swore he’d never perform again… until he gets roped into coaching a group of chaotic kindergarteners for their school talent show.” (Character meets Situation)

2. Define the Character’s Goal & The Inherent Conflict

Once we know who and a little bit of what, we need to know what they want and why they can’t have it. Every good story is built on a character wanting something and something, or someone, getting in their way.

Example:

“Charlie just wants to get through the gig and collect his paycheck, but his own love for music starts creeping back in. Meanwhile, the school’s grumpy principal with his own deep-seeded life regrets threatens to cancel the show if the kids (and Charlie) don’t get their act together.”

3. Introduce Key Relationships & Subplots

Who is helping (or complicating) your hero’s journey? Great screenplays are built on relationships - romantic, friendship, rivalry, mentorship. I’ve spoken to this MANY times in previous articles, and I’m currently writing a book on how astrology can help writers develop their material. Astrology is virtually ALL about relationship dynamics.

Example:

“Charlie finds an unexpected ally in Sarah, a single mom who believes in him more than he believes in himself. Meanwhile, the class troublemaker, a six-year-old prodigy, challenges Charlie’s idea of what music is all about.”

4. Introduce the Opponent (Usually a Person but Sometimes a Force)

Every great story needs an Opponent. This could be a villain, a rival, a threat, but it could also be an internal struggle, a force of nature, or a system working against the Main Character. I tend to push my writers to develop a character that represents the “force” or threat…and really what that means, is the Opponent represents the deeper issues and flaws within the Main Character. Why? Because the Main Character will need to overcome that “force”, and overcoming the force in the form of another character is “usually” more entertaining (not always, of course).

Example:

“The principal, a former musician himself, is bitter about Charlie’s past and is determined to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself. If Charlie fails, he risks not just his career but disappointing the kids who have come to rely on him.”

5. Build to the Complication and Low Point (The “Oh No” Moments)

The stakes need to rise. What happens when everything falls apart? What’s the worst possible thing that could happen to the Main Character? Let it happen!

Example:

“Just as Charlie starts believing in himself again, and falling madly in love with Sarah, the principal cancels the show, threatens to shut down the entire music program, but then Charlie secretly puts on a separate show only to alienate Sarah, the Principal, and the entire school by endangering these kids he’s come to love. The kids are heartbroken, and Charlie has to decide if he’s going to fix this and fight for them or walk away - again.”

6. End with the High-Stakes Showdown (the Battle Scene)

This is the big moment - the climax of the story where everything comes to a head. It’s where the Main Character does something he never would have been able to do in the beginning of the story. What’s the final challenge the character must overcome, and who represents that challenge? Have the Main Character confront that character and situation.

Example:

“The show gets rescheduled, and on the night of the show, Charlie sneaks the kids onto a local TV broadcast against the will of the principal and his team of annoying secretaries, forcing the school to reinstate the music program. But before the final performance, he confronts his demons - the courage to step onstage one more time.”

Now…not every pitch needs to lead the audience all the way to the end of the story, but I tend to enjoy that approach a bit more. I really don’t like hearing pitches where it ends with a “will he or won’t he?”, or “he must decide this route or that route”. Don’t leave me with a question. It only makes me react with, “Well…I don’t know. You tell me.” If there is an entertaining argument within the overall story, great! But put that argument earlier in your pitch, and then answer the argument/question in the end…at least by way of showing how the Main Character confronts the entertaining argument.

The Takeaway

A great pitch isn’t about overwhelming your audience with every detail - it’s about making them feel something. Keep it simple, keep it engaging, and most importantly, make it fun. If you believe in your story, chances are, others will too. You will need to really dig into your “wordsmith” ways - we have to be crafters of language, because words and letters are the only paintbrushes we have. Use them wisely!

And hey, if all else fails, just pitch it as “Jaws in space.”

Max and The Story Farm offer all of his Substack content to ISA members for free, but a week or more after the original post was sent. If you would like to receive his most up to date Substack posts, as well as participate in a community of writers through his subscription and the Substack app, you can do so by going here: www.substack.com/@thestoryfarm