I was talking to R.G. Alexander about this very subject the other day. And then novelite Jennifer McKenzie asked me to help her write a blurb for an upcoming release.
I got to thinking about it. I actually like to write blurbs, but I bemoan, begrudge, and belittle synopses. They suck. I spit upon their very existence. How do people write those well? I mean, describe my book IN DETAIL in 2-10 pages? Ugh.
Anyway, back to my subject. Let’s talk a bit about the art of writing blurbs. The first thing to notice is that you only have to get the gist, the MOOD of your book. If you write dark, it should be dark. If you write funny, it should be funny. You basically have 1-2 paragraphs to get the FEEL of your book across.
The first thing to remember is that unlike an opening hook in a book, you don’t have time for description. The whole thing needs to be a hook. ALL of it needs to be tightly worded and exciting. The blurb is a way to sell the book.
Now you can’t introduce all the twists and turns in a book, but the main conflict should be in your blurb. Why are your characters at odds with each other? What might keep them apart? WHO are they? All of that needs to be in your blurb, and yes, it still needs to be exciting.
I’ll even break down one of my blurbs and tell you what I think I did right, and what I think I messed up on. Here’s the blurb for Revenant, my latest release.
Rue Daniels’ ability to talk to ghosts—revenants—landed her in a mental institution. It has also made her a target for recruitment. Both the CIA Revenant Division and their enemies want her on their side and will stop at nothing to have her.
John Weston cannot believe he has to fetch the Agency’s newest recruit. He’s spent the last few hundred years as a revenant paying for a life of rakish depravity. Working for the CIA might just be his last chance at redemption.
When they’re assigned as partners, they must work together to discover who’s out to get Rue. Neither expects to fall for the other…a human and a revenant? Each knows that’s a recipe for heartbreak.
Okay, in the first paragraph, I tried to hook people. I wanted them to ask WHY she’d ended up in a nut ward. What had she done to get there. I also introduce that this is a paranormal, and will have some suspense/action elements. I do like this paragraph.
I’m not as thrilled with my second paragraph. The first sentence just shows that John is not happy, but it doesn’t really introduce much about him–remember, every word has to count. The next two sentences are pretty good. They tell you that he’s a revenant and he was a bad, bad man when he was alive.
The last paragraph ends with a recap. You know that John and Rue partner up and that there’s for sure going to be action/suspense stuff. Last two sentences explain why they might not end up together. Human on ghost action if kinda iffy. What I do really introduce is what their conflict with each is ASIDE from the different planes of existence. Why don’t they like each other? That wasted sentence in paragraph two might have been a good place to put this. See? It takes thought and really tight wording to get this to all work out. Gotta love the blurbing.
So, how are you with blurbs? Love them or loathe them?
March 26th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
You know how I feel-that is why you are my idol-you are the beautiful blurb queen
March 26th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
That is the oddest title ever