Are publishers looking for books that have depth (expansive storyworld, dense characters and complicated plot) or books that are simple (modest characters, uncluttered plot, and broadly accessible)? I’m still not sure.
Of course, when pitching your book, the rule is always simplicity. You’ve got sixty seconds to distill your story’s characters, conflicts, plot twists, and hair-raising climax, into a single shot of fine, literary espresso. The tighter, the leaner, the more lucid the concept, the better chance you have of gaining an audience with an editor.
Okay, so conceptual simplicity is no guarantee that a story is good. It is, however, the best way to get your foot in the door of a reader and/or editor. We need to know the nutshell before we go cracking the whole book.
Yet once on the inside, depth is the order of the day. Think about it, some of the best books are pretty hard to describe, at least in a 60 second pitch. Try doing justice to The Fellowship of the Rings, Foucault’s Pendulum, Wise Blood, Dune, Slaughterhouse Five, The Moviegoer, Atonement, or The Great Gatsby in an elevator pitch. There’s just too much.
For many readers, depth — not simplicity — is the draw of a book.
In fact, I think that’s one of the special joys of being a reader. There is far more satisfaction finishing reading a book than finishing watching a movie, because more can be extracted from a book than a movie. (I was recently reminded of this after my daughter Alayna devoured the Harry Potter series, only to lament how much the movies leave out.)
So as a reader, the lure is depth: discovering a new world, with new people, and new adventures. But as a buyer, the hook must be uncomplicated and provocative. Inside the covers, we want things rich and full and deep. On the covers, we need just enough to get us inside.
So is it safe to say: On the outside we want simplicity, but on the inside we want complexity?
Good points.
My opinion: To get your first book published, keep it simple and marketable, after that, with proven success, you can work on that great masterpiece. If Tolkien hadn't written the Hobbit first would a publisher ever have given LOTR a chance?
For me personally, I like to keep my fiction reading light. I save the deep complicated crazy stuff for non-fiction.
I think you have a valid point. It's the methodology that would probably stir various points of view. Yes, to pitch it or for a back cover blurb we need 30 words or less to explain the story. Some agents and editors prefer a one page synopsis without a giveaway of the end while others want a two or three page synopsis with the entire story explained.
As a reader, I want that 30 word description which gives very little away besides the hint of the story. I rarely read the full back cover copy. Inside I hope to get depth and expressive, meaningful writing. And I like that "rich and full and deep" in longer, fuller, richer, and deeper storytelling. Others like tight and naked storytelling.