Your logline will make your story stand out.

The Essentials.

A logline outlines the WHO and WHAT of your novel. It is a one-sentence summary of the major plot elements, and I like to position the logline in a query letter before going into the full summary, which is also different than a synopsis.*

A logline uses archetypes, not names or specifics. Here is a sample logline I wrote, for example, for The Hunger Games.

“In a world where the government selects children to fight to the death on live television, a brave teenager volunteers in her sister’s place for the match.”

Because my novel ATOMIC FAMILY has three POVs and not one (like The Hunger Games), I found writing a logline challenging. Which character should I focus on? I ended up writing several versions to see what landed best.

Here’s one of mine: As atmospheric testing rises to a fever pitch, an embittered housewife joins an anti-nuclear movement, in protest of her husband’s work at a bomb plant.

Why does this work?

—We set the scene. Immediately it’s clear that this is a period novel. It’s in the mood of the Cold War. There are external tensions and stressors. The stakes are set—not only is this happening in the backdrop of the arms race, but this main character is protesting (a dangerous thing) her husband’s work (a very dangerous thing.) Yikes!

—We introduce the central character. There is an angry housewife. (Many of them actually.) Hopefully you get the sense that the book will grapple with some feminist themes.

—We see the main conflict. Which is not just about the external conflict! (I.e. the atmospheric testing and the anti-nuclear movement.) It’s about protesting your husband’s work…The logline hints at the internal conflict going on in the marriage, which is really the core of the book.

It’s about relationships. Secrets. Betrayal. Clearly there are some problems to be dealt with, and the book will unpack the journey the main character goes on to address these internal struggles.

So when writing your logline, you want to distill the central journey of transformation—start by asking yourself, What are the stakes in my story? What does the main character lose if they don’t do XYZ (insert plot details here)?

I recommend trying a few different ones to see how they work; and when you query, you can always try swapping out the logline to see if any are getting better results.

*TLDR —

• Logline = one-sentence pitch for the book

• Summary = short overview of the book, similar to what we see on jacket covers

• Synopsis = a multi-page, full plot overview, often sent in a query package