This month's Ink Ripples topic is BLURBS. I feel like there needs to be a little moment of silence after saying that. Why? Because blurbs are HARD. Like, whomever writes those suckers professionally has a job I would forever find impossible. I've written several of my own book blurbs for smaller houses, and that's always an incredible intimidating job: I want to attract as much attention as possible, while not spoiling the whole plot and not being trite or dull. When selecting a book to read, it's always the blurb that hooks me, and I want to do the same for my books (obviously).
So, how to do that? Well, there are a lot of amazing articles out there that describe how to write a blurb. They're all a little different, because different genres are definitely not going to want the same kind of blurb, and different people like different things in their blurbs. For me, I try to do something like this:
- Catchy opening line--something that has to do with the story and draws in the reader.
- Set up the stakes and characters--who is doing what, and why is it important?
- Create a situation that the reader has to read on to learn more about--the stakes and why are they so imperative?
It doesn't have to be long, but those three short bits have to grab someone's attention and yank them into the story enough that they will want to sit down right there in the bookstore and dig in.
My little blurb from An Absence of Light will be my example for today:
She’s walked into a massacre, stolen a BMW, and is running from the law for a crime she didn’t commit. Nineteen-year-old Leah’s life just went from mildly abnormal to totally crazy at lightning speed. But no one will believe that the shadow creatures are framing her for the murder, because she’s the only one that can see them. At least that’s what she thought.
When Leah stumbles across a group who share her ability, she discovers they have something she doesn’t: a way to fight back. When the group offers to teach her how to kill the shadow creatures, Leah jumps at the chance. But something is brewing with the creatures. They’re tracking down the hunters like there’s no tomorrow. Leah suspects that maybe there won’t be, and it’s up to her to make sure tomorrow comes. Because she’ll do anything to stop the shadows, including risking her life—and the life of the one she loves—to keep the world from being lost to darkness forever.
What about you--what about blurbs do you like to see?
Good tips on blurb writing, and your blurb really sets the pace! I went in a slightly different directing with #InkRipples this month.
ReplyDeleteYour blurb works very well. And the tips too- I think that catchy opening line is pivotal, because it'll grab a reader to look at the rest of the blurb.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you- book blurbs are SO hard. Great advice/tips! Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
Great blurb, Mer! I can't say for sure what attracts me. Some just draw me in, and others- meh.
ReplyDeleteMy editor usually writes mine, but I use a similar approach to selling my agent and her on buying the book in the first place. Interestingly, my editor never uses that blurb and instead creates her own. Maybe I need to look at the differences between what I write and what she writes!
ReplyDeleteBook blurbs are definitely hard. I like the formula you've laid out here.
ReplyDeleteBlurbs can be hard. I've had to write all my blurbs. I generally jot down bullet points as I do the first pass of edits. By the second or third edit pass, I have a pretty good outline of what I want/need to include in my blurb. Then, I just pull it all together. Usually. It doesn't always work that way and it's not nearly as easy as it sounds.
ReplyDelete