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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...!