Way back in the archives of Brainpan Leakage – and I do mean way back, because the entry I am about to reference was originally written when BL was still hosted over on my Myspank page – I had myself one of those Andy Rooney moments about “catch phrases” on the FoodNetwork shows.  You know, Emeril’s “Bam”, Tyler Florence’s “Flavorful”, and Guy Fieri’s “Off The Hook”… Not that “branding” is a bad thing. Truth is, branding is important. E K does it to all of her possessions, which is why I am sitting on a pillow right now.

Okay, okay… So, E K doesn’t really do that. (She uses a Sharpie)… But, what would a Brainpan Leakage blog entry be without an E K reference, correct?

So, back to this branding thing. I get it. I understand it. Hell, the RGI series even has a catch phrase – “Sometimes it takes more than a cop to stop a killer. It takes a Witch.”

My dear friend Dorothy Morrison and I have toured together so much and done so many workshops together that we have been branded with the tag, “Wingnuts” all because of a story we tell about a crazy person who hi-jacked one of my seminars at the RWB many years ago.

So yes… I definitely get it. However, another Andy Rooney moment happened upon me very recently, and it had everything to do with the proverbial “catch phrase”.

Ahemm…hmmm…ahem… So, did’jya ever notice…

Okay, so I won’t kype Andy’s catch phrase this time. However, I will tell you about the latest “phrase craze” that is making my brain hurt –

“Pitch Me”

Now, I don’t know how many of you out there have heard this one. All I can say is that I hear it constantly. Because of my profession I do quite a few interviews, podcasts, etc. It’s all part of the game. Truth is, the saying among authors is that once you finish the manuscript, that’s when the real work begins.

Fortunately, I like doing podcasts, radio, print interviews, and chats. I think it’s fun. I get to meet new people and talk about all kinds of cool stuff, myself included – not that I think I’m all that cool, but on occasion other folks think I am and that’s a nice boost when my ego sags, which it can tend to do at times. We all have those moments, except E K, of course. (Two E K refs! WooHoo, I’m on a roll!)

So anyway, this “Pitch Me” thing. I receive email on a fairly regular basis from magazines, newspapers, podcasts, etc, which are asking me if I’d be willing to do an interview. Sometimes I, or one of my publicists, will contact a particular venue and wave my flag to let them know I’m available and would love to do their show or what have you. Lately, however, the response from these folks – whether they are making first contact or I am – is, “Pitch Me”…

Now, I want to point out, not ALL of them are doing this, but the vast majority seem to be…

Honestly, I know exactly what they mean. They want me, or my publicists, to tell them why I would be a good interview for their show or publication. That makes perfect sense, so I’m not complaining there – although, if they are soliciting me I would think they would already know whether or not I fit their format, but that’s just a personal observation.

And, to be sure, the first couple of times I heard “Pitch Me” it wasn’t a big deal. I wasn’t fazed at all. However, much like “bam”, “flavorful”, “off the hook”, “roast off”, and all the FoodNetwork overused catch phrases, “Pitch Me” has become so overused that it is painful to both my eyes and ears.

So, for all of the “Pitch Me’s” out there, I have decided I need an appropriate catch phrase response as well:

“Catch Me”

I guess it’s a good thing I have publicists to handle that stuff, eh? Hell,  for all I know they probably say “Pitch Me” too…

😉

More to come…

Murv