The Book Pitch Banned List

Here are some over-used lines to avoid. (And yes, i've used them all ...)

I stayed awake reading it till 3am …

I was so engrossed, I missed my bus stop!

This author is a national treasure

I won’t spoil the ending – you’ll have to read it!

The city is a character in itself

You know you’re in the hands of a master storyteller

We’ve all read it and loved it in the office.

An important book

A highly promotable author

It's a no-brainer, publicity-wise

If I could just read this short passage to you …

It’s going to have an unmissable / high-profile marketing campaign

It does exactly what it says on the tin

I read it in one sitting

An author at the height of his powers

A tour de force

Like Margaret Drabble on acid (or any famous author on any mind altering drug)

Takes you on a journey

Unputdownable

At once powerful and lyrical ...

I read the last few pages through tears …

It’s Joanna Trollope meets Tom Sharpe … or Fahrenheit 451 meets Zoella ... Tolkien meets Rushdie … perfect for readers of Dan Brown, Beatrix Potter and His Holiness the Dalai Lama        

Do let me know your current un-favourites, and I’ll add them to the Banned List.

And do also check out the wonderful @Proofletter, who circulate an scurrilous email every month or so, with lots of insider publishing stuff, including Phrases That Are Dead To Us. Recent example:

“The most [insert adjective] book you’ll read this year” … in January