How to Pitch: Get in the Game
In The Science of Hitting, Ted Williams wrote about the importance of keeping his players alert.
The dugout, for example, has always been a place in baseball where guys tended to doze. The very fact they’re not playing works against them, so I try to keep them in the game. “What the hell pitch was that? What’s the count?”
I’d see a guy check the scoreboard. “What you looking there for? You oughta know without looking. Get in the game.”
You’ve got to keep sharp on the bench, because you’re liable to be in there anytime.
I saw this play out last month, after a friend resigned from her job. It was an unexpected move, even for her, but one she had to make. The next day she found herself without a job, without a resume in place, without any idea of how to move forward.
She reminded me of the artists I’ve met, who have a creation, a project — a something — in need of marketing, but never seem prepared. In her case, she had knowledge/expertise to market to another company, but she didn’t have anything ready to go when she absolutely needed it.
Why?
She didn’t recognize there was a bench in her life — and because she didn’t recognize the bench, she didn’t focus on the game playing out around her.
In baseball there’s a location shift, from a player being on the field to a player being on the bench in the dugout.
For an artist, that occurs when she leaves her studio or when he steps away from his desk. At that point, they are on the bench. If they are eating, they are on the bench. If they are napping, they are on the bench. If they are watching TV or reading or catching a film, they are on the bench. While the bench is a place to rest, it isn’t a place to atrophy.
What does this mean for pitching?
While it might feel like your life revolves around creating, it doesn’t. You have benches in your life and you’ve got to use them to pay attention to what is/isn’t working in the games being played around you.
Pay attention to where other authors are popping up. Radio? TV? Print? Online?
Pay attention to what is being discussed — and if that interview or article gets picked up by other outlets. If yes, which ones?
Most important: Pay attention to the other players and network. We’ve spoken about the importance of the direct-connections for years, which includes maintaining a database, yet I continue to meet authors who don’t even have their friends’ addresses entered into a Word file.
The artists and entrepreneurs and baseball players who succeed are the ones who recognize the bench and use it as a time to reflect on the game. They’ve got their book and their marketing plan and everything else ready to roll — AND, they have an understanding of the business and the rules.
It’s similar to a cook being able to plate every element of a course at one time.
The cook has a plan that enables him to have everything ready to go. He has that plan because he’s used his bench to study, to practice, to pay attention to the game around him.
Use your bench to get in the game — and to stay in the game.
DO THE WORK
Steve shows you the predictable Resistance points that every writer hits in a work-in-progress and then shows you how to deal with each one of these sticking points. This book shows you how to keep going with your work.
THE AUTHENTIC SWING
A short book about the writing of a first novel: for Steve, The Legend of Bagger Vance. Having failed with three earlier attempts at novels, here's how Steve finally succeeded.
NOBODY WANTS TO READ YOUR SH*T
Steve shares his "lessons learned" from the trenches of the five different writing careers—advertising, screenwriting, fiction, nonfiction, and self-help. This is tradecraft. An MFA in Writing in 197 pages.
TURNING PRO
Amateurs have amateur habits. Pros have pro habits. When we turn pro, we give up the comfortable life but we find our power. Steve answers the question, "How do we overcome Resistance?"
Thanks for this Callie – I’m absolutely guilty of not paying enough attention from “the bench” – this is a great reminder!
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Hey Callie, I’ve been thinking about this, actually a whole bunch lately, because I’m about to get a small infusion of marketing/promotion/production cash and I’ll be launching a collection of new things.
Because I like to think positive, I’m planning on creating something I won’t be able to handle on my own.
I’m courting a helper at the moment, actually, well, because I’m a dreamer.
So, my question:
When does (or can) a creative responsibly say, “I don’t do the day to day business side of this… So-and-so handles it.”
All things considered, I don’t care for the nitty-gritty of the marketing, the email list, the website, the promotion, blah, blah, blah…. But I also refuse to seek a publisher because I believe in the indie dream.
I am entrepreneurial, so I want to decide, direct, manage, but not get tangled up in the minutiae and the trenches (I do realize at first I must do this).
Maybe my question answers itself.
I guess I’m wondering if there are things that even the top money making best sellers still should pay attention to, or would you say that a successful creative that cares nothing for the business could safely just ignore this kind of stuff?
As a side bar: there could be another whole lesson in this “being on the bench” stuff, that being to live a life of being alive as it nourishes the creative.
In that sense, the aware person is never really “on the bench” although they might be striking out a bit.
Someone told me yesterday that she liked holding hands but didn’t like her hand held.
I’m not sure if that applies to this, but I thought it was profound and wanted to remember it. I keep reminding myself that I’m still in the middle innings of this game.
When it’s over, I’d like to have translated some small aspect of its beauty (and pain) to the page. Considering what I’m chasing, this is no small task.
I love analogies. Thanks for an inspirational one.
Thanks Callie. How a player behaves on the bench tells one a lot about how s/he will play on the field. Thanks for being our “dugout mom”!
My butt is calloused from being – unwittingly – on the bench! Thanks for widening my eyes to take in the bigger field of opportunities & must do energies.
Another excellent baseball metaphor, Callie. They are endless, aren’t they? Very nice.
Very good! I am keeping this where I will see often, and refer to when needed. No more “profit-producing” or “customer servicing” or “housekeeping” without thinking about how each brings us back to the main purpose of what we are doing.
Loved this post, Callie. Thank you.
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