One of the most important things you as a writer need to decide before you publish or pitch a book is what kind of promise are you making to your reader? When a reader buys a book they want to know what kind of adventure they are settling down to read. Readers find comfort in certain story forms. Just like ordering from a menu, you want what you want, not what someone else thinks it should be.
You can add stars and quotes and reviews all over the cover, but if you haven't told them: come aboard, ride with me, this is the kind of story I want to tell, it's all wasted effort. Your story promise in the one thing that matches the right audience with your product.
Premise is the story idea, such as a tragic love story about ferrets. The premise could feature giant cockroaches invading the planet, a guy meeting the girl of his dreams, a terrorist attack, aliens descend, a murder is committed, an asteroid heads toward earth, a mysterious virus strikes, a heist is planned, a criminal breaks free, a thief needs to be caught, a monster eats Manhattan, or an evil wizard seeks control of Wonderland. Translating the story idea into a novel-length manuscript is where the work begins.
You must pick a promise which ties in to genre.
The term genre is often considered a four-letter word. I say genre is the skeleton key that opens doors instead of a locked door that limits your freedom. Genre plays an important role in storytelling. Ancient man did not sit down at the communal fire and promise to tell a testosterone-filled tale about hunting then launch into a boring account of how he picked nits from his partner’s hair. He would have been justifiably chased into the woods by people armed with clubs.
A premise can combine several ideas such as vampires and a love story. However, you must decide if the focus is going to be on vampires killing off humans thus preventing the lovers from getting together or a Romance about people who happen to be vampires. Right off the bat, the concept of vampires will intrigue some and repel others. That is acceptable. You can’t please everyone. If you want to write a vampire tale, write it. If it is good, there will be an audience. If it is bad, there might be a key element of it that attracts readers anyway.
Romance genre readers may not read Horror and vice versa. Horror stories can have light moments, but Horror fans expect to be frightened from page one. If your story does not deliver on that promise, Horror fans are disappointed. Regency Romance lovers expect a love story set in Regency England. They are offended if you throw in a serial killer.
If a reader is warned beforehand that your story explores the mind of a pedophile, she may pass it by. If the cover tells her she is getting a lighthearted Romance and you toss in a pedophile, she will toss your book in the nearest trash bin. Next time she sees a book written by you, she will shudder and move on. I once sat down to read what was billed as a lighthearted Comedy. There were some funny lines, but the story was about child abuse. I was not amused.
Carefully select the promise you want to make to the reader then keep it. It’s the secret to winning loyal fans.
But my novel is full of lots of things! I see this often. That means you are confused about what your plot really is.
There can be several layers to a story. You can have a Fantasy novel with Romance layer. You can have a Sci-Fi novel set in the old West. You can have a Road Trip that is a serious literary journey or a comedic romp. To help you parse what layers your story has, next week we will look at the importance of the Central Question.
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