In this guide, a trope map is a short plan of the tropes your book will use: the core trope that carries the promise, the supporting tropes that fit with it, and the ones you are leaving out. It lets you check the mix against what readers ask for before you draft, rather than finding a mismatch after you publish.
A trope list is a menu: every trope, with a definition. An outline is the order of events. A trope map is your chosen mix from the menu, with a reason for each pick. You can build an outline on top of it.
A Tropesmith Map does steps three and five for you from its data. You choose the subgenre, heat level, format and length, and it returns ranked trope recommendations, comp titles, archetypes and risks, usually within the hour, for $15. Do the free version above first; a Map earns its cost when you are choosing between ideas. See a sample Map first.
Tell us the book. A Map scores your trope stack against demand and supply data for your lane.
Build my Map → See a real sample Map first →In this guide, a book trope map is a short plan of the tropes a book will use: the core trope that carries the promise, the supporting tropes that fit with it and the tropes the author is leaving out. It is checked against what readers ask for before drafting.
There is no fixed rule. A working shape is one core trope plus a few supporting ones. A Tropesmith Map lists five to seven ranked trope recommendations for your lane.
No. An outline puts events in order. A trope map lists the ingredients and how they fit, and you can build an outline on top of it.
Yes. The five steps on this page use free tools: the Trope Demand checker and Trope Pairs. A paid Map does the same checks for you from Tropesmith's data and adds comp titles, archetypes and risks.
Part of the romance market intelligence hub.