1198. This week, we look at how to answer the question every author dreads: "So, what's your book about?" with workplace communications coach Joel Schwartzberg. We look at the difference between describing a book and selling it, how nonfiction authors can craft point-driven responses, and how fiction writers can distill their stories into a compelling pitch.
1198. This week, we look at how to answer the question every author dreads: "So, what's your book about?" with workplace communications coach Joel Schwartzberg. We look at the difference between describing a book and selling it, how nonfiction authors can craft point-driven responses, and how fiction writers can distill their stories into a compelling pitch.
Joel Schwartzberg is a workplace communications coach, speaker, and speechwriter. He's the author of "Get to the Point: Simplify, Sharpen, and Sell Your Message," and you can find him at joelschwartzberg.net
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Grammar Girl here. I'm Mignon Fogarty. Today we're looking at how to answer the question every author dreads: "So, what's your book about?" Joel Schwartzberg and I ended up chatting about this after his recent interview, and he had such good advice that I asked him to write it up. I hope you find it as useful as I did. And if you're not an author, it will also help you tell your friends why they should read that book you loved.
There is no shortage of book marketing advice. But despite volumes of recommendations about everything from websites and social media to newsletters and events, one author dilemma is almost never addressed, even though it comes up all the time.
When another person — like a relative, colleague, journalist, book blogger, or just the person sitting next to you on an airplane — looks you in the eye and asks, "So, what's your book about?" It seems like a softball at first. How can you not know what your book is about? You wrote it. But authors struggle with this question because of the multiple answers that come to mind, most of which are wrong.
Authors commit the biggest unforced error when they think the goal is to describe their book rather than sell it. The difference? Describing says what, selling says why. Describing makes you sound objective. Selling makes you sound committed. Describing is like the table of contents, and selling is like the blurbs on the back.
Let's look at the best and easiest ways to answer this question for both nonfiction and fiction authors. When nonfiction authors answer basic questions about their books, they often respond with broad themes or categories instead of the book's unique assertion. For example, if your book proposes a radical change to the way young students are taught civics, the answers below are weak because they're topics, not points, and they could be used to describe hundreds of books:
"It's about citizenship and American education."
"It's a new approach to teaching civics."
"It discusses the importance of civics education."
A stronger point-driven response would be, "My book argues that teaching children to think critically about real-world issues helps them become responsible citizens." If you were a book-loving educator, you'd be hooked — because that statement gives you a reason to care, a mechanism for change, and a meaningful impact.
To make sure you're selling and not merely describing your book, finish this sentence: "My book argues that..."
Describing would be, "My cookbook has kale recipes." Selling would be, "My cookbook argues that kale, if prepared well, can be as delicious as it is nutritious."
Describing would be, "My book is a biography of Millard Fillmore." Selling would be, "My biography argues that Millard Fillmore was one of our most influential presidents."
Describing would be, "My book is about how listening affects leadership." Selling would be, "My book argues that being an active listener is among the most important qualities in a great leader."
Remember, you don't sell a toaster by describing the timer, the crumb tray, or the digital display. You sell its superior ability to toast bread. That's the point of a toaster. The same principle applies when discussing your book. Too many authors take detours into tangential issues. Imagine the author of a book on reinventing civics education discussing it at an education convention — but instead of championing his vision, he's talking at length about modern school funding challenges, teachers he had in high school, or Department of Education bureaucracy. It's fine to establish relevant context, but don't linger there. Move quickly to your proposed solution or primary assertion.
And now some help for the novelists out there. People asking about your novel don't want a tour of your world. They want the story's driving force. So get started by filling in the blanks in this sentence: "My story is about a [blank] person who overcomes [some kind of adversity] to attain [the most valuable thing to them]."
With a bit of tweaking, this standard formula should apply to your book, assuming your story is — like most stories — about a protagonist driven by a personal objective.
For example, Stephen King's "Christine" isn't about a man in a haunted car, but a teenager who contends with the empowerment he feels after becoming possessed by a car's evil spirit.
Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables" isn't about a man who steals a loaf of bread and evades the law, but a convict struggling to define his purpose when he gets a second chance at life.
Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" isn't a YA science fiction story about a family and three witches. It's about a girl who must traverse time and space to save her family.
Like nonfiction authors, fiction writers also fall into rabbit holes — by over-explaining their world building, making comparisons to other books, or oversharing the backstory. Imagine a book about a time-traveling TikTok influencer trying to save the man she loves and the world from a path of self-destruction. That's a strong point. As a reader or listener, you're engaged. But instead of making this point, the author starts with the action on page one and keeps rolling: first this happens, then this happens, then that happens. Or the author discusses the science of time travel, internet celebrities, the likelihood of environmental catastrophe, and how this story is unlike "Back to the Future." Stay on the road. Your protagonist needs the obstacles ahead and the goal that drives them.
Now, it may surprise you to hear that these next sentences aren't great at getting people to want to read your book: "This story is great. The characters are amazing. The action is excellent." Broad, generic adjectives like "great" and "excellent" are what I call badjectives. They're weak because they could describe almost any book. Ask yourself why these elements are great, amazing, and excellent — then swap the badjectives with the answers to that question. The story is adventurous. The characters are quirky. The action is a nonstop thrill ride.
For both nonfiction and fiction writers, you can make your answer even more compelling when you connect it to your lived experience by weaving in anecdotes. Here's a fiction example: "I've been fascinated by time travel since childhood, and I'm obsessed with social media culture, so combining those worlds felt like the perfect way to tell a modern love story." And here's a nonfiction example: "My mom, a lifelong social studies teacher, helped me understand how my life is affected by current events, and that the more I understand about them, the more I can affect them." That brief personal story — usually coming before the point you want to sell — grabs people's attention before you deliver the goods. It enhances your authenticity and credibility.
When discussing your book, you're not just its author — you're its expert and its advocate. You wrote it, and like it or not, now it's also part of your job to get people to read it. The good news is that if you know your book's point well enough to communicate it confidently and efficiently, you're not just sharing the book — you're selling it.
That segment was written by Joel Schwartzberg, a workplace communications coach, speaker, and speechwriter. He's the author of "Get to the Point: Simplify, Sharpen, and Sell Your Message," and you can find him at joelschwartzberg.net.
Last, we have a familect from Johnny.
So this is a familect that myself and my wife use. Years ago when I was learning to drive and I learned using manual transmission, and I used to find it kind of stressful to operate the gears, and anytime we would pull up to a red light or stop the car, the driving instructor would turn to me and say, "And rest your feet," which I used to find very comforting. So years later, we still use this. So we've been for a very long drive and we pull into the hotel, we'll say, "And rest your feet." Or if the kids have been particularly challenging, and it's been hard to get them to bed, we finally get them to bed, we close the door, we'll look at each other, "And rest your feet." Or if there's a major clean-up operation and we sit down after doing all the clean-up and we'll say, "And rest your feet." And we find that we say this an awful lot.
Thanks, Johnny. I can see how that is a very helpful phrase. Thanks for the call.
Grammar Girl is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast. Thanks to Morgan Christianson; Rebekah Sebastian; Maram Elnagheeb; Dan Feierabend; Nat Hoopes; Steven Schapansky, and Holly Hutchings, who used to work in public radio.
And I'm Mignon Fogarty, better known as Grammar Girl.
That's all. Thanks for listening.
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