For many authors seeking publication, writing the actual manuscript isn’t the hard part. For some, the most difficult aspect of publishing is devising the logline.

The logline is a 1-2 sentence summary of your book or manuscript, typically used as a marketing piece to hook a potential publisher, agent, or reader in a query letter or book description.

This might sound simple, but when many authors sit down to write their logline, they’re suddenly struck by a question, and it usually sounds something like this:

“There’s so much that happens in my book. How on earth do I boil down 90,000 words into a single sentence?”

How To Write a Fiction Logline in 5 Easy Steps

We’ve created a five-step structure that makes creating the logline quick and painless. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Identify Your A-Plot

Most books and manuscripts usually consist of more than one plotline—the A-Plot, B-Plot, C-Plot, and so on. For the logline, only focus on the A-Plot.

This is the plot that is central to your protagonist, their main goal, and what is hindering them from achieving that goal.

2. Identify Your Story’s Catalyst

Why does your story start on the day it does? What event happens that launches your story? Some might call this the inciting incident (here’s looking at you, screenwriters).

But the catalyst might also be part of the setting, something that happens prior to the first chapter. For example, your book might be a dystopian sci-fi, and your protagonist’s story begins after a nuclear detonation. In this case, nuclear detonation is the catalyst. We might actually see the detonation in the first few chapters, or it might have happened before your book even begins.

3. Identify Your Protagonist

Who is your main character, and what makes them unique? For the sake of the logline, don’t name your protagonist—rather, find a way to describe them as uniquely as possible in a couple of words. A name is simply a name; a short description gives your character an identity.

For example, rather than calling your protagonist ‘Harry Potter,’ say ‘a boy wizard.’ Instead of ‘Michael Corleone,’ say ‘the ambitious son of a mob boss.’ Instead of ‘Clarice Starling,’ say ‘a novice FBI agent.’

4. Identify Your Antagonist

Who (or what) is working against your protagonist’s goal(s)? Who or what stands in their way of succeeding? Again, for the sake of the logline, don’t name your antagonist—find a way to describe them as uniquely as possible in a couple of words.

Rather than calling your antagonist ‘Voldemort,’ say ‘a dark and dangerous wizard’ or ‘the Dark Lord.’ Instead of ‘Hannibal Lecter,’ say ‘a conniving cannibal.’ Instead of ‘Buffalo Bill,’ say ‘a deranged serial killer.’

5. Identify Your Book’s Main Conflict

The main conflict of a book or manuscript is the protagonist’s defining desire/goal clashing with an internal or external obstacle.

The main conflict is what drives the action toward the story’s climax. What must be accomplished for your protagonist to achieve their goal, and what primary obstacle do they have to overcome?

Logline Template 

Now, string the aforementioned steps together using this foolproof template we use here at TCK Publishing and Quilla Books:

Introduce the catalyst, the protagonist, the antagonist, and the main conflict in one short sentence. End it with a hook to keep the reader wanting to learn more.

(NOTE: These elements don’t necessarily need to be introduced in a particular order.)

Logline Examples

See how the template is used to create the loglines for these particular books:

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

After discovering a bewitching novel in an ancient labyrinth (catalyst), a young bibliophile (protagonist) must unravel the author’s mysterious disappearance before a murderous book collector (antagonist) burns every single copy (main conflict).

The Stepdaughter by Georgina Cross

When her stepdaughter mysteriously vanishes from the family pool (catalyst), a panicky stepmother (protagonist) must discover what happened to the girl before her vindictive husband (antagonist) decides she is the one to blame—and destroys her life (main conflict).

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In a future North America, a cruel and manipulative dictator (antagonist) maintains control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people against one another (main conflict via setting), and a teenage archer’s (protagonist) skills are put to the ultimate test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place (catalyst).

(NOTE: This is a great example of taking all four elements of the logline and introducing them in a different order.)

The Shining by Stephen King

When a family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter (catalyst), a ghostly and sinister presence (antagonist) influences a loving father (protagonist) into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific visions from both past and future that forbode the family may not make it out alive (main conflict).

PRO TIP: Try utilizing wordplay to tie the logline to the title of the book. See the Doctor Glass example below, where we’ve utilized the word ‘shattered’:

Doctor Glass by Louise Worthington

After a woman kills her baby and herself (catalyst), a psychotherapist (protagonist) finds herself at the mercy of the grieving husband (antagonist) and must find a way to escape him before her career, and her life, are shattered to pieces (main conflict).

Final Note

Sometimes, certain elements may fuse together. See the I Let You Fall example below:

I Let You Fall by Sara Downing

When a selfless art teacher (protagonist) falls into a coma (catalyst/antagonist/main conflict), she meets a man who makes her realize death could be more romantic than life.

(NOTE: This example fuses three of the elements together—the coma acts as the catalyst, the antagonist, and the main conflict.)

Write Your Logline

Try this exercise with your own book or manuscript. See if you can put together 3-5 different examples of your logline, then workshop it with your friends and/or other writers to put forth the best product possible.

You can also join our Facebook group for authors and share your logline there to get feedback from fellow writers.

Remember to keep the logline short and to the point in order to hook the reader into reading the entire book.

Share the logline for your book (or your favorite book) in the comments below!

 

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

• How to Summarize a Novel: 4 Steps to Writing a Great Summary
• Precis Writing: Do’s and Don’ts for Concise Summaries
• 11 Best Book Summary Sites That Will Save You Loads of Time
• How to Submit a Book Proposal: 4 Steps for a Successful Pitch