One Page Book Summary
One Page Book Summary
One Page Book Summary
T he purpose of the One-Page Book Summary is to force you to take off your writer’s
hat and start thinking like an editor, a reader, and an entrepreneur whose product is
about to go out into the marketplace. As you answer these questions about your
book, imagine your story as a finished product sitting on a bookstore shelf. Try to
really see it.
Defining your book in this way – and on just one page – can be enormously comforting when
you are deep into your revision and moving things around. One glance at this One-Page Book
Summary can bring you back to your story’s basics and your purpose for writing it.
Don’t cheat on this exercise by starting to write pages and pages of content; we really want
you to keep it to one page, which means that for most of the questions, you should aim to
write answers that are only a few sentences. Working with a complete manuscript can be a bit
overwhelming, and having a one-page summary is a great way to feel like you can hold the
whole thing in your head at one time.
As you work on your whole book revision, you can change the One-Page Book Summary to
reflect any new directions your story might go in.
Title
Genre
Note the genre of your book. If you need help, look at the genre designations
at goodreads.com.
Point
All novels make a point and before you revise, you must be clear on what that point is. Think
of this as the takeaway of your story – what your reader will believe about human nature when
they get to “the end.” It’s the argument you are making, the “bumper sticker” message for
the book. If it sounds like a cliche, you are probably on the right track. Your writing is what
makes it specific.
Another way to think about this question is to ask: What are you offering your readers?
Insight? Inspiration? Solace? Delight? Explain what you are offering.
Who is your main character? Give a quick ID using the following points:
• Before the story starts, what does she want?
• Name the external things – money, a home, a prize, a mate, etc.
• Name the internal things – confidence, faith, peace, belonging, etc.
• Why does the story happen TODAY and not any other day? What, in other words,
pushes your main character to act?
• When the story is over, how has she changed? Who is she now?
• Does she get what she wants? And does it make her feel the way she hoped it
would?
Main Conflict
Plot Summary
Knowing what you know about the point, the character arc and the main conflict, summarize
the entire book in just four or five sentences. This may seem impossible, but it is a skill you will
need to develop. A short summary is used when pitching, when writing copy for Amazon
entries, and at cocktail parties when people ask you what your book is about.
Target Audience
Who is your ideal reader? Describe her in terms of why she is hungry for what you are
offering. Will she tell her friends to read your book? What exactly will she say? We want to get
at what the story might mean to your ideal reader.
Competitive Titles
Who are the big players in your genre? The bestselling authors? Go to your local bookstore,
or to goodreads.com or Amazon to do some research. Start making a list.
• What other books will yours sit next to on the bookstore shelf and on your ideal
reader’s bedside table? Add these to your list.
Write one sentence you dream a critic would write about your book. One of the goals of the
revision is to make sure you have written this book!
Write one sentence that would appear in your worst nightmare of a book review. One of the
goals of the revision is to make sure you haven't written a book that warrants this review!
Take Action
Complete the One-Page Book Summary for your book. Post your summary where you can
refer to it as you revise.
Update it as you work forward so that the summary reflects the current state of your story. If
you decide to pitch to agents, this will be a fabulous start to your query letter and book
summary.