I Dare You To Blurb...

Happy Monday/Tuesday All,

It's been long while since I've blogged. A big chunk of the reason is that I've been knee-deep in revisions for Immortal Dreams Book 1: Dream Weaver--mine and Critique Partners' revisions--so I can send it out. It's not done, yet, but recent events in my life have inspired me to write this blog post.

Besides synopses I'm of the opinion that blurbs are hard to write. After all, you have to sum up your story in a few short paragraphs (or one paragraph) without giving away everything, but still giving the reader an idea of what your story is about--including, in some way, genre.

Some blurbs are taken directly from query letters. Think about it. When you query an agent or editor you have to encourage them to want to read the entire thing. So the blurb you include has to include enough information where they have an idea of what you're writing, but without giving away every single last detail of the story.

A question I used to help with
the early writing of ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE & LION's
blurb

Blurbs tell the reader WHO (main character/s) WHAT (what do they want?) and WHY (why do they want it?) The "meaty" stuff and the HOW are in your novel. But you need to tell the reader enough for them to want to see the journey.

Todd Stone talked about this in the 2009 Lone Star Conference I attended. This post I wrote about the Conference gives the hints and tools Mr. Stone gave to writing a pitch/blurb. (For the record, the story Conjure A Man, that I was working on at the time of the writing of that particular post is currently on hold, and the name Delaney Ryan has been changed to Rita Blake).

Some people have an easier time writing blurbs than others. But whether or not you have an easy time or a hard time writing a blurb, they are necessary. One example is Christie Craig's blurb for her story, Only In Texas.

My blurb for All's Fair In Love & Lion gives the WHO, WHAT, & WHY for the story, without giving away all the details.

We writers worry about giving everything away. To do this, you need a blurb that organizes the WHO, WHAT, & WHY into a format that makes your readers and potential readers go

"Wow! I must read this book!"

No, it's not always easy. I didn't claim it was. However, it is possible. Also, make sure you send your blurb to a critique partner or freelance editor. Have them chime in. My critique partner looked at all the versions of my blurb before I ever submitted them to my publisher.

To summarize:

*Blurbs tell the basic WHO, WHAT & WHY of the story leaving the "meat" (and HOW) for the book itself.

*Blurbs give CLUES as to what the story is about to readers, agents, and editors.

*Always get critique partners or a freelance editor to look over your blurbs before sending them to your publisher or agent (or, if you self-publish, posting them).

*Study other authors' blurbs to get ideas on how to write yours.

Hope this helps!

Have A Marvelously Merry Monday & Have A Tip-Top Tuesday!

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