I know it when I see it.
Along with author voice, the idea of a “high concept” idea is one that editors and agents often tag under the “I can’t really define it, but I know I when I see it.”
Not all that helpful, but understandable.
The best description I’ve seen defines High Concept as an idea that is intrinsically interesting, so much so that the character and conflict can be generic and you’re still intrigued. Usually, it gives you a sense of the trajectory of a story, even if you don’t know the details.
Okay, so maybe there’s something to this “I know it when I see it” thing.
For me, the classic example is Hemingway’s six sentence “story.” It goes like this: “For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never used.” Doesn’t matter the specifics, I’ve got immediate empathy and I can imagine the shape of the story to come without anything more. High Concept? Yep.
High concept also makes me remember Jodi Picoult’s “My Sister’s Keeper.” She’s got a gazillion books. This is the one where parents decide to have a second baby so its organs can be used to help their sick eldest child.
I don’t who these parents are, or who the children are, but I care immediately. I see the conflicts. I have empathy. First for the kid who is being brought into the world to be used in this way. Unfair! But … the organs taken wouldn’t harm the new child, and now they can have save one daughter without undue consequences to the second daughter. Still morally edgy, but yeah, I can envision being a parent with a sick child desperate to examine every option. High Concept? Yep.
Or how about Kristen Painter’s new series Nocturne Falls, where Halloween is celebrated 365 a year? Tourist’s think it’s a show, but it’s the only way for these creatures of the night to live out in the open. There’s no story mentioned in that pitch … no specific character with a specific problem to overcome, but I bet you can image a ton of stories flowing from that set up. High Concept? Yep.
The other point, of course, is that a great High Concept idea gets your query through the slush pile and can get a reader to open your book. That’s not nothing, but it’s sure not everything.
Still, with agents and editors looking for a way to get attention for your work in a crowded marketplace, nailing the high concept pitch for your book counts as a home run.
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