Producing for TV and New Media, 3rd Edition

Chapter 6

Pitching and Selling the Project

If a story is in you, it has got to come out.

William Faulkner

This Chapter’s Talking Points

I.	Pitching and Selling: The Big Picture
II.	Research the Pitch
III.	Create the Pitch
IV.	Pitch the Pitch
V.	Keep Pitching

I.  Pitching and Selling: The Big Picture

Your idea for a project is great. You’re confident that it’s a perfect fit for NBC, or HBO, or maybe it could be a breakthrough online series. But you have to sell it first, and selling your project is a real challenge. Because getting the green light might depend entirely on your pitch, this pitch process can be stressful for even a seasoned producer.

In reality, a pitch is just a sales job: you’re appealing to someone in ...