Quick Tip of the Day: Blurbs!

Writing blurbs wanting to make you do that? Well, it's time for a quick tip of the day!!

*happy dance*




I know that writing a blurb, is just ridiculous and kinda like killing a writer with a wooden spoon. Too rough? Well, it's sorta true. To try to capture your large, long loved book into a four sentences, is ridiculously hard work but needless to say, it can be done.

So what do I suggest to tackle this problem?

Look at your query letters.

For people who are slipping out of the traditional realm and have written query letters for your book, then I say to write your blurb, look at your query letters. At one point or another, in that query letter you had to sell your book to an agent/publisher in a page or less.

And in one part in the query letter, you had to summarize your book in a paragraph. Take that part out and put in blurb form.

Are you looking at me scratching your head going, "Is it really that simple?"

It can be. I did it.

As you my great followers know, I've recently started publishing my young adult novels (and I will soon publish my romance novels too!!) and I was getting SO frustrated with it that at times I really felt like throwing in the towel.

But then I looked at my query letters, and thought, "Hey, here's a starting place. This might work."

And it did. It worked for Iwishacana and Angel Diaries. Unfortunately, Everblossom did not have a query letter since I just came up with it.

What do I suggest for that? Well, a lot of hard work and typing. Pretty much the same thing that's required for a query letter.

Another way to the solution: Look at your synopsis. Did you type one up at one point? Well, look at it. Read over it. Is it still the same book you've edited over? Did a few sentences stand out to you?

Well, take the sentences that stood out to you, and try to include them in your blurb. Or retype your synopsis but in a paragraph.

Ahhh, now you are with me! You see what I'm doing? Widdling down a synopsis into a blurb! Same idea with a query letter, except you don't get to copy and paste and retype a few sentences. You've got to totally redo it. Obviously you can't have a whole page as a blurb, so this is where . . . Yes, wait for it . . .

EDITING comes in! Wooyoo! Yes, editing your fav word comes in to create an awesome word.

So just keep in mind: A query letter isn't totally useless once you quit the trad. publishing arena. Reduce, reuse and recycle it.

That's the daily tip, until next time: I bid you fare thee well!