Meet The Book Doctors

The Book Doctors — Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry — have appeared in media ranging from NPR’s Morning Edition to The New York Times to The Wall Street Journal to USA Today. They have taught everywhere from Stanford University to the Miami Book Festival to Strand Books in New York City. Their book, The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, is the definitive guide through the entire process of conceiving, writing, selling, marketing and promoting your book.

Arielle and David are making their first Nordic appearance at Stockholm Writers Festival 2020, where they will lead three sessions: a workshop on finding a great agent; Pitchapalooza, their version of American Idol for books; and an optional workshop on making manuscript editing fun (don’t forget to book this!)  Get to know these publishing rock stars as they help you get ready for SWF20.

What training can SWF20 ticket holders be doing now to stretch their Pitchapalooza muscles?
From now on, whenever anyone asks you, "So, what are you doing these days?" your answer is, "I'm writing a book." If they ask (and ONLY IF THEY ASK), "What is your book about?"; then you have one minute (and ONLY ONE MINUTE) to pitch them your book. Pitch everyone. Your banker, your baker, your candlestick maker, your dog, your cat, your fish, your husband, your wife, your girlfriend, your boyfriend, your girlfriend and your wife (but only if that's appropriate), your therapist, your exorcist, your life coach, your spirit animal, plus anyone else who will listen. 

We have a joke in New York, where I come from. "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" "Practice, practice, practice." And pay very, very close attention to how people react to your pitch. You need to re-examine all the parts where they seem bored, start sneaking a peek at their phone or gaze off in a thousand-yard stare. And accentuate the parts when they seem excited, engaged and suddenly seem more attracted to you. Videotape yourself doing the pitch. WARNING: This may slightly horrifying. The Book Doctors’ theory is: Better to be humiliated in your living room than in public in front of everybody. Trust us, watching yourself pitch will be incredibly educational.

After being pitched to for many years, after you still surprised — and impressed — by what you hear?
Every single Pitchapalooza we've done, we found at least one, usually multiple, pitches that surprise, delight, amaze, and strike us full of awe. 

What's something that many people misunderstand about searching for an agent?
When you're at a conference, never follow an agent into the bathroom and pitch your book in there. This has happened to me not once, not twice, but many times. I will literally be standing at the urinal, doing my business, and someone will pitch me their dystopian sci-fi novel about an orphan boy who discovers he has magical skills and must save the world from evil. But here's the real thing that people don't understand about agents and writers. The writer has the power. Without writers, an agent is nothing. And they have no idea whether or not you're the next J.K. Rowling, Stephen King or Fyodor Dostoevsky. You are interviewing them, not the other way around. And don't assume when you send an agent your material and don't hear from them that they dislike it. Assume they haven't even looked at it yet. Practice the gentle art of the Follow Up.

What's something you're most looking forward to about SWF20 and Stockholm?
The writers. Always the writers. We are also very curious, having done over 500 Pitchapaloozas from Alaska to Miami, Brooklyn to Hollywood, South Carolina to North Dakota, whether it will be different doing one in Sweden. It's also a big challenge because now we have to learn Swedish by May. But from what I've heard so far, it's a pretty easy language!  We are looking forward to eating food, seeing extraordinary buildings and nature, hearing amazing pitches and discovering our next Book Doctors success story, Stockholm-style.

Learn more about The Book Doctors on their website.

See all SWF20 faculty on our faculty webpage.