What's Your Book About?

Analyze Your Book

• What is your book about? Who is your book about?

• What does your protagonist want? What is the central subject?

• What’s the obstacle, conflict, or approach?

• What’s distinctive about your book? The character’s background? The setting? The voice? The way you’ve told it?

• What’s essential? What’s distictive?

• What’s the emotional payoff?

• What are the hooks in your book?

Polish Your Book

• Read your book out loud

• Cut the fat. What can I remove without losing the heart of the book?

• Keep polishing

Know Your Book

• What is the word count? What is the character count?

• Edit your pitches (e.g., 100, 200, and 300 characters)

• Simplify comp titles (e.g., A meets B)

Media Pitches

• Collaborator’s name (and any specifics about their contribution)

• Publisher’s name

• Other important acknowledgments/details

• Inspiration behind the book

• What you want readers to take away from the story

• Where to buy

• Other scheduled events or opportunities