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Thanks for the mention, Jo. Naive as I was, I'd never even heard of 'high concept' before my publisher explained it to me. (And yes, he was rubbing his hands and dancing a little gleeful jig at the time.) To be honest, I've had my fair share of reviews saying, 'Nice concept, shame about the book' but having a concept like seeing death dates makes it so damn easy to tell

Great and very honest post Jo. I know too many who get hooked up on finding a 'High Concept' idea but forget totally that the story has to match.

I loved your Numbers books and yes it had a fantastic concept but it also had a strong story which carried the concept. Don't know what books those reviewers are reading but hey each to their own. But I think it is vital as you both say, you can't force a concept into a book. The story has to be there first. Good luck with the new book Rachel

My current WIP is high concept and it's *very* hard to write - I might even give up. At every turn I find I'm thinking 'is this up to the concept?' and usually the answer is 'no'. It's tricky. People don't behave in a high concept way - people act and speak as they do all the time and that's why we lose sight of the concept as soon as the book gets going. But

Excellent discussion, and 'aaargh' is exactly how I feel when this phrase is used by agents or editors. And good point, Jo, about there always being a reason why we are writing the particular story we are. I do wonder, where does this leave those of us who are probably competent writers who have good books inside of us, which may not be 'high concept' enough to ring the right

I think 'Numbers' is a perfect example of High Concept, because the characters and writing are so captivating that you forget that it isn't real. I LOVE those books, and can't wait to see what you come up with next!

Thanks! It can be a struggle to stick to your guns I think, especially when you're watching High Concept stuff sweep the bestseller lists.

I know exactly what you mean! I have also tried to write High Concept books, and I find I run out of steam very quickly, because it isn't the characters or the writing that is exciting me, it's the idea, and I find I just can't write books that way. I don't think sticking to the idea is a failure, though. I guess you just have to be careful that the idea doesn't rule the roost.

Thanks, Donna! Thing is, books that aren't 'High Concept' are published all the time, so if it's well written and a good story, I hold out hope that it will ring *somebody's* bell!

Fascinating, Jo, and also the earlier piece. I think the point about High Concept is that it makes it so much easier to market - both for an agent to market to a publisher, then for a publisher&#39;s sales force to market to shops etc. But if it&#39;s Concept alone, without an emotional core to the story plus characters you care about, it&#39;s not going to be a satisfying read.<br /><br />As a

Having been through high concept and out the other side, I agree that it can be a case of the tail wagging the dog as the concept takes centre-stage to the expense of the story. But it can also be kind-of cool to write and to read.<br /><br />Alternatively, I&#39;d argue that you can boil down any story to a pitch AFTER you&#39;ve written it and come up with a concept that marketing can latch

&#39;What Kate said&#39;: pretty much exactly what I was thinking.<br /><br />And I&#39;ll add.... as a reader, as soon as I heard &#39;Die Hard with fairies&#39; I HAD to read Artemis Fowl. And no doubt if I&#39;d written it (in my dreams...!) and someone had asked me what it was about, I&#39;d have rambled on and on - it needed Die Hard with Fairies for me to want to read it.<br /><br />I

Aw, thanks, Vanessa and Jo. I wish I could tell you what the next one&#39;s about, but I haven&#39;t got a sufficiently pithy pitch yet. I love Teri Terry&#39;s reference to &#39;Die Hard with Fairies&#39; for Artemis Fowl (see comment below). That&#39;s priceless.

I think I&#39;m yet to have one of these! LOL! Oh dear! Take care<br />x

It took me ages to understand &#39;High Concept&#39;. Probably because my ideas weren&#39;t! But now it&#39;s such a fundamental component in my ideas antenna I find that my new projects are naturally high concept. Haven&#39;t sold any of them yet though.

I loved Numbers! To be honest, I think you should write your book, then think of the high concept - along with a great one line pitch. Anything that&#39;ll get it noticed really! Then, as Jo says, it&#39;s down to the writing.

I have to say that I&#39;ve found that high concept is great for pitching and getting agents to ask for a submission, but then you&#39;re down to whether they like the writing. So you only really jump one hurdle, although I guess it would make life easier if you finally get to the acquisitions stage.

I agree with you both, but I think there&#39;s a difference between a USP and a High Concept idea. You&#39;re right, Teri - all books can have a USP, because it can be anything from writing style to characters to plot to setting to anything else you can think of. But High Concept is different - a High Concept idea is capable of selling on the idea alone, because it&#39;s plot-driven, and not

Yes, most of your ideas are High Concept, Nick! And I love them all! <br /><br />But that&#39;s different to the pitch I guess. For example, &quot;girl with cancer falls in love with boy who also has cancer&quot; is nothing in itself, and yet The Fault In Our Stars is a perfect book, and sold big worldwide. It could never have been sold on concept alone - the brilliance is in the writing.

...though I would say what is &#39;high concept&#39; is subjective.

Well that&#39;s certainly very true!! I think everyone has a slightly different definition. &quot;Slated&quot; could be the definition all by itself! Should have put that in the blog really, shouldn&#39;t I? I blame early morning blogging...

I loved &#39;Flip&#39; but bought it because I thought the character sounded really interesting. The concept didn&#39;t really filter through to me as something separate and astonishing, just a part of the brilliantly told story. This trumps everything.<br /><br />Thanks, Jo! <br />

Plus, it has an awesome cover. Not that I&#39;m superficial or anything. Nope. *pretty*

Doesn&#39;t high concept just mean the protagonist might die a dreadful death?<br />Girl falls in love with a vampire - oh no she might die!<br />Boy wizard faces &#39;he who shall not be named&#39; - oh no he might die!<br />Mouse fools Gruffalo - oh no, he might die!<br /><br />I attended a screenwriting course a few years ago and it was suggested that you think about the actor who would play

Interesting post Jo, I still have very little knowledge on what all the publishing booky jargon actually means or what it implies. But I think your right concept on not its the strength of the characters and the writing that keeps you reading.

I love that tip about Will Smith / David Jason, Maureen, :-). I&#39;m writing a High Concept commission at the moment, aimed at 6-8s. It&#39;s a terrific idea and I&#39;m sure the shops will swoop. All I can do is hope that my writing has enough about it to keep the ball rolling as the excitement of publication day fades. It must make commercial sense or the publishers wouldn&#39;t do it. Would

I take your point there, that a high concept idea is able to exist entirely separately to the story that&#39;s written around it. I&#39;d also argue that a high concept has to be (relatively) unique to grab attention. This is much like conceptual art - the first person to execute an idea wins, almost regardless of how well they execute it.

That&#39;s a really good way of thinking about it! Conceptual art - like it.

I have been musing over your post for days Jo! I agree with SO MUCH (actually everything) of what you have to say. I think the difficulty is that in an extremely crowded market a debut author with a lovely/heart-warming/bitter-sweet/thoughtful/whatever book stands little chance of being a) picked up by an agent b) book being picked up by a publisher c) published book receiving any marketing/

Yeah, it starts to hurt if you spend too long thinking about it...!

Thanks for the link. This was so funny!

Yep, watched it several times! I&#39;m at the screwing up stage at the moment

That was so funny. And so true.

Ta for the link, Candy! That was so funny. I laughed the hardest at the elf clip :)

I saw, laughed and shared it in a personal FB message with SCBWI friends across the pond - not realizing I was shipping coals to them... Who knew he was a West coaster, former agent at Curtis Brown and now CNET social media manager, as well as author of Jacob Wonderbar. Way to go!

Hee! I started belly laughing when I reached the owl!

Thanks for posting this Jo!!! This is me, me, ME!

It was Jo who posted it! Thank you!

God, me too, Candy! I think the Elf bit is my favourite. In fact, I think I WAS Elf when I got taken on by my agent!

Haha! That bit&#39;s awesome! It&#39;s actually kind of what I look like when my alarm goes off in the morning...

Thanks, Addy. And that&#39;s more books to add to an already impossibly long list! My favourite is still the last line in &#39;Little Boy Lost&#39; by Marghanita Laski, but I can&#39;t say it here as it would give the story away. It has me blubbing every time. I even stole the name of that character for one of my own stories as an homage to the book but it didn&#39;t get picked up. (Still might

This post began with a conversation between Addy and me about a moment in Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce that takes you emotionally by surprise. Addy said, I can do a post on that! And she did - in the most inclusive way! Thanks, Addy! Notes from the Slushpile really feels like a lovely community with this post! Such a blubworthy list!<br /><br />... er but what happened to Millions?

Re Grandfather&#39;s Bench - was this the grandfather married to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkBnHri8oHE" rel="nofollow">fighter pilot gran</a>?

Aw - thanks, Clare. I will have to read it!

I&#39;ve lost Millions! I love Millions! Shame but now an excuse for a future blog for all those lost words.

Ha! No! This grandfather was more Private Peaceful!

Made me cry - a lot. <br />I can&#39;t read The Selfish Giant (Oscar Wilde) or the moment in The Children of Green Knowe ( L.M.Boston) where Tolly &amp; his great grandmother hear &#39;Lully lullay&#39; on Christmas Eve &quot; and four hundred years ago, a baby went to sleep.&quot;<br />Thanks hive mind.

Oh, that&#39;s lovely, I&#39;d forgotten Green KNowe - there is soooooo much beautiful writing.

Ridiculous to blub just at these tiny fragments, isn&#39;t it? But lovely too. Beautiful selection, Addy. I just finished A MONSTER CALLS and was beside myself with grief and wonder. &quot;I don&#39;t want you to go.&quot; *lays head on table and sobs self stupid*

Oh I KNOW!

I&#39;ve cried more at that book than any other!

I have two book moments. The first has taken a bit of finding, it&#39;s Mrs Weasley. She&#39;s trying to get rid of a boggart from a wardrobe but it keeps turning into her dead children - &#39;I see them d-d-dead all the time!&#39; Mrs Weasley moaned into his shoulder. &#39;All the time! I d-d-dream about it.&#39; It was a great way to show the seriousness of the fight against evil has real

Don&#39;t Let Go by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross always gets me! I have to steel myself to read it out loud.

Thanks, Addy. And Debi Gliori&#39;s &#39;No Matter What&#39; -the UK English non-board book edition. Interesting what Jane said about the US market being happier to have something tear-jerking. &#39;No Matter What&#39; in the States has a massively toned down ending to remove all reference to death. If you know the book (in the English version), you&#39;ll know how crazy that is. The final couple

Something Else by Kathryn Cave and Chris Ridell always kills me with the line, &#39;You&#39;re not like us. You&#39;re something else&#39;. And ditto the line from Dogger. I can almost burst into tears even thinking about Dogger!!! I also love, love, love the line from Tiger Who Came to tea about being in the cafe with all the lights outside..<br />*lies in corner and sobs for rest of day*

Ah, yes! Thanks, Charlotte!

That&#39;s lovely, Clare. Sooo happy Debi&#39;s going to be at Winchester!

That scene in Tiger says so simply and unsentimentally what it&#39;s like to be a child. I also like another book by Kathryn Cave and Nick Maland called, &#39;Friends&#39;. I love this, &quot;when you are lost, in the wood, in the wood, I will find you.&quot; Bravery and friendship in a lyrical line - love it.<br />Now, cheer up, Caroline!

What a lovely post Abby. Wonderful to read about such moving stories, and what they mean to people. Also great to find out about books that I&#39;ve not heard of. I can feel a trip to my local book shop coming on.

I interviewed a bunch of kids about their favourite books and it was interesting that when they started reminiscing about the picture books that they loved when they were barely out of babyhood, they got quite emotional (watch the film <a href="http://www.candygourlay.com/2012/07/we-read-my-diy-documentary-of-what.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>). <br /><br />I so agree with you about Oscar Wilde -

thanks, Sally! Hope you enjoy a good weep!

I love your &#39;We Read&#39; video - such an important film to see, I think. I&#39;d forgotten The Happy Prince and THAT line. Waaaah indeed.

I can&#39;t possibly read this! I&#39;m crying too much! Could someone pass me a tissue?

I meant to say &#39;ALL of the work&#39;

you&#39;ll set everyone off, Jackie!

One line that has always stuck in my mind is from Not Now Bernard - But I&#39;m a monster, said the monster. It may not tug on the heart strings as much as some others but I can still remember the first time I read it - I felt his confusion!

Lovely post. I loved The Maggie B by Irene Haas as a child which is a surreal story about a girl bringing up her little brother on a boat all on her own. Even as a child, I felt there was a sadness to this story although it was a &#39;wish-come-true&#39; and when Margaret sings her brother to sleep, I always feel a little teary.

&quot;Her Mother&#39;s Face&quot; by Roddy Doyle and illustrated by Freya Blackwood. It&#39;s just so beautiful to look at, and I love how the girl struggles to remember what her mother looks like. As she grows up she sees her mother&#39;s face reflected in her own. I was very teary just thinking about my grandparents and trying to remember the sound of my grandpa&#39;s voice. He didn&#39;t talk

I know what you mean although I felt so very sad reading this out loud. Kept wondering if I did that ignoring thing too much. Children just enjoyed it for what it was.

Thanks, Amelia. I don&#39;t know that story but will look it out.

Meant to say, have you read &#39;Bye, Bye Baby?&#39; by the Ahlbergs?

Ah, that&#39;s so sad! And clever with the ending. I love the way pci books can be appreciated at different stages of life.

I love that advice at the end of your blog that your friend gave you. Fabulous! Thanks for sharing.

&quot;I’m the only one who knows what book I want to write, and what story I want to tell.&quot;<br />So true. I once read an article interviewing a fairly respected/published artist, and she said something like taking critique was a balance between being open to feedback and maintaining your own vision. The temptation to get loads of critique and then act on all of it is high, but in the end

The problem with this business is it requires so much self belief. Self belief to receive critique without losing track of your original vision. Self belief to allow yourself to re-imagine a scene that doesn&#39;t work. Self belief to keep going even though it feels like the odds are against you. Self belief just to write the next line! <br /><br />Lots of inspiring stuff yet again, Jo. Thank you.

I can&#39;t tell you how many times I&#39;ve taken chapter one out and put it back in again to a book, even though it usually contains the inciting event and should be indispensible. Finding your own way is tough, but I&#39;m getting better at it. It&#39;s all about saying no!<br /><br />Nick.

What an insightful post. I know exactly what you mean. As if receiving feedback wasn&#39;t hard enough (am I the only one out there who only hears the negative comments?), then you&#39;ve got to sort out what&#39;s useful from what isn&#39;t, while remembering at the same time that your readers have given time to trying to give an honest response. We all need to hear the truth, but a the same

This is so TRUE. And I love your friend&#39;s advice. A great way of cutting through all the fear of failure and asking what we WANT to write.

This is exactly the process I think most people go through. I sent mine out too quickly too.

So true Jo. Taking crit is a definate skill, and so is ignoring it when you know exactly what story you want to write. I tend to feel that if I get excited about the changes they work, but if I&#39;m not, sure and hack about anyway, I usually take them out again later...

Oooo, I <em>like</em> that last bit! Your friend is absolutely right; every &quot;new&quot; idea someone suggests is going to give you an almost (if not) completely different book. You have to stick to your guns and <em>trust</em> yourself. And the book, too.<br /><br />Great post! Glad I found you all; adding you to my bloglist!

Good stuff, Jo: finding your vision and going with it is so important.<br />(and that Amy gives pretty good advice, doesn&#39;t she?)

That&#39;s very true Astrid! You do get really excited if you feel something&#39;s going to work, and a niggling something if you&#39;re not sure. And yes - those edits often disappear quite quickly!<br /><br />Teri - that Amy definitely does give good advice!!

I love this post! Thanks for writing it Sally - it did really make me wonder how on earth you do it! Amazing.

This is just so inspiring. Thanks for guesting on our blog, Sally, hand-rearer of parrots. Your story is going to move many writers.

Fantastic post, honest and funny. Thanks!

Well done, Sally. You can do. Jean Fullerton, who writes East End sagas, is also dyslexic and has so far had 3 books published. So it can be done.

Julie, thanks for the encouragement. I&#39;ve always been told not to write, so it’s great to see that other dyslexic writers have actually made it!

I&#39;m impressed you managed to find something positive to say in what sounds a really daunting situation. We shall all be giving an extra big cheer when you get published.

Sally! I was laughing my head off in a few places -especially the spell-checkers decision to quit on you. lol! <br /><br />What a great post -and an inspiring one at that. You have a brilliant voice and no doubt, that will shine through in all your projects.<br /><br />I totally know where you are coming from as I have semi-dyslexic/language issues when writing (especially when my mind reads

Have you tried Texthelp? http://www.texthelp.com/<br />My son, who is in the bottom 1% of the population for spelling, used to use voice recognition software, but now prefers this. It can deal with homophones. I doubt if it could solve the brother/brothel problem though!

Hi Janet, <br />I haven’t tried texthelp, but I’ll have a look at it. I did like your son try voice recognition software, about 12years ago I tried ‘Dragon Speak’, but I couldn’t get it to understand my accent (I roll my r’s), so unfortunately for me, I couldn’t train my dragon!

The photo really brings back the day, the madness, and excitement, the terror at adding up with a calculator!

Looks like a great time! An amazing cake too. Yum.

Oooh! I like that Tall Story is in front of that display ... I wonder why? These awards are so important not just to authors but to the whole culture of reading. You gals have helped save the world.

Lovely post - how fabulous to see all those children lining up to buy books! The cake looks spectacular too. So nice to get a glimpse of great children&#39;s events like this - thank you for posting about it.

... and how many cakes did it take to bribe volunteers?

Tall Story quickly disappeared, Candy! (and.. ahem... I have no earthly idea why it&#39;s at the front... ahem...)<br /><br />Of course we&#39;ve helped save the world! I&#39;ve had capes made for the next time we do an event. Who needs Superman when you&#39;ve got books?

oh, good job, Jo! What a fabbie event!

Glad you enjoyed it - couldn&#39;t have done it without you. Be careful carrying all those boxes though - I used to be 5 foot 8.

Sounds like such fun!<br />...but you had to add up? WITHOUT a calculator? <br />WOW

Thank you!<br />Great post - loads of info. Sounds like you had an amazing time. <br />x

Thanks for the reminder of the wonderful retreat.<br /><br />If I&#39;m ever in a position to promote my books, I&#39;ll have to get a set of wooden swords and a tarantula.

It&#39;s made me wonder what&#39;s in my books that I can pull out of the hat in schools. Tommy has all of his scary stuff, Steve Hartley (Danny Baker Record Breaker) has his big pants. I wonder what others take. I do have a character with hair like twitching, jerking spiders legs. I wonder if I need a battery operated wig!<br />Great post Jo, wish I&#39;d been there.

Thanks Jo, I&#39;ve pretty much forgotten what I said, so this is very helpful ;-)<br /><br />Here is the direct link to my blog post about the session, as it&#39;s probably been buried under several weeks of accumulated waffling by now: <a href="http://www.whoatemybrain.com/2011/05/your-cut-out-and-keep-scbwi-marketing.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.whoatemybrain.com/2011/05/

Excellent, Jo and excellent Jo! Really enjoyed this terrifying but true advice. great post!

Thanks Nick - apologies, I meant to link to the article not just the blog in general. First time I&#39;ve physically posted anything up so honestly I&#39;m just glad the blog didn&#39;t spontaneously combust!

I&#39;m trying to think what I could have in a big box to take on school visits. <br />I think I should go for a VERY big box, and put Tommy in it! Problem solved :O)

This is a great article - for aspiring and published authors. Thanks so much!

I found this discussion very productive and useful. I came back from the retreat and organised my facebook page, commissioned my sister to redo the website and started being active on twitter.<br /><br />It was great listening to everyone and although none of us can pull a rabbit out of a hat like Tommy, we can try at least to wear a hat I think.

Futile enthusiasm -frighteningly accurate description of me I fear....:O)

Loved this post, Jo. Futile enthusiasm. I have lots of that. Well I used to think it was futile. Life surprises.

@Candy - enthusiasm is futile but fingers are always firmly crossed!

Fab post Jo! Wish I&#39;d been there.

just burnt my son&#39;s pancake - so absorbed in your post. Thrilling! Books move people!

BRAVO! i wish i was there too! it looked fantastic!

You obviously move in the wrong circles! I know people who say &#39;hear, hear&#39; all the time.<br />It&#39;s God, not Pullman. It says so on his car.<br />So what&#39;s your guilty pleasure? Don&#39;t think you said.

Great post, Jo. And a big cheer for Mostly Books - they are a great shop and so supportive of all kinds of community events in Abingdon. And they sell books too - what could be better?

Wish I&#39;d been there. Sounds fantastic. Up the books!<br /><br />Also in awe of Addy even attempting multi-tasking.

Fantastic post, Jo! Made me wish I&#39;d been there. And let&#39;s hear it for the Young Adult books - despite being quite an Old Adult myself, I so often find them both profound and entertaining, not something I can say about all the adult fiction I read.

Just cover it in sugar Addy, he&#39;ll never notice!<br /><br />I&#39;m very jealous Bookwitch - now i&#39;ve been introduced to the cry of &#39;here, here&#39; I need more. I feel bereft. I might start stalking a politician or two.<br /><br />I love Mostly Books - good old fashioned bookshop with a very modern business sense, and they seriously know what they&#39;re talking about when it comes

Great post. Wish I&#39;d been there. Keep reading and writing!

Great post -sounds a fantastic night - and I have to see I think it&#39;s GREAT that the books are adult books - the more adults read for pleasure the more they&#39;ll pass it on to their kids - i think it&#39;s spreading the World Book day spirit - next year everyone should have to dress up as their guilty pleasure ;O) ( Mine is Jilly Cooper by the way...)

I gave my free giver tickets to friends and got the Tshirt. I dont know yet if they were able to attend the event and got free books. Im also a giver and distributed Sarah Waters&#39; Fingersmith. I also created groups in WBN website, Ebook Readers, WBN 2011 Givers Global Challenge, and Republic of Ireland/Northern Ireland Givers Group. Please join the Givers Global Challenge - 12 books a year!

Jo, reading this made me wish I was there. Thanks for writing it up for us armchair-readers!