The One-Line Explanation

I’m on the great agent hunt
for one of my writing projects.
Most agents now want a query letter first.
In that query letter,
they ask for a one liner
explaining the 100,000 word novel.

That’s it.

One line.
An agent told me
that if the author can’t sell her the book
in one line,
she wouldn’t be able to sell it
to a publisher
using three.

Wally Bock calls this
The No-Expert Rule
and the Intelligent Fifteen-Year-Old Corollary.

“My No-Expert Rule
is that the more expertise
you need to explain your concept,
the less likely it is to succeed.
The corollary to the No-Expert Rule
is the Intelligent Fifteen-Year-Old Principle.

When you’ve got a concept
to get across to others,
test out your explanations
on an intelligent fifteen-year-old.
If he or she gets it,
you’ve got a good explanation.”

Can you explain your product
using one line?