SPRING FLING BLOCK PARTY WRITING: BLURBS FOR FUN AND PROFIT

Patricia A. Guthrie, Chicago, Illinois 

Hi and WELCOME to RAVE REVIEW BOOK CLUB'S BOOK AND BLOG PARTY AT: 
THE COTTAGE OF BLOG  www.paguthrie.blogspot.com and a soon-to-be revised website: www.patriciaanneguthrie.com. (you may also know me by Anniecollie as a "handle.") I hope you're enjoying the RRBC blog tour. I've been fascinated by some of the blogs and have discovered books I'd like to read but didn't know existed. Now I know. I'd like to introduce you to my books and my blog. This stop focuses on WRITING BLURBS FOR FUN AND PROFIT with examples. Hope you have a good time. 

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PRIZES:  Here's what I'm giving away for today's blog stop:

Ebook: Legacy of Danger

Ebook: Waterlilies over my Grave

Ebook: In the Arms of the Enemy 

Number of winners for this stop:  3

 This is a great group of authors, readers and reviewers. Unlike some book clubs, we promote each other's works. Some of our activities are: read and review books by RRBC authors, blog radio, forum discussions, conventions, blog and website parties. COME JOIN OUR MEMBERS' SPRING FLING BLOG TOUR  www.ravereviewsbynonniejules.wordpress.com

Patricia A. Guthrie, Chicago, Illinois 

CHECK OUT THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BLOG FOR The Fair Lady  A FREE SHORT STORY AND INFORMATION REGARDING MY BOOKS. 

HOW TO WRITE A BLURB

By Patricia A. Guthrie 

            WHAT IS A BLURB?

            

            What the heck is a B-L-U-R-B, you ask? A blurb is that dust jacket on the back of the book's cover that tells the reader what your story is about and intrigues the readers enough they will buy your book.

            TIP: A blurb is NOT a synopsis. Although many will say it’s a short synopsis. Not so. A synopsis tells you the whole story in a nutshell. A blurb MUST NOT give away the ending. Stimulates interest and curiosity? Yes. Entices the reader to buy the book? Yes. Gives away the ending? No.

            
WHY DO YOU NEED ONE?

            Let me count the ways:

            1. Your editor asks you to

            2. You need one for your website page

            3. You need it as part of a proposal for your publisher, agent, editor presentation

            4. Competition entry or

            5. If you should be so lucky, a journalist asks you for one.

            And most important, after the cover, it’s probably the second biggest selling point of your book.

            
When I decided I wanted to learn more about how other authors wrote their blurbs,  I checked five or six sources to see what these writers thought. I discovered that most provided the same elements, so I knew I was on the right track.

            
I concluded, it’s not always the information you give that gives the pizazz, but the packaging. So, here goes my packaging for “How to Write a Blurb.”

            
TIP: KEEP THE BLURB SHORT: Readers don’t have the time to pour over a lot of text. Less is more in a blurb. Keep it to a few short paragraphs and focus on the main character, genre, and main plot and leave out the subplots.

            
Make it arouse the reader’s interest in the story, arouse their curiosity—promise them a good read, an adventuresome time. As one writer put it the “What’s in it for me?” factor.

            TIP: know your genre well enough to understand what your readers want to know about your book.

            TIP: Go to your own collection of books or Amazon.com and find books in your genre. Look at their blurbs. What makes you want to open those pages? What are some keywords that may be used throughout your selections?  How long are these blurbs? Some may be longer than others (see examples) but they’re all short.

            TIP: What market are you selling to? That answer will determine the most important information to keep in your blurb. If you’re writing primarily mystery, you don’t want to overshadow this with the romantic lives of your characters. And, if the reader expects romance, don’t emphasis everything but. Give the readers what they want---what they expect.

            
If it’s a multi-genre book, let the reader know it’s a romance but it’s also suspense or mystery or other genre. If it Sci-fi and there’s romance, you’ll want to let the reader know romance plays a part, but the Sci-fi is the important part.  Same with fantasy and other genres.

             
Use language in your blurb that may reflect the overall atmosphere or mood of the story. Word paint your blurb. (as much as you can for so short a synopsis.)  If it’s funny, reflect the humor. If it’s dark write the blurb with dark and ominous sentences like: “And fear was the summer slogan in Lake Nager,” from ‘Waterlilies Over My Grave’ (or something even better)

            KEY ELEMENT: PROTAGONISTS:  Focus on the main character, the one who has the most at stake and the most to lose. In romantic suspense (or romance) there are two equal partners. Each one has his own goals, motivations and conflicts. You might include both---you might not.     

            KEY ELEMENTS: GOAL, MOTIVATION AND CONFLICT: What does the h/h want (goal) why does he/she want it? (motivation) and what stops him/her from reaching his/her goal? (conflict)

           
I’ll repeat: What does s/he want during the course of the book and why does s/he want it. (goal and motivation and conflict is key in the blurb.) And, what or who’s stopping them from reaching that goal.

                                                                                    

            The conflict usually starts with “but” or “however.” Sometimes the H/H/ inner conflicts are as or almost as important to the story as the outer conflict. But, the inner conflicts should at some point intercede and explain why they can’t resolve their outer conflicts.

            
You can generalize how the characters intend to overcome their problem, but don’t give away how they do it.

            
Here comes the story question (the hook.)  

            Will the hero or heroine protect the lead secondary character and come up with a plan to thwart the villain’s game plan that will lead them to disaster? And, what will happen if they do not succeed?

            
In In the Arms of the Enemy, “Maggie and Adam must learn to work together before they find the killer on their doorstep.” Try to make your blurb dramatic filled with tension and intrigue. Remember it's short, so make every word count.

            
Also, you might bring out the story question. Do H/H track down and kill the bad guys before the killers ignite the world’s most powerful bomb? Or do they get blown out of existence and the world as-they-knew it comes to an end? (just an example off the top of my head---oh, and half the movies I’ve seen.) Show urgency that the good guys must win the day or the consequences will be dire either for them or the world at large.  

            Here are few do’s and don’ts.

            Don’t give away the ending.  

            Don’t tell everyone how great your book is or compare yourself to other writers.

            Don’t use overused phrases. Try to be unique---different from other writers.

           
NOTE: You can mention all these things in a blurb and there may be some that are implied. Not everything has to be spelled out, as long as you get the idea across. 

 Here are a three blurbs that may make this clear: 

Here’s a blurb from my romantic suspense novel In the Arms of the Enemy

HORSES, ROMANCE, INSURANCE FRAUD AND MURDER

When the murder of a racing stable’s prize horse and its trainer is blamed on the stable’s owner, his son, HERO Adam Blakely, GOAL is determined to find the killer he thinks might be the trainer’s partner, Maggie McGregor. 

HEROINE Maggie GOAL is determined to leave the tumultuous world of horse racing and returns home to try and find peace.

When a handsome horse owner moves his horse into her father’s boarding stable and asks Maggie to train his horse, MOTIVATION family finances dictate Maggie accept—CONFLICT and that’s when the accidents begin.

CONFLICTS: Drowning in deception and lies, Maggie and Adam search for a killer and uncover an insurance scam so insidious, it threatens to rock a horse racing empire and bring the killer to their doorstep.

This is a romantic suspense so the hero and heroine have equal footing in status.

Maggie is the heroine. She wants to get away from horse racing and find peace and a normal life.

Adam is looking for a killer and thinks Maggie might be responsible.

BUT: When Adam comes to her stable, accidents start to befall Maggie and her life is now in danger.  Further complications: Adam falls in love with his prime suspect.

WHAT TO DO: The have to learn to work together and trust each other when they uncover an insurance scam that kills race horses for money, and find a killer before the killer finds them.



Waterlilies over my Grave  

"You can run, but you can't hide," in this new romantic suspense from Patricia A. Guthrie.

In a spiraling fall into obsessive madness, psychiatrist Duncan Byrne vows revenge against his ex-wife for divorcing him. When she leaves New York, he reflects, "You can run, but you can't hide."

"Psychologist, Annabelle O'Brien begins a new life in the popular resort town of Lake Nager, hoping to find peace and normality. But anonymous threats follow, and Annie finds herself terrorized by a stalker.

Burned-out Detective Mark Driscoll detests the new psychologist who recommends he take time-off. How dare she? But when somebody slashes her tires, ransacks her apartment and kills her cat, Mark spends his mandated furlough playing bodyguard.

They don't count on falling in love; something neither wants, but both need. Nor do they count on women resembling Annie being murdered.

Fear becomes the summer slogan for Lake Nager. 

There are two main characters in "Waterlilies." Annie and Mark. Duncan is also a main character and who can say if he shouldn't have equal footing with Annie and Mark. Since this is a psychological suspense, I've mentioned the bad guy. But here's the dissection of the two main characters.

Goal for Annie: moves across country to get away from her ex-husband

Motivation: He's obsessive and mad, threatens revenge and is a master in the field of psychiatry and disguises. 

Conflict: Anonymous threats, tires slashed, dead cat and women in the town murdered. He's out there and nobody knows where. 

Goal for Mark: Stay on the force and as far from Annie as possible

Motivation: He's been forced to take leave of absence. He killed a teenager in a drug raid, when the boy pulled a gun on Mark's boss.  

Conflict: He has trouble living with the guilt. On his furlough, he's assigned to protect Annie, the psychologist he can't stand.

He has to find the person who's stalking Annie and murdering young women who  resemble her in the town. 

NOTE: There are several subplots in "Waterlilies." 

Legacy of Danger  

If you’d just inherited a castle in Romania, wouldn’t you expect to visit? So does young Elena Dkany, last member of an ancient, noble Romanian family. But, somebody doesn’t want her to reach her destination, and of the two people who can keep her safe, one is the ghost of her deceased husband, and the other the very live presence of the one man she wants to avoid at all costs. As they make their way into the mountainous regions of the Carpathian Mountains, deadly accidents, explosions and murder follow them wherever they go. Someone seems to know their every move.

Here's the simple dissection:

Elena's goal: To reach her castle in Romania

Motivation:    She's just inherited the castle and she wants to go, plus she's been attacked in her Evanston home by an international hitman. Time to discover the truth. 

Conflict: Somebody doesn't want her to reach her destination and seem to be ahead of them at every step of the way. The ones who protect her are: her ex-boyfriend, who she never wants to see again and the ghost of her deceased husband. 

NOTE: There are several subplots in Legacy of Danger. I didn't mention them in the blurb.  


Here are the sources I used for "Blurbs for Fun and Profit."  

How to Write a Blurb (Back Cover Copy) by Marilyn Byerly

The Do’s and Dont's of Writing a Blurb for your Novel by Milena Calizares

4 Easy Steps to an Irresistible Book Blurb by Beth Bacon

Writing a Short Book Blurb by Marg McAlister

Writing the Fiction Synopsis by Pam McCutcheon