Grow Your Newsletter with Hollywood Magic

Promote your fiction with a useful movie-making tool.

That’s your Substack on the big screen! Weird, right?

When screenwriters pitch their scripts to studios, they need to write something called a "logline," which is a short sentence that sells the story. It's not a summary, but rather, a concise and intriguing pitch. Imagine a sweaty writer in an elevator with a rich, bored executive. The writer has mere seconds before the doors re-open to sell a script they've labored over for years. No pressure!

For example, here's the logline for Back to the Future: "A young man is transported to the past, where he must reunite his parents before he and his future cease to exist." There's a lot more to Back to the Future than this, but the sentence does a great job of piquing the reader's interest, giving a feel for the movie's genre (sci-fi comedy) and central conflict (broken family).

I promise you, this is related to your Substack. "Hold on, Marty!"

Why are loglines so important in the movie business? One reason is that mainstream movies have to be sold and resold to lots of different people before they get made. Screenwriters sell the story to a producer. The producer sells it to actors, crew, and studio executives. Executives sell it to financial backers and sponsors for product placement.

After they get made, marketers sell the movie to general audiences. The logline might be a foundation for the trailer and other messaging. Then audiences will spread the word. Being able to summarize the story in a fun and intriguing way is crucial for word of mouth. If the movie is too complicated, or all-encompassing, or vague, then it's not easy to explain. (I haven't recommended Mulholland Drive to anybody!)

If you're hoping to grow your fiction newsletter through word of mouth, I believe it's crucial to understand your Substack's logline. After all, if you have trouble explaining what your newsletter is about, how will your readers be able to explain it to their friends?

What are the elements of a snappy logline for a fiction Substack? I propose these three, ideally in the single sentence description used on your site:

1. Hook – Who is the main character and what is the conflict? For short stories, what are the key themes of your fiction? In other words, what is this?

2. Genre – If your fiction was in a bookstore, where would readers find it? This might be stated explicitly or implied. In other words, who is this for?

3. Format – How often do you publish? Is this a serial or short stories? etc.

Looking through the top charts on Substack, I was surprised by how few fiction newsletter descriptions answer these questions. A reader browsing the charts is like the executive on the elevator. You might have only a few seconds to convince them to click. I found two taglines I think work really well...

Intriguing! Those 12 words pack a punch. From this, I know the protagonist (the widower), the conflict (undisclosed history), the genre (drama, perhaps historical), and the format (novel).

This one has a lot of personality, which is terrific. I know the main theme (parenting), the genre (humorous slice-of-life), and the format (comics).

One last thought before the credits roll…

Imagine you've never heard of your own newsletter. Eternal Sunshine it for a moment. Now re-read your Substack's one-line description. Does it hook you? Is the plot clear? How about the themes and genre? If the answer is “no,” don't worry. You don't need to be a Hollywood writer with a killer pitch for Silly Putty: The Movie to write something catchy. Just think about these elements – hook, genre, format – and how you'd want your friends to describe your newsletter to each other.

Geoffrey Golden is co-creator of Fictionistas. He writes Adventure Snack, a newsletter of funny, bite-size interactive fiction for your lunch break.