This setup breakdown is meant to help you understand the overarching premise of a book. By studying things like loglines, blurbs, and other forms of encapsulating content, you can better understand story structure (fiction) or content organization (nonfiction). This can help you become a stronger book planner and book summarizer. Being able to succinctly sum up what your book is a about helps you with querying trade publishing agents and acquisitions editors. It also helps you create your own book blurb when it’s time to put your book on the market, if you’re an indie author.
Blurb
This is what the author has used as the book descriptor on the book’s sales page. Take a look at what it does and does not tell you about the book. What would you add? What would you remove? What would you rearrange?
Desolate. Lawless. Wild. A land where bandits rule, and supernatural creatures known as Primes wield the forces of nature like deadly weapons. The West is no place to start a life, let alone to fall in love. But for Cazo Briggs, there was never any other choice. From the moment he felt the first hint of attraction for another boy, Cazo knew there could be no life for him in the world where he grew up. So, he fled to a place where anything was possible. He fled to the West. The experience nearly killed him Now, having barely survived his journey, it looks like he’s finally found the life he’s been searching for. He has a good job on a cattle ranch – and he has the heart of the ranch’s ruggedly handsome cowhand, Zee. But the oasis Cazo finds himself in may turn out to be little more than a mirage. When a notorious bandit comes to town looking to settle an old score with Zee, Cazo learns that the past is not so easily outrun – and that his happy ending might not have been as final as he would have liked. Trapped on the ranch, Cazo must do battle to save the life he loves. His enemy is ruthless, and the ranch has many secrets – some that could help him, and some that could do him harm. Defeating the bandit will take everything Cazo has, and before the dust settles, he will have to ask himself one very important question: Just how much of his new life is really worth saving? SNOWMAKER is a fantasy western set in a reimagined West. Here, powerful creatures known as Primes roam the frontier, and daring Wranglers risk their lives to capture them. Experience the beginning of a thrilling western saga!
Five Ps of Premise Prep
Based on my reading and interpretation of the book, here is what the Five Ps would look like for SnowMaker. After reading the book, do you find that you agree or disagree with my take? Which changes would you make?
Person: Cazo Briggs, an Eastern-born city boy who came West and turned cowhand / Prime Wrangler-in-training.
Pain: His homosexuality, which has always led him to feeling like an outcast and as if he had no true family, freedom, or place to belong. This sometimes blinds him to the flaws in any semblance of these things that he clings to.
Prize(s): Seward City, the Seward family who has accepted him as he is, a life with his boyfriend (Zee), feelings of love and belonging.
Pitfalls: Zee’s secrets, Brunonia’s temper, Rattlesnake Rose, Mr. Gomery’s crush.
Promise: That Cazo will come out the other side of this ordeal more cautious, stronger, and smarter. That this book carries a delightful mix of elements of fantasy, Western, and romantic fiction.
Premise
A book premise takes elements from your premise preparation and uses it to sum up the central story of your book. They can be written in a multitude of ways. The one below differs greatly from the one the author used as a blurb. Studying book blurbs and synopses can help you get better at creating your own book descriptions, blurbs, and summaries.
How would you re-write this premise?
Cazo Briggs is a city-born young man living in a sliver of magic-protected civilization, Seward City, in the harsh western desert. Unlike the home he left back east, he’s found a man to love him and a family who encourages and nurtures their relationship. But when the most dangerous outlaw in the country shows up to claim the city for herself, everything precious that Cazo has found—his beautiful, new life—is jeopardized.
Cazo will have to match wits with the murderous criminal to save his new home and the powerful Prime that makes it all possible—the SnowMaker.
Logline
Though SnowMaker is not a screenplay (yet! :D), a logline is another kind of summary tool that helps you think through what the core of a particular story is. I construct a premise and a logline while I’m in the book planning stages.
How would you rewrite this logline?
What elements of this premise could you change to make it your own?
A city-boy-turned-ranch hand has to save a magically created desert oasis from being taken over by the country’s most deadly outlaw.
What Stands Out
Magic System and Creatures
SnowMaker features magical creatures called “Primes.” They remind me a bit of Pokemon in that they must be captured and that there are so many of them that have various powers.
Cast Diversity
There is a lot of representation of people of color, women, and homosexuals in this book (yes, besides Cazo and Zee!).
Reimagining of the West
Many of the elements of Western fiction are present in the book without feeling overdone. The dusty desert, the near-ghost town, the struggle for survival in a harsh environment, etc.
Ready to Read?
Check out how this setup works itself out in narrative form by reading SnowMaker.
Read SnowMaker (Prime Wranglers #1) by Aaron S. Bentzel.