’m not why I’m writing this – I should be telling you how to do things, rather than expressing my own shortcomings. But making a pitch is an art totally beyond me.

You might have remembered my review for Dark Matter. It was a cool book about possibility, life and its spawning timelines. I really enjoyed it and ranted about it in my review. Three of you reported to have pursued it and are all currently reading it. In that, I made a successful pitch.

But then there was Railsea, a book I read a while ago and am rereading. I am enjoying it a lot more and frankly, it’s still a pretty freaky book. So tonight I pitched it before the model railroad club. I presented a three-minute talkup, a pocket rant about it. Talk about a cold reception. Everyone gave me that “Can we adjourn?” look.

Why did one pitch work and another didn’t? I’ve thought about it on the drive home. For Dark Matter, I was pitching it to a reader site whereas the pearl of Railsea was tossed before the swine of the Orlando N-trak (not the best allegory, I’m afraid – I do like these guys). For Dark, I was writing – I could compose and reorder and craft. For Railsea, I was speaking – no editing here. And for Dark, I was writing it on a weekend morning when I was fully rested. Railsea was at 8pm after a long day filled with pointless meetings.

I’m going to think more about the art of the pitch and write about what I decide in future DOG EARS.

So read them when they come out.

Please?

>>>HERE’S A PITCH; BUY ONE OF MY BOOKS, DOWN THIS LINK!<<<