One sentence book description

Ellmanns commitment to compilation and description suggests a resistance. At the same time, the one sentence pitch is the core of all the summarizing youre going to do in the future. Can you name the book of the bible from a single sentence. They wont spend hours figuring out your onesentence summary. Its one sentence that defines the story question for your novel. Talking about a movie is as much fun as watching it. Most movies are complex and takes an enormous amount of time and work to complete, and if you do everything right, you just might succeed in creating a master piece.

Nov 17, 2011 the iliad homer during siege of troy, the arrogant, yet powerful, achilles refuses to fight over a stolen woman, changes his mind after friend is killed. If we give you a onesentence description, can you name them all. The iliad homer during siege of troy, the arrogant, yet powerful, achilles refuses to fight over a stolen woman, changes his mind after friend is killed. Nov 06, 2012 romeo and juliet is based on two young lovers from feuding families who hate one another. For this blog post we take a look at eight of the most popular social media platforms and define them in one sentence using phrases from the associated companies websites. Jun 16, 2014 the onesentence paragraph is not only legal, its a useful and powerful literary device. The good news is that its a great writing opportunity for me this writing a onesentence description. Can you guess these classic novels from a onesentence. Bookworms, see if you can identify these classic novels based on a onesentence description. Below, youll find guidance for the trickiest comma questions. If youre looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our weekly recommendation thread, suggested reading page, or ask in rsuggestmeabook.

Apr 12, 2017 its easy to mistake a oneline description as just another communications tactic. Its the heart of your book, whittled down to one sentence. Your editor will use it when she presents your book to the publishing committee if the editor doesnt have the authority to buy a book. Come next month, a new one will probably be popping up. And if it allows me to answer the worlds scariest question, even better. Social media platforms explained in one sentence each. How to write a book blurb in 4 steps the opening of your blurb has to be incredibly precise and dynamic, says editor rebecca heyman for a lot of firsttime authors, i think theres an instinct to make sure readers understand everything that happened in the books universe before the beginning of the actual story. At this point, everyone in the world who is going to read the potter books has already read them. Lets discuss the onesentence summary, also known as a logline, a hook, or a onesentence pitch. Popular one long sentence books goodreads share book. A thousandpage novel made up of mostly one sentence.

Angsty danish prince broods, seemingly goes crazy, and kills many. Its also handy to have a one or two sentence description that is aimed at particular types of people you talk to. May, 2010 the best advice i ever got on constructing a one sentence pitch came from author lisa scottoline, who ran a seminar i attended a couple of years ago. Though there are volumes written from ivory tower sources, we all have our own views. Take this howstuffworks quiz to test your knowledge. By onesentence novels, i mean something more than a book that comes to a deeply satisfying and comprehensive conclusion, like i been. How can one convey all the color, the introspection and thematic concerns of such lengthy, important works in a single sentence. Despite its brevity, the onesentence job description really packs a punch if you do it right. A onesentence summary is a tool that your readers can use to tell their friends about you.

But the act of condensing isnt necessarily aimed at that goal. Onesentence paragraphs are common when short pieces of dialog are being exchanged, but consider the effect of serial onesentence paragraphs in other contexts. Bookworms, see if you can identify these classic novels based on a one sentence description. Whats the worst one sentence description for a book or series you can think of. Youll use your one sentence summary when you or your agent pitches the idea to your editor. Whats the worst one sentence description for a book or.

But they can only do that if they have a good onesentence summary. These creative books teach reading using repetition and engaging pictures that will engage. In stripping a canonical novel to its component parts, the texts are injected with a certain absurdity upon realizing just how many famous literary characters are truly insane. Onesentence book description writing a first novel, how. In the meantime, you can feign familiarity with centuries of great literature by semi memorizing these onesentence guides. I have tried to summarize each book on this page in just three sentences, which i think is a. I have always heard one paragraph, not one sentence, though i dont have a credit for that. If you want more, ive linked to quick, 3minute guides to every book of the bible, too. As only a few days pass from romeo and juliets meeting they get.

A good one makes you want to open it immediately to see what is inside. Onesentence summary description while there are different levels of summarizationfrom a thorough summarization of a main idea and supporting details, to a one or twoword summarizationone sentence summary falls between the two extremes. Once you have your one sentence pitch down pat the rest of your descriptions will be gravy. While the amazon book description wont affect traffic i.

The best advice i ever got on constructing a onesentence pitch came from author lisa scottoline, who ran a seminar i attended a couple of years ago. Theyre listed in the order they show up in the protestant bible. It grabs you from the first sentence, and forces you to read the rest, which is short and to the point. Using this strategy, students summarize the main idea and vital details in one sentence. Can you guess these book titles from a single sentence summary. From beyond the grave, the true limits of a mothers love are tested. Aug 06, 2018 every harry potter book summed up in a single sentence. Your editor will use your one sentence summary again. Though one should hope to get a lot from every book they read and if they dont, what exactly was the point of reading it. How to write a book description that sells with examples. There are so many social media platforms out there today, it is difficult to remember which one does what. In a nutshell, the one sentence job description explains the essential purpose that you fill in your organization.

Put the website or the beta version of your app or your manuscript aside and grab a piece of paper or open a blank word document. The term comes from broadcasters logs, back in the days before dvds or streaming services, when television stations were the only ones to broadcast movies once theyd left the theater. Friday afternoon, while at catalyst, i heard andy stanley talk about the one sentence job description. In between really straightforward but fascinating descriptions of the whaling industry, a wayward, lonely. Consider it to be each employees personal elevator speech. The concept has been bouncing around inside my head all weekend long, and i have to say i am quite taken by the concept.

Solar bones by mike mccormack, middle england by jonathan coe, fieldwork in ukrainian sex by oksana zabuzhko, the las. If you want your product to be shared by word of mouth, then you must accept that it will likely pass from person to person as a single sentence. King lear tries to retire by giving land away to his three. The following excerpt from the blue monk describes an ocean crossing in a small wooden boat. I practiced putting my wip into that format and it worked beautifully. Every harry potter book summed up in a single sentence. We received more than 450 pitches, of which 421 followed. Friday afternoon, while at catalyst, i heard andy stanley talk about the onesentence job description. Are you a total bookworm, or should you have spent more time in the library.

There are lots of rules about comma usage, and often the factors that determine whether you should use one are quite subtle. How about, romeo and juliet is about two starcrossed lovers in the depths of forbidden love despite an ancient family feud. However, crafting this sentence is one of the most strategic decisions a founder can make. While a period ends a sentence, a comma indicates a smaller break. In this guide, ill walk you through how to write a book description, provide you a template, and include good and bad book description examples. The start of a query, book proposal, or anytime someone asks you, whats your. I know that you have read all the harry potter books. The one sentence, one paragraph, and two paragraph pitch. Writing a onesentence description is always a big burden for the author. Apr 07, 2016 home funny 24 movies that can be badly explained in one sentence. Hamlet shakespeare angsty danish prince broods, seemingly goes crazy, and kills many, including his uncle, who had killed his father and married his mother. Ive written a onesentence overview of every book of the bible. Apr 09, 2014 to drive this deeper, create a one sentence job description for each of your direct reports. Trust me, your readers dont have a degree in marketing.

Her post is titled, we scrapped our job descriptions, and in it kem articulates the following exercise that helped each staff member on their team summarize their job description in one sentence. All 66 books of the bible in easy, onesentence summaries. Theres almost too many parallels to fit into one sentence. For example if im talking to a person who loves media science fiction but isnt a big reader, i describe the once and future queen as a classic star trek style novel but with a ship of scientists who are first responders to planetary disasters who face a powerful. Its easy to mistake a oneline description as just another communications tactic. This is a lot to take in, so if you want to start with baby steps, check out this list of the shortest books of the bible. Can you name these books of the bible from a onesentence. Use description in a sentence description sentence examples. Download the scribe book description template below, and lets get started. One sentence guides to 16 great books the iliad homer. Jun 02, 2010 today were going to talk about the onesentence summary, also known as a logline, a hook, or a onesentence pitch.

Are you a total bookworm, or should you have spent. One of my favorite stories is for jt mccormicks book, i got there. People can talk on and on about every scene and line from their favorite movie, but if you want a real challenge, try explaining your favorite movie in just one sentence. Not so easy when you think about it, but that doesnt mean its impossible, especially when you focus on its bad points, no matter how many of few there are.

Feb 20, 2006 response to describe a book in one sentence. By onesentence novels, i mean something more than a book that comes to a deeply satisfying and comprehensive conclusion, like i been there before huckleberry finn. T oday i came across a blog post from kem meyercommunications director at granger community church. About 25 words that capture your novel, memoir, or nonfiction book. Today were going to talk about the onesentence summary, also known as a logline, a hook, or a onesentence pitch.

And while job descriptions are still necessary, and the more descriptive the better, its also important to be able to encapsulate what a person does in a onesentence job description. Apr 20, 2018 selling books is a result of two factors. Last week i outlined the general necessity of whittling down your plot to one sentence, one paragraph, and two paragraph pitches in order to give yourself a head start on the literally thousands of times you are going to need to summarize your work over the course of a books lifetime today i want to zero in on the one sentence pitch. Thats why i love the idea of boiling down what you do to a sentence.

When was the last time you looked at your organizations job description for you. Screenwriters adopted the practice of summing up their scripts and became adept at boiling their plots down. Tv logs were very concise think of the oneline descriptions on a tv grid, so no matter how complex the film, its description had to fit in one line. But sometimes you find yourself going about your day, just minding your own business, when you suddenly. Over the weekend, we hosted a fun contest from the founder institute, where entrepreneurs posted a onesentence pitch for their companies. Encourage early learning with the one sentence storybooks. Jan 09, 2010 response to describe a book in one sentence.

Nailing your onesentence story concept live write thrive. Here are a couple of examples which im going to steal from my book. The art of writing onesentence product descriptions. Onesentence book description writing a first novel, how to.

Its crucial it be compelling, because readers make buying decisions from the book description. For example if im talking to a person who loves media science fiction but isnt a big reader, i describe the once and future queen as a classic star trek style novel but with a ship of scientists who are first responders to planetary disasters who face a powerful alien hellbent. When you try and select a movie on cable, you see loglines all the time. No matter how big the job is, you can boil it down to one sentence. Can you guess these scifi book titles from a single sentence summary. This boxed set of 10 delightful minibooks help beginning readers recognize basic vocabulary words while learning about 10 of their favorite bible heroes. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage indepth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. Sometimes that insight is the thesis of the book itself, sometimes its a minor detail.

So, if you dont have this understanding down, spend some time reading those blog posts and studying those books until you get it. Oct 07, 2009 i have always heard one paragraph, not one sentence, though i dont have a credit for that. Popular books summarized in 3 sentences or less this page shares a full list of book summaries i have compiled during my reading and research. Why everyone on your team needs a one sentence job description. A onesentence summary takes your complex book with multiple characters and plotlines and boils it down into a simple statement that can be quickly conveyed and understood, and generates interest in the book. Books classics literature one sentence book descriptions reading what to read you are not alone and when you need comfort, or want to bring a smile to someones face, we created this collection to get you through. The one sentence story summary reveals the beginning, the middle and the end of the story of course this is all my opinion think, do and believe what you would like. This is one of the best book descriptions ive read. The teachers at the institution expressed the opinion that the description did not appear in any book in raised print in that library. One sentence guides to 16 great books huffpost life. You need to be able to write a onesentence story concept yes, one sentence that tells the premise of your novel, featuring that protagonist and his goal, and what conflict or primary opposition hes facing. Pitch your book like its a movie the one sentence synopsis. There are three basic elements in a good one sentence pitch.

Here are the winners of the onesentence pitch competition. A similar exercise that i like to do with all my projects is one i call one sentence, one paragraph, one page. As only a few days pass from romeo and juliets meeting they get married, get separated, and end up killing themselves because they dont want to live without the other person. Can you guess these book titles from a single sentence. There are so many examples of how book descriptions lead to huge changes in sales. A middleaged wife longing for passion in her marriage tries everything and anything to resurrect the connection she and her husband used to have, but when her efforts seem to fail she has to decide whether to accept it or fulfill her needs with someone else. The onesentence paragraph is not only legal, its a useful and powerful literary device.

The book description is the pitch to the reader about why they should buy your book. The authors initial goal in writing a book is to impress a large. If we give you a one sentence description, can you name them all. Every harry potter book summed up in a single sentence the. Its what you build around when crafting longer pitches. How to write a one sentence pitch nathan bransford. Sep 12, 2018 how to write a book blurb in 4 steps the opening of your blurb has to be incredibly precise and dynamic, says editor rebecca heyman for a lot of firsttime authors, i think theres an instinct to make sure readers understand everything that happened in the books universe before the beginning of the actual story. A onesentence summary clinic advanced fiction writing.

66 285 209 268 1220 415 247 122 109 1053 1375 689 564 873 468 233 710 1573 23 460 1457 1569 467 763 975 1210 1331 607 1057 1237 583 378 856 641 975 427 467 896 1414 1314 45 638