I had just begun the stage in the book production cycle when I reviewed the description copy written by my publisher when a friend shared this news story on Facebook:
“Antarctica Scientist Stabbed Colleague for Spoiling Book Endings”
This headline grabbed me, and not just because John Carpenter’s The Thing is one of my favorite films. Coming upon this article could be prescient. I was a bit worried that my publisher was giving away too much of the plot of my upcoming historical thriller, The Versailles Formula.
I worked hard on the twists in this novel. I have long enjoyed crafting plot reveals and surprises–and admit to a fondness for writing cliffhanger chapter endings–but in this novel, my eighth, I believe I came up with some true shockers. How much would a reader resent having those twists hinted at, if not revealed, in the book description? The challenge: Much of the book’s plot follows from the first big twist in the book, a revelation for my main character, Genevieve Planché. If I removed all mention of it, there’d be nothing but a bland promise of an engrossing read.
I asked an author friend, Laura Joh Rowland, about her philosophy regarding spoilers. Laura has written three historical mystery series–the 17th-century Japan Sano Ichiro series, the Victorian-era Sarah Bain series, and the Charlotte Bronte series–and clearly knows what she’s doing.
Laura’s advice: “I think you have to tell readers the book’s premise. The main characters, their issues, etc. Then hint about the ramifications if those issues aren’t resolved.”
This bolstered me–and it also made me wonder what other people thought about book spoilers. I knew my husband was so obsessed with keeping a movie or TV episode pure that he has refused to watch the trailers or any coming attraction first. How many times have you heard people complain that “the best parts of the movie were in the trailer”?
However, when I researched the issue, conclusions were mixed. One study published in the Journal of Media Psychology had this to say: “Online discussions, promotional materials, and reviews can all potentially reveal pertinent information about story plotlines, presumably ruining suspense and enjoyment. Despite these common apprehensions, recent experimental evidence suggests that narrative spoilers have modest and inconsistent effects on enjoyment and other audience responses.”
Hmmm. So what should I do about my novel’s plot description? My editor was waiting for my feedback. I decided to dive deeper into the topic of book spoilers.
Wait a minute, you may be wondering. What about that Antarctica researcher resorting to murder over a ruined book ending? What was that all about? That headline made you curious, I’m sure. But I’m sorry, it’s too soon to say more about that.
The body count is considerable, though I can’t honestly attribute any to book spoilers.
A Book Editor: “Just Enough to Lure Us In”
First, let’s hear from two of my favorite industry experts.
Neil Nyren was the evp, associate publisher, and editor-in-chief of G.P. Putnam’s Sons, winning the 2017 Ellery Queen Award. His authors included Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, John Sandford, Patricia Cornwell, Daniel Silva, Ken Follett, Maureen Dowd, Carl Hiaasen, and Ian McEwan.
Neil said: “I’ve written literally thousands of pieces of jacket copy, catalog copy, even press releases. In fact, before I went into editorial, one of my jobs was at Little, Brown, where two of us wrote all the jacket copy, all the catalog copy, and the majority of the press releases for the entire trade list. It’s a skill that stood me in very good stead for the rest of my career.”
However, I should not be intimated, Neil said. “It’s not rocket science,” he said reassuringly.
“The sole purpose of jacket copy is to intrigue readers, to draw them in and want to find out more,” he explained. “If it’s in a bookstore, to get them to put the book under their arm and go to the cash register. If it’s an online store, to get them to click ‘Add to Cart.’ If it’s a potential reviewer, to get them to add the book to the TBR pile rather than the ‘no’ pile. If you give too much away, why should they do any of that?
“For what we do — crime and suspense fiction— it’s usually clear-cut. Something bad happens; our protagonist must work his or her way through clues and misdirection and, frequently, peril. Things get dark; often more bad things happen. Finally, the perpetrator is revealed or the coming catastrophe is averted.”
When writing book copy, “try not to get too purple or too cute. You’ve got a job to do!”
Neil Nyren
The key, Neil explained, is to know how much to reveal.
“All you need to do is give us just enough of that to lure us in — whatever combination of plot and character, briefly presented, that will make us want to find out more. And then stop. That’s the place where you indicate that there is indeed a lot more to come. It’s the place for the ‘But she had no idea what she was getting into’ paragraph; the ‘It will take everything he’s got, not only to prevail — but simply to survive’ paragraph. You can toss in a few hint words if you want— ‘murder,’ ‘treachery,’ ‘witchcraft’ — but the main thing is to promise a satisfying amount of twists and surprises without getting specific. And boom! There you are. The book is under the arm. The cart has been added to. The TBR pile has grown.”
A Book Publicist: “Focus on the Unique Hook of the Book”
I met Stephen Lee at Book Expo America when he was a hard-working publicist for St. Martin’s Press and have kept up with him since. He has overseen over 60 bestselling campaigns throughout his career, including those by #1 New York Times authors Emily Giffin, Kristin Hannah, Augusten Burroughs, and Jackie Collins.
When I checked in with him about book spoilers, Stephen said, “I don’t think there’s any cut-and-dried answer to this question, as every book is different–and every author’s tolerance for revealing plot points is different. As marketing/publicists, however, we do our absolute best not to reveal any spoilers or critical plot points, so long as we can find a way to make the book sound compelling absent that information–and professionally, you should be able to do that.”
“Of course, you need to outline some of the storyline, but you can be vague enough to make the book feel unique and compelling.”
Stephen Lee
“The focus of any consumer-facing description–and media-facing descriptions, in the case of publicists–should focus on the unique ‘hook’ of the book, the emotional impact of the story, and any outside selling points like the story’s relevance to the author’s personal life, advance praise, and/or Hollywood interest and the like. Of course, you need to outline some of the storyline, but you can be vague enough while highlighting the previous points to make the book feel unique and compelling.
“If it’s a book that absolutely hinges on a few critical spoilers/plot twists, like many genre books or even mainstream offerings like Andrew Sean Greer’s Story of a Marriage, you can allude to that in the description without giving anything away, the ‘shocking revelations,’ ‘diabolical twists-and-turns,’ ‘heart-stopping climax,’ etc. I would be careful about the superlatives, but, sometimes, that actually is what the plot twists might be.”
I’m Ready to Do It! (But What About Antarctica?)
Enlightened by Neil and Stephen, I was ready to dive into my editor’s suggested description of The Versailles Formula. I suggested places to trim spoilers while still promising to deliver suspense and, dare I say, some emotional impact. I offered some of my own ideas for plot descriptions, too. We worked it through, and the result is set to go.
As for that headline about book-spoiler-fueled homicide, an initial 2018 media report said that a Russian scientist named Savitsky had been trying to use literature to pass the lonesome months on King George Island, but a colleague, Beloguzov, made it impossible. “He kept telling him the endings of books before he read them,” said one article, quoting an unnamed source.
It’s possible, just possible, that this “unnamed source” strayed from the facts.
According to Live Science, another source told Russian news agency Interfax that tensions likely sparked from the men spending six months together in close quarters, but “the source offered no further insights into what may have led Savitsky to pick up the knife and plunge it into Beloguzov’s chest.”
A dedicated Internet search failed to produce any news on the trial’s outcome in Russia or further explain whether it was a ruined read or some other offense that triggered Savitsky.
Which just might prove that in life, unlike in fiction, controlling spoilers can be hard indeed.
Nancy Bilyeau
An intriguing question, Nancy. A
I, for one, would listen to Neil Nyren!
He is truly a fount of knowledge!
Very interesting research, . When I’m writing that back cover copy I always feel like I’m walking a tight rope, trying to invite the reader in to look further without giving away too much. I’ll be interested to read yours!
I was surprised to learn that while people bitterly complain about spoilers for movies or TV shows, that study showed “no diminished enjoyment.” With book spoilers, I have to think that readers don’t want the pleasure of a plot reveal ruined!
Nancy, such an important topic and one I have struggled with, myself. I think the key is to have enough twists that giving away one doesn’t ruin the book for readers.
That’s a good point. If there is a series of them, one won’t be fatal.
Good advice from all three sources, Nancy. It’s not easy to compress a 300+ page mystery into a few hundred words but it is what lures many readers to read the first few pages and, hopefully, get pulled into the story.
I try to draft the jacket copy for a book as early in the process as I can. For a romance I can almost always do it before I start writing since I know the ending. But the mysteries are much harder.I usually take a stab (no pun intended) about a third of the way through and refine it as I figure out the story. Once I commit to a publication date, I send it to my publisher and then, she, the sales staff, and I refine it until it seems to do what it needs to do.
Great advice, Nancy. I especially like the advice about the back cover delivering emotional impact, as I struggle as much with the tone as I do with the content.
It’s kind of brutal, but I think the line not to cross is when your character spends 90 pages coming to a shocking conclusion that will change the trajectory of the novel, and the blurb blithely reveals that shocking conclusion. That’s when it’s a problem. The reader works along with the character to figure it out, and when they already know what the character is working hard to unearth, I can see how that can get frustrating.
Having said that, writing blurbs is tough business!
I didn’t know the shockeroo ending in The Sixth Sense, and I think if I had I would not have liked the movie as much as I did.
I also like Neil Nyren’s advice to know when to stop.
Thanks for this post.
Yes! You have to leave a reader wanting more! This makes me think of all the movies I never watched because I sensed all the great scenes were in the trailer and I knew the ending before I started watching. But I totally appreciate how there are many readers who enjoy predictability. Both views are right in a way, it depends on what the audience prefers. My preference is to know less and be curious about more.
This blog is so helpful. “Don’t tell me the ending” is what friends say , sometimes very forcefully. And I agree. If I know who did it and why then why finish reading? Yet there are well known authors who reveal the murderer yet I’ll finish reading because the “why” and their writing style are so compelling. Blurbs are hard!