Setting Up the Novel Premise
Maybe you have a great premise in mind for a novel, but you're intimidated by the idea of writing it, unsure where to begin. Or maybe you've started writing and you keep stalling out, stuck in "the middle in the middle." Or you're wondering if you really have enough for a whole novel and not just a long short story.
Jessica Strawser is a USA Today bestselling author of six popular book club novels hailed for their irresistible premises. She’s also a Writer’s Digest Editor-at-Large with more than 20 years of experience consulting with writers on their queries, synopses, and opening pages. She can spot a marketable premise at a glance—and knows firsthand what it takes to turn a good premise into a great manuscript.
In this OnDemand webinar, you’ll learn how to use your basic story idea to set up a compelling premise and build upon it until you have all the elements of a winning novel. Through examples from the bestseller shelves, you’ll learn tips and techniques that can easily be adapted to your experience level, personal writing style, and the needs of your story.
Instructor:
Jessica Strawser is Editor-at-Large at Writer’s Digest, where she served as editorial director for nearly a decade and became known for her in-depth cover interviews with such luminaries as David Sedaris and Alice Walker. She’s the USA Today bestselling author of eight suspenseful book club novels, including Almost Missed You, a Barnes & Noble Best New Fiction pick; Not That I Could Tell, a Book of the Month bestseller; A Million Reasons Why, and The Next Thing You Know, a People Magazine Pick. Most recently, The Last Caretaker (an Amazon Editors’ First Reads selection) and Catch You Later (which received a Starred Review from ALA’s Booklist) were both instant USA Today bestsellers, and The Quitters Club (new in June 2026) was an Amazon Editor’s Pick for First Reads and cracked the Top 5 in the U.S. Kindle Bestseller charts.
Honored as the 2019 Writer-in-Residence at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County and with two Individual Excellence Awards (in 2024 and 2026) from the Ohio Arts Council, Strawser has written for The New York Times Modern Love, Publishers Weekly and other fine venues, and lives in Cincinnati with her husband and two children. A contributing editor for Career Authors and an active Tall Poppy Writer, she keynotes frequently at writing conferences, book fairs and festivals, book clubs, libraries, women’s groups, and other events that are kind enough to invite her. She enjoys connecting on Facebook and Instagram.
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