The Book Doctors bring Pitchapalooza back to Exeter, helping local writers learn how to pitch their book ideas to publishers.

Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry were at a party in San Francisco one night when they had an epiphany, of sorts. Eckstut is a long-time publishing agent, and when word spread she was at the party around midnight, she was bombarded by half-drunk aspiring writers pitching their book ideas.

Sterry, the author of 12 books, said it was a “light bulb moment.”

“That’s what we should do,” he realized. “We should do an event where people pitch their book ideas to a panel of experts.”

That was the genesis of Pitchapalooza, a traveling event in which Eckstut and Sterry, known in tandem as The Book Doctors, invite writers to pitch their book ideas. At the end, the judges determine who made the best pitch, and the winner receives an introduction to an agent or publisher to help make the book a reality. They’ve been holding the event regularly since the fall of 2010.

“There are so many people in America who have book ideas,” Sterry said. “Some of them are absolutely genius, and some of them just need some help.”

Pitchapalooza will return to Water Street Bookstore in Exeter on Saturday, Sept. 15, with a special workshop following on Sunday, Sept. 16. Twenty participating writers will have a chance to make a one-minute pitch in front of a panel including The Book Doctors, as well as publisher Katie McGarry and a fourth judge. The judges will offer feedback and critique for each pitch before declaring a winner.

Attendees hoping to make a pitch will drop their names into a hat, and organizers will randomly select 20 participants. In order to be eligible, writers must purchase a copy of “The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published,” by Eckstut and Sterry. Everyone who buys the book will also get a 20-minute phone consultation with The Book Doctors. Guests who just want to observe can attend for free.

Pitchapalooza is open to writers of all genres and experience levels. Over the last couple of years, The Book Doctors have heard all kinds of ideas.

“We hear pitches from self-help books to kids’ illustrated books to dystopian novels to memoirs to literary fiction—the whole gamut,” Sterry said.

Water Street held its first Pitchapalooza in 2011, and events coordinator Stefanie Kiper said it was one of the store’s best events of the year.

“It just had this really great feeling in the room,” she said. “It was great to have all that undiscovered local talent bubble up.”

Kiper said The Book Doctors are supportive with every writer, whether they’ve been published before or are brand new to the trade.

“You don’t even have to have written a book, it can just be a book idea,” she said. “(The Book Doctors are) not shy but they’re very nice, and it’s always very encouraging, so it’s not like you’re going to get shot down or something.”

Last year’s Pitchapalooza winners in Exeter were locals Dave Kellam and Clay Groves, who are at work on “Catch-M-All,” a nonfiction book about their quest to catch and eat every freshwater fish species in New Hampshire (their quest was chronicled in a biweekly column in The Wire last year). The pair recently signed a contract with an agent who is now shopping their proposal to publishers. 

Groves said winning Pitchapalooza was immensely helpful. It was through The Book Doctors that they met their agent.

“He’s confident he will get us a deal,” Groves said. “I can’t imagine where we’d be right now without having that win.”

Sterry said Kellam and Groves immediately grabbed the judges’ attention with their enthusiastic pitch last year. With their one-minute proposal, they conveyed a proper mix of credible knowledge and entertainment value.

“Those guys are passionate. You just get the sense they absolutely love what they’re doing. They’re on a mission. Part of their mission is to have fun, but they’re very serious about what they do,” Sterry said. “We have high hopes for them.”

Some past winners from Pitchapalooza events around the country have already landed publishing deals. The winner of the very first Pitchapalooza in San Francisco published “Love InshAllah,” an anthology of Muslim American women writing about their secret love lives. The book came out on Valentine’s Day and has received press from the New York Times, Washington Post and National Public Radio.

The Book Doctors focus on instructing writers about how to make a compelling pitch. Those pitches become proposals to shop around.

“Agents and publishes are so inundated with material that if they don’t fall in love with that pitch, they’re not going to read anything that you’ve written,” Sterry said.

The key to making a successful pitch, he added, is to make the judges (or agents or publishers) curious about what happens next in the book. In the case of a novel or memoir, it’s crucial to present an appealing protagonist.

“A lot of people pitch novels and they don’t even tell us who the main character is. We have to fall in love with that hero,” Sterry said.

If you’re pitching an informational book, you should include “concrete, unique examples of how you’re going to make our lives better, whether you’re going to help us make money or get a better love life or lose weight or whatever it is,” Sterry said. “In those books, it’s very important that you establish your credentials.”

Another key, Eckstut added, is to deliver your proposal in the tone or spirit of the book you’re describing.

“The voice of the book itself needs to shine through in the pitch,” she said.

Even after you’ve mastered your pitch, you need to target the right agents and publishers. That means researching publishers who specialize in your genre, as well as keeping up to speed on the ever-changing publishing industry.

“It is incumbent upon any author today to do their research, and that applies on all fronts,” Eckstut said. “Even if you have an agent and publisher, you still have to think like a publisher.”

Kellam said connecting with the right agent was the single most helpful thing The Book Doctors did for “Catch-M-All.” Otherwise, he said, they would be spending countless hours researching who to reach out to.

“The critical thing is getting an agent,” he said. “What The Book Doctors brought was a deep knowledge of the kinds of agents that would be interested in our stuff.”

But even writers starting from scratch should take inspiration from the “Catch” crew and other Pitchapalooza winners. The underlying message of the event is that, with enough passion and knowledge, anyone can get a book published.

“Our advice to anybody is if you have a good idea, stop talking about it so much and go out and do it,” Groves said.

Pitchapalooza takes place on Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. at Water Street Bookstore, 125 Water St., Exeter, 603-778-9731. The Book Doctors will host a workshop and hear additional pitches on Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. Tickets to the workshop are $75.

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