Loglines

A logline is a VERY short description of a script. It’s not used much for books, although some writers will include a version of a logline in their query letter. Since it’s a good exercise for writers, novelists should try their hands at writing a logline. It'll force you to get to the core of your book, to the nugget that will excite an agent, lure a publisher, and sell a reader.

In general, a logline should be about 20 words long and should capture your storyline.

The problem is that you rarely see actually loglines that short! Here's one I saw as a sample on ScriptShark:

A college freshman girl's arrival to campus spawns mysterious killings revolving around the football team.

Okay, from that we know the protagonist, where it takes place, and that it's probably horror ("mysterious killings", "spawns"). But we don't know what the protag's goal is or who the antagonist is. It fits the word count, but, in my mind, it's not complete.

Here are a couple of more (and I'm sorry to say that I've forgotten where I gathered these):

A playboy manufacturer rescues 1,100 Jews from certain death. Appalled by atrocities in Nazi Germany, he hoodwinks the Nazi brass and converts his factory into a refuge for Jews. Based on Oskar Schindler's true story.

A conscientious sheriff relinquishes his gun and job to marry a pacifist young woman, but on the way to the honeymoon they pass a band of outlaws riding toward their peaceful village to take it over.

Both of those are over 20 words and the second sample only implies the goal. But both are compelling and would be hard for someone to pass up. (And they didn't, since they're both produced movies.)

It's good to include the protagonist (and goal), antagonist (and goal), and the big disaster or turning point. But it doesn't have to be straightforward.

Screenwriters often take their script and condense it into a 10 page synopsis, then squeeze that to 3 pages, then 3 paragraphs, then 20 words. Give it a try on your book. And remember, make it irresistible and complete.

No problem. Right?

Author Joe O’Connell – Guest Blogger

I was interested in your comments on book signings. What I heard a long time ago that stuck with me is that book signings aren't about selling books on the spot. They're instead about making sure your book is in the store! That changed my entire attitude.

When my novel EVACUATION PLAN came out in August of last year, I had some good events including speaking to your old employer, the Writers League of Texas. The problem was the event was in a Barnes and Noble and because of some glitch in the way the books from my small, independent (but up-and-coming) publisher were listed they were unable to stock the book! I was allowed instead to sell directly to the people at the meeting. Since my novel is about hospice, I told the crowd that the bookstore's usual cut would be donated to Hospice Austin. I didn't blame the store's folks, and was honored to be there. Because of that, when my publisher solved the problem, I was invited back to speak at the same store. March is Small Press Month and during it because of all the groundwork we did (and because of the wonderful Jo Virgil at the Westlake B&N) my book and others from my publisher will be featured in a special display in ALL of the Austin area B&N's.

The lesson here? No effort on behalf of your book is wasted. Keep plowing forward...

Helen: Thank you Joe.

Joe is the author of Evacuation Plan. I’ve talked before on this blog about loglines. Joe has a great one for Evacuation Plan –

“What if you knew you would die before you reached the end of this sentence? OK, we'll give you a week to pack. EVACUATION PLAN, a novel by Joe O'Connell from Dalton Publishing.”

Now, that makes me want to get that book!

You can find out more about Joe on his website, including how to buy his book. He also does a blog.
And if you really want to know more about this great author, he’ll be Straight From Hel’s Featured Author in May.

Editing Your Manuscript: Stages 4-6

To recap: We’ve covered the first four stages of editing your manuscript –

• Stage 1: Put it aside
• Stage 2: Edit by steps, not marathons
• Stage 3: Let your baby go

On to Stages 4, 5 & 6:

• Stage 4: Re-write some more
• Stage 5: Read it aloud
• Stage 6: Synopsize

Stage 4: Re-write some more

Once you have all the comments, both written and oral, from your readers, work on the manuscript some more. Spend some time thinking about what your group has said and how you can incorporate their ideas and suggestions. Once you’ve decided what to change (and what not to change) and how to work those changes into the manuscript, then sit down and do the work. If you’ve thought it out ahead of time and even worked out the logistics of how to make the changes and have those changes flow smoothly, the work will be not only easy but fun (by fun, I mean enjoyable as you see the improvements you’re making).

If, after another draft, you feel you've made major changes in the manuscript, consider sending it back through your group or onto new, fresh readers.

Stage 5: Read it aloud.

Try reading your manuscript aloud. Either to yourself to get the flow of the dialogue and the pacing -- or onto tapes so you can play it back while you take notes.

If you tape the book, maybe you could give the tapes to a trusted friend or reader and ask them to comment on the flow and pacing, characterization, all those things you've labored over during the re-write.

Stage 6: Synopsize.

Write a logline -- condense the essence of your manuscript down to 20 or 25 words. Can you do it? If not, then spend some time thinking of the theme or major turning point of your book. Once the logline is done, expand it into a one-page summary. Then expand that into a three-page synopsis. Not only is this a good thing to do in terms of being ready to query the book -- agents often ask for a synopsis - it forces you to know the skeleton, the backbone, of your story. I put this as Stage 6, but it works just as well as Stage 2, before you begin the major re-write.