The Four Elements
Dear Author, It was lovely to meet you at the conference last week; thank you for emailing me those photos! I would love to read more about the manuscript you are currently pitching. Can you send me your pitch, first few chapters, and synopsis? —Signed Agent McAgent
Logline. Elevator Pitch. Query Pitch. Plot Synopsis.
The terms thrown at hopeful authors can be overwhelming. To make matters even more confusing, the definitions of these terms vary depending on whom you ask. It’s enough to make an author throw their manuscript at a wall.
And after you get your mind around the differences between these terms? How do you create them? What are the rules? What do agents and publishers want?
The good news is that there are no hard and fast rules. The bad news is that different agents often want different things. The great news is that there are steps you can take to create an appealing logline, elevator pitch, query pitch, and synopsis that will cover all your bases. They don’t have to be so mysterious.
Ask yourself, “What are you trying to achieve?” Are you trying to determine if your book would appeal to the agent? (Step One) Or are you trying to convince them to read your book? (Step Two)
Too often, authors tend to rush right to Step Two. Instead, take the time and go through the first step, determining the appeal of your book to your intended audience. Doing this can make a stronger connection with the agents you’re querying. It gives them a chance to quickly determine if they would be a good fit for your project and, in doing so, save you and the agent time and stress.
In Step One, a logline and an elevator pitch will help everyone determine if your book has the elements needed to appeal to a particular agent. The more extended query pitch and plot synopsis in Step Two are designed to convince the agent to read your book to determine for themselves the merits.
You’ll need all of these in your tool bag over time. Therefore, it’s vital to have the four elements all readily at hand.
The First Element: LOGLINE
A logline is a statement that answers the question, “Would I like this book?” It often uses iconic, culturally relevant references to give the listener/reader a chance to quickly identify their potential interest in a book like yours.
When telling a friend about a movie you want them to watch, you need to consider their tastes. For example, telling someone they have to see the latest horror flick only makes sense if they like horror movies. A logline instantly allows you and the person you are speaking with to determine if the book you’re writing fits their needs.
When asked about your manuscript, it’s often a good idea to start with a short, sharp statement that uses an iconic story to indicate the genre, audience, and theme. When writing a logline or using it as an email subject line, it’s common to see the main character names, author names, or titles in all capital letters.
Imagine if STEPHEN KING wrote and directed a reality TV show.
My book has been described as THE TWILIGHT ZONE meets SURVIVOR.
It’s for fans of TESS GERRITSEN who also love the SAW movies.
The Second Element: ELEVATOR PITCH
An elevator pitch is a short statement that answers the question, “What’s the book about?” An elevator pitch often includes a logline. Ten–15 seconds if spoken out loud. Tops.
The best advice I can give you when creating your elevator pitch is to learn the difference between describing your plot vs. explaining your story. A pitch (no matter what kind) needs to leave the audience with an idea of the premise and stakes. That’s it. This isn’t the place for backstory, secret motives, or why you wrote the book.
Here’s an exercise I invite you to do right now. Take a moment to write down answers to the following questions:
What’s your favorite movie (right now)? Would your closest friend like it? If so, how would you describe the film to them?
Now, do that with your book.
Here’s an example of an elevator pitch that hits just a few key points and doesn’t try to cover every element of the book:
A divorced teenager is chosen for a hospital-based reality TV show but finds out she and the young man she has fallen for were tricked into a gladiator-style fight for their lives. They must outwit a group of murderous doctors and sadistic nurses while competing with the other contestants in front of millions of viewers to escape the hospital where the show is set.
The Third Element: QUERY PITCH
A query pitch also answers the question, “What is this book about,” but adds a few more compelling details and should convince the agent that your book is better than other books in your category. Often called a USP (Unique Selling Point,) this is where an agent wants to see how your book differs from the other books already published. It’s great that you wrote the next Gone Girl, but we already have a Gone Girl. What does your book add to the genre?
As you are writing your pitch, ask yourself: Is this pitch going to convince an agent that your book is more sellable than the other pitches they have read this week?
This type of pitch is only one part of your query letter. Its purpose is to describe your book’s themes, voice, and story. Usually, one paragraph. Occasionally two paragraphs.
Below are the elements that will create a great starting point for your query pitch.
1. Theme: What is the central theme of the book? Is it good over evil? The importance of family? Finding peace with oneself? Doing the right thing? Survival?
2. Comps: What two books are your future readers buying and reading right now?
Comparable titles are not always books that are like your book. They are books written by authors similar to you that share your readers. If you’re a debut author, try to find other debut authors with recent successes. There are a lot of classes and articles on finding comparable titles so for today, let’s focus on a few tips and guidelines. “Comp” titles should be:
Less than two years old.Have at least 5,000 reviews on Amazon.Have a similar theme, voice, setting, POV, or issue.Not be authored by a huge or iconic author, nor be the basis for a movie or TV show.
3. Stakes: What’s at stake in the book? A life? Many lives? Mental health? Happiness? Prison? The enslavement of an entire species? Finding a soulmate?
4. Setting: Where and when does the story take place?
5. Character: Who is the main character, and what are they like?
6. Data Points: Make sure you include genre, word count, title, POV.
7. Unique Selling Points: Mention what makes the book and the author unique and separates you from the crowd. (Award, quote, the story was already optioned for a film … something to add to the book’s appeal outside of the story.)
THE DOCTOR IS IN is a 94,000-word horror novel, told in third-person single POV and set in a modern-day reality show broadcast set. Eighteen and divorced, MARGORY APPLETON wants to leave her small-town life and heads to NYC to audition for a medical-themed reality TV show. The last thing she expects is to fall in love with Tad, a stockbroker, also chosen to compete in the secretive program. Locked into an abandoned Manhattan hospital, Margory, Tad, and eight other competitors are horrified to learn that the show’s sadistic medical treatments are very real. It becomes clear that the point of the show is to escape from the hospital as one by one, the competitors die horrifying deaths at the hands of the show’s doctors, nurses, and a mysterious, cold-blooded director. Jane Burton, author of Medic Heartbreak, called the ending of THE DOCTOR IS IN “the most shocking twist I have ever seen.”
The Fourth Element: PLOT SYNOPSIS
A synopsis answers the question, “Does this book have all the elements needed to be a successful story?” It is a 250–400-word walk-through of the main character arc and the main story arc of the book. Do not confuse this with your back cover copy or an Amazon description.
Yes, it has to be well-written and have good pacing, but the point is to tell the whole story (the beginning, middle, crisis, resolution, and ending of both your story and your main character). So, it starts with the premise and goes all the way to the end to give the agent a quick way to see if the plot and character development has merit. Show all your clever twists and unique plot ideas. This is where you prove that your plot is not derivative or dull. Keep no secrets. Hide nothing. This is not the place to worry about spoilers. (Commercial literature needs very high stakes. If you are writing literary fiction, then the stakes do not need to be operatic, but the pacing and story still have to engage and keep a reader’s attention.)
It’s easy to get lost in the weeds while writing the points of your story. Cramming everything about your plot into your synopsis will not help convince an agent to read your book. You need to include only the key points, but it isn’t easy to decide what will matter and what will not.
To avoid this temptation, focus only on your main character arc and your story arc. These are two different, yet hopefully intersecting, threads that will each start on page one and finish on the last page.
If you do not prove your storytelling talent here, you will most likely not get a request for your manuscript.
A plot synopsis should be written in the third person (even if the book is written in the first person), showing how the protagonist grows and changes. It should mention the goals and motives of the antagonist and cover the relationship between them. Subplots and secondary characters should rarely be included and only if key to the twist or resolution.
Here is an exercise to help you outline the framework. Build the frame first, and then you can go back and flesh it out if needed.
Using 12 sticky notes, 3 x 5 cards, or software that allows you to move things around, place the answers to the following 12 questions before you:
Who is your main character, and what characteristics describe them at the beginning of the story? What is your main character’s “deal”? (What situation do we find them in at the beginning?)Who do they perceive as their biggest enemy or problem? (Is it a bad guy, a small-minded relative? A person with their own agenda that conflicts with the main character? A corporation?)Who is actually their biggest enemy/problem? (Are they the same? Is there a second enemy or problem?)How/when does the main character discover the full and true list of enemies?What characteristics describe your main character at the end of the story, and how have they changed?What is the biggest thing in the story that changed the main character from whom we met at the start of the story and whom we see at the end of the story?What is the next most significant thing that happens to the main character (in order of impact) that changes their status, feelings, or situation?What is the third most prominent thing that happens to the main character (in order of impact) that alters their life in the story?What happens during the climax of the story?What happens to the “bad guy?” How do they end up?How and where does the main character end up?
Once these answers are written down, move the cards around and create a story/flow outline for your plot synopsis. The answers to these questions should be all you need to create the framework for your entire story outline.
Best friends, love interests, bosses … They should only be mentioned if they are part of the answers to the questions above. Resist the temptation to give too much extra detail. The only reason to start fattening up the plot synopsis is if you cannot answer one of the above questions without the detail you’re considering adding.
Here are a few tips to give your synopsis the best chances possible:
First, do not rush the process of writing your plot synopsis. Instead, use the same talent you used for writing your book to write your synopsis. In some cases, it’s your best chance of hooking an agent who wants to see your story framework before reading your manuscript.
Once you have the outline and framework, go back and see where you can add descriptive language.
Add tension and crisp pacing by eliminating unnecessary words and sentences. (Editing software is often helpful with this.)
Write at least five revisions (one revision a day for five days).Then put it away for a week.Write a new draft without looking at the old one.Compare the two and tweak one with improvements from the other.Put it away for two additional days.Edit and share with industry folks.Revise based on their input.
*****
You did it! You now have all four elements you need to talk about your book at a party or drop it into a conversation with an agent you meet at a conference. You have the right phrases, sentences, and details to craft any number of different query letters. And you have a well-mapped-out plot synopsis when you are asked to provide it. You’re ready to go forth with confidence, prepared for almost anything agents toss at you.
Agents get literally thousands of submissions a year, including query letters, sample pages, and synopses. Of those thousands, they request a full manuscript from few and offer representation to even fewer. This live Writer’s Digest boot camp will teach you how to put together a dynamic yet professional submission package that will show agents you take your potential author career seriously and make them want to read your work. In this boot camp from Fuse Literary Agency, attendees will learn how to put together a short yet effective query letter and a one- to two-page book synopsis (fiction). They’ll also learn some best practices for submitting their query, pages, and synopsis to agents. Each attendee will have the opportunity to have ten pages critiqued by an agent along with their work in any combination: query letter, manuscript pages, and synopsis.