
Welcome to the fourth instalment in my author life series, written specifically for beginners starting out on their first book. If you’ve not yet read it, you can start from the beginning here. This week I’m going to talk to you about the very important subject of concept.
Genre
I’ve previously discussed genre, and hopefully, you have an idea where your writing fits in by now. Sometimes it takes a little longer to find your true writing voice, or you may be like me, and enjoy writing lots of different genres. However, if you want to write to market I do recommend sticking to one or two. I began by self-publishing my true paranormal story, and as I was a cop at the time, it felt natural to progress onto paranormal crime. Now I write psychological and crime thrillers. There isn’t a ghost in sight, but they are similar in that they are dark in nature, with lots of twists and turns. You can see all my books and genres here.
Concept
High concept books are my favourite. They are an agent’s dream because they can be delivered in a few lines when giving what is called an elevator pitch.
Example one I describe my thriller Witness in the following lines: Rebecca is forced to witness a crime for every year her ex spent in prison. Worse still, she must choose the victims, or it defaults to the ones she loves.
Had I said it was about a victim of domestic abuse who was tracked down by her ex after he got out of prison, it would not have struck the same chord. There are lots of books featuring domestic abuse, it’s the high concept idea which set it apart from the rest. The moral dilemma of

Example two is for crime thriller Murder Game: A serial killer meets married women through an online dating site. The countdown begins as he informs their husbands of their infidelities with three photographs: alive, tortured, dead.
Example three is just one line for Truth And Lies: Meet DI Amy Winter, daughter of a serial killer.
Of course, you may not be writing a high concept thriller, but it’s still important that you can sum your book up in just a few lines. It should sound intriguing and make the reader want to know more. Have a play around and see what you come up with. You can read more about concept here.

Advice
I love hearing from newbie authors, and sometimes they come to me for advice. Lately, I’ve heard some horror stories. U
That’s all for this week. If you enjoyed my post give it