Writer: “I’m writing a book!”
Literally Any Conversation Partner: “Nice! What’s your book about?”
Writer: *cue panic*
That’s what happens 90 percent of the time, anyway.
Depending on how long you’ve been on the writing journey, you’ve heard the question a handful of times (maybe you still experience a tingle of excitement when people ask), or you’ve heard it so often—and found it so hard to answer—you dread every expression of someone else’s interest and rank the decision to tell people about your project as one of the worst you’ve ever made.
Depending on how long you’ve been on the writing journey, you may dread every expression of interest and rank the decision to tell people about your project as one of the worst you’ve ever made. #writerslife Click To TweetSeems so simple, right?
So simple, and yet so frustratingly hard.
In better news, finding your answer has excellent payoffs. Your writing will flow more, your revisions be more smooth; you can diagnose what your book needs; know whether and when you need editorial support; and you’ll be able to sell more people on your book—whether they’re editors, agents, or everyday readers.
Signs you don’t know what your book is about…
…though you may believe otherwise:
- You’re having trouble figuring out what happens next
- The facts you include read like a list with no deeper message
- You’re struggling to write a back cover blurb or pitch email
- You’re unable to sum up your answer in one sentence
- There’s no emotional component to your answer
- The premise doesn’t involve a person or people in some way
- Your answer is “well it’s about this, and also this, and that there, AND ALSO this…” etc.
What to do while you’re still figuring out what your book’s about
Early on, you may not actually know what your book is about, and that’s okay. Don’t fret too much. The answer tends to reveal itself with time.
Sure, there may be the occasional writer who’s got it nailed from the beginning, but they’re about as common as folks who know what they want to major in at college before they even get there. Not unicorns, but definitely a minority.
Your book tends to reveal what it's about with time. Keep working—it's a process. #writerslife #writingtip Click To TweetStrategy 1: Demur
This works best for people you know personally: friends, family, coworkers. You don’t need to give everyone the download. Fob most people off with something generic about the creative process.
If you’re talking to an industry professional (editor, agent, etc)… why are you talking to them this early? Find out what genre/s they prefer, and get out of there.
Strategy 2: Give them the premise
If you really must say something, you can offer up the starting premise: a female detective who…; the first septuagenarian who…; the businessperson who…
You could say something about the genre, if you want: a business book, a kids’ book, a fantasy novel.
Guess what? The starting premise gets you partway to answering the question. Nice job!
What your book is NOT about
Your book is not about the plot. I repeat: Your book is not about the plot!
The plot is what happens. The book is about the emotional response to what happens.
Yes, this applies to nonfiction and business books as well.
Even a work about lofty ideas needs people: to have those ideas, to respond to those ideas, disagree with them…to personalize and embody them. #writingcommunity #nonfiction #fiction Click To TweetGo back and look at the examples I gave for a book premise. Notice how frequently the premise seems to involve a person. Hmmm. Coincidence?
Even a work about lofty ideas needs people: to have those ideas, to respond to those ideas, disagree with them…to personalize and embody them.
Here’s the key: personalize EVERYTHING. No matter your genre.
How to figure out what your book’s about
Step 1: The list
Make yourself a list of the emotional questions at play in your book.
What if you’ve been writing for a while and don’t have a list of emotional questions in play yet? The good news: you’re probably overlooking an opportunity to elevate the emotional resonance of your book.
Go back to why you’re writing this story or about this topic. Why you? Why now? What’s important to you?
Step 2: The theme
Do you sense a common theme in your list? Can you spot a hierarchy, where one of these questions is basically the “parent” or umbrella question for several others?
Step 3: The sentence
This makes it s sound like prison, but no: Can you write a one-sentence answer that includes the theme, emotional resonance, premise, and a person?
Start with a short paragraph if you have to. Or by writing a full page (handwritten only) if necessary, then whittling down.
Your book’s About may change
This is perfectly normal and in some cases even to be expected, depending on where you are in the writing process.
Books have a weird shapeshifter habit. You start off writing one thing, but that one thing definitely starts looking like something else after a while. Recognize this and accept it as a part of refining your answer.
At the end of the day, the answer to the question, “What is your book about?” is going to be most useful to other people when the book is written. But the process of getting to the answer is most useful to you while you are writing, revising, and getting ready to sell your book.
Getting to the answer is your way of making sure that, whatever new shape your book is evolving into, that shape continues to make sense.
Finding your 'about' pays off: better writing; smoother revisions; clarity on what your book needs...making it easier to sell more people on your book—whether editors, agents, or everyday readers. #writingtip #books Click To TweetBottom Line
Lots of people are going to ask about your book when they find you are writing one. You’ll need to pick a way to deal with it. Use your coping mechanisms of choice: fob them off; give false answers, incomplete answers, or the starting premise; and/or avoid telling anyone you’re writing a book in the first place (not really viable, since you’ll benefit hugely from at least one or two supportive and knowledgeable compatriots).
Then get down to the business of figuring out what it’s about by making your ideas as personal and as emotional as possible.
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Want help finding your About? A book structure intensive could be just the ticket.
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