How to write a logline for your novel
A logline is a one- or two-sentence description of your book that makes someone want to hear more. You will use it more often than any other piece of writing about your novel: as the hook of your query, in pitch events, at conferences, and every time someone asks what your book is about.
The four parts
Most strong loglines for fiction contain the same elements:
- A specific protagonist — described by something more interesting than their name. "A grief counselor," "a disgraced Olympic fencer," "a twelve-year-old who can hear lies."
- The situation that starts the story — the inciting incident that disrupts their normal life.
- What they want or must do — a concrete goal.
- What stands in the way, and what happens if they fail — the obstacle and the stakes.
A rough template: When [inciting incident], [specific protagonist] must [goal] before/or [stakes], but [obstacle or complication]. Templates are a starting point; once the pieces are there, rewrite it so it doesn't sound like one.
A method that works
- Write the four parts as separate notes. Don't try to make a sentence yet.
- Make each part more specific. "A woman" becomes "a hospice nurse"; "she must stop the villain" becomes "she must find the forger before the auction".
- Combine them into one or two sentences. Aim for under about 50 words.
- Cut abstract words. Journey, destiny, secrets, darkness, everything changes. Replace each with the concrete thing it refers to.
- Say it out loud. If you run out of breath or stumble, it's too long.
- Test it on someone who hasn't read the book. Ask them what they think happens next. If they can't guess the conflict, the logline isn't doing its job.
Before and after
Before: "A haunting story of loss, memory, and the voices that refuse to let us go."
After: "A grief counselor takes on a client who insists her dead husband is still calling — then her own phone rings, and it's her mother, eleven years dead."
Before: "When Sam discovers a secret about her family, everything she thought she knew is turned upside down."
After: "When a sixteen-year-old finds her name on a 1974 missing-persons poster, she has one summer to learn who her parents really are — before the detective who reopened the case does."
The "after" versions are not more elaborate. They are more specific, and specificity is what makes a reader curious.
Common mistakes
- Theme instead of story. "A meditation on grief" tells an agent what the book means, not what happens.
- Too many names. One named character at most; describe the rest by role.
- Rhetorical questions. "What would you do if you could hear lies?" Most agents dislike them in queries; see common query mistakes.
- Revealing the ending. Unlike a synopsis, the logline sets up the question and leaves it open.
- Cramming in the subplot. The logline is about the main plot only.
- Genre confusion. A logline for a cozy mystery shouldn't sound like a horror novel. Tone is part of the pitch.
Where you'll use it
- The query hook. Your logline, or a version of it, is often the first sentence of the pitch section in your query letter.
- Pitch events and conferences. In-person pitch sessions and online pitch events usually require a pitch of a sentence or two.
- Conversation. Agents, editors, and booksellers will ask what your book is about. Having one clear answer ready makes it far easier.
Once you have a logline you like, drop it into the hook field of the query letter builder.