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Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Blurbalicious
Did you know "blurb" is actually a made-up word? I'm such a word nerd, AND I like to make up words, so this tidbit makes me happier than it probably should. Let me just give you a little history about the word "blurb".
According to wordorigins.org, it was invented in 1907 by a humorist named Gelett Burgess. Apparently it was a tradition at the annual trade association dinner for the publisher to distribute copies of books with a special jacket extolling the book's praises. Mr. Burgess created his own book jacket, which shows a woman, her hand cupped to her mouth as if she's delivering an important message, with the caption, "Miss Belinda Blurb, In the Act of Blurbing". It was all done tongue-in-cheek, to make fun of how books were described in such lofty language, as if no other reading material could hope to measure up to THIS particular book's wonderfulness.
Nowadays a blurb's purpose is to hook readers, using elements of the story and characters to make the book so irresistible, the reader rushes to give their wallet to the cashier without thinking twice.
So how do we create a blurb? It's easy. Just step over here to my patented Blurb-O-Matic, and throw in some story elements, a character or two, maybe a few unexpected twists, and–yeah, that would be great to have on the kitchen counter, wouldn't it? Maybe we'll have to explore this in a different fashion.
Let's start with a basic question in a story: What happens?
How about an earthquake. Or a kidnapping. Or somebody falling in love.
Okay, those are some good events, and maybe they actually get your story started. But—yawn—I don't really care that much. At least, not until I know WHO it happens to.
So we could have a scientist. Or a Highland bride. Or how about a man with a lot of ex-wives.
Now I care a little bit more. Still, not as much as when I learn WHY these events and people are connected.
Maybe a scientist miscalculates where the next earthquake will occur.
A Highland bride kidnaps a handsome young man to take the place of her betrothed.
A man with a lot of ex-wives falls in love with his marriage-counselor neighbor.
Now we have a premise. It's a starting point, and it contains certain presumptions, all of it leading to the most important question in a blurb: WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?
With the scientist, obviously professional credibility is important, so a reader can guess at the calamity that might ensue by making a wrong prediction. But we don't know if this is the scientist's fourteenth mess up, or if the fault line is hiding underneath a nuclear reactor. If those hints are given, there is a sense of urgency to the story that increases the need to know what happens next.
The Highland bride? Well, we know she's not interested in the man she's meant to marry, if she's kidnapping a different one. Maybe the young man ends up with amnesia from her inept kidnapping techniques. Or maybe HE has a betrothed who will be charging after them. All kinds of intriguing possibilities, even without knowing specifically WHY she wants/needs a new man.
And then there's the man who can't stay married who falls for someone counseling people just like him. A marriage counselor has seen and heard it all, so would she even consider a man who has that many notches on his marital belt? How about if he had been married to her best friend?
One of the most basic stories is "Boy meets girl. Sh*t happens. They live happily ever after." It's the "Sh*t happens" part that makes this one simple storyline a multimillion dollar industry—all because there are so many delicious ways to answer the question "what will happen next?"
And that's the important thing to remember: Your blurb RAISES the question, but it does NOT answer it. Oh, no. This is a seduction, and you're the temptress. Think in terms of come-hither language, and promises of wonderful things between the covers (of the book).
You want the reader to see your blurb and think, "OMG, I will lose my freakin' mind if I don't find out what's going to happen next."
So, I've tried to analyze blurbs today as a self-study thing, since I need more practice at them myself. And in the spirit of blurbs, I've probably raised more questions than I've answered, but here's a few more.
Do we have any volunteers who want to analyze their stories for a potential blurb? Or maybe you've already written your blurbage, so tempt us with it. If not, what's your favorite made-up word? I'll be glad to show you mine if you show me yours.
According to wordorigins.org, it was invented in 1907 by a humorist named Gelett Burgess. Apparently it was a tradition at the annual trade association dinner for the publisher to distribute copies of books with a special jacket extolling the book's praises. Mr. Burgess created his own book jacket, which shows a woman, her hand cupped to her mouth as if she's delivering an important message, with the caption, "Miss Belinda Blurb, In the Act of Blurbing". It was all done tongue-in-cheek, to make fun of how books were described in such lofty language, as if no other reading material could hope to measure up to THIS particular book's wonderfulness.
Nowadays a blurb's purpose is to hook readers, using elements of the story and characters to make the book so irresistible, the reader rushes to give their wallet to the cashier without thinking twice.
So how do we create a blurb? It's easy. Just step over here to my patented Blurb-O-Matic, and throw in some story elements, a character or two, maybe a few unexpected twists, and–yeah, that would be great to have on the kitchen counter, wouldn't it? Maybe we'll have to explore this in a different fashion.
Let's start with a basic question in a story: What happens?
How about an earthquake. Or a kidnapping. Or somebody falling in love.
Okay, those are some good events, and maybe they actually get your story started. But—yawn—I don't really care that much. At least, not until I know WHO it happens to.
So we could have a scientist. Or a Highland bride. Or how about a man with a lot of ex-wives.
Now I care a little bit more. Still, not as much as when I learn WHY these events and people are connected.
Maybe a scientist miscalculates where the next earthquake will occur.
A Highland bride kidnaps a handsome young man to take the place of her betrothed.
A man with a lot of ex-wives falls in love with his marriage-counselor neighbor.
Now we have a premise. It's a starting point, and it contains certain presumptions, all of it leading to the most important question in a blurb: WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?
With the scientist, obviously professional credibility is important, so a reader can guess at the calamity that might ensue by making a wrong prediction. But we don't know if this is the scientist's fourteenth mess up, or if the fault line is hiding underneath a nuclear reactor. If those hints are given, there is a sense of urgency to the story that increases the need to know what happens next.
The Highland bride? Well, we know she's not interested in the man she's meant to marry, if she's kidnapping a different one. Maybe the young man ends up with amnesia from her inept kidnapping techniques. Or maybe HE has a betrothed who will be charging after them. All kinds of intriguing possibilities, even without knowing specifically WHY she wants/needs a new man.
And then there's the man who can't stay married who falls for someone counseling people just like him. A marriage counselor has seen and heard it all, so would she even consider a man who has that many notches on his marital belt? How about if he had been married to her best friend?
One of the most basic stories is "Boy meets girl. Sh*t happens. They live happily ever after." It's the "Sh*t happens" part that makes this one simple storyline a multimillion dollar industry—all because there are so many delicious ways to answer the question "what will happen next?"
And that's the important thing to remember: Your blurb RAISES the question, but it does NOT answer it. Oh, no. This is a seduction, and you're the temptress. Think in terms of come-hither language, and promises of wonderful things between the covers (of the book).
You want the reader to see your blurb and think, "OMG, I will lose my freakin' mind if I don't find out what's going to happen next."
So, I've tried to analyze blurbs today as a self-study thing, since I need more practice at them myself. And in the spirit of blurbs, I've probably raised more questions than I've answered, but here's a few more.
Do we have any volunteers who want to analyze their stories for a potential blurb? Or maybe you've already written your blurbage, so tempt us with it. If not, what's your favorite made-up word? I'll be glad to show you mine if you show me yours.
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112 comments:
Now, ya see...I'm willin' ta risk the great Undead Monkey, because me match makin' Kraken is hangin' about and he'll take the monkey off me back, so ta speak...
Blurbs are a lot of fun to play with and I, as previously stated, like to read them aloud in funny voices. Sometimes the deep and terribly important movie announcer voice. Sometimes the Gary Owens and Laugh-In voice...whoa, dated myself there, didn't I? And there is always the Bridget Jones relating to her diary voice.
Yes, I have a blurb. Let me see if I can find it. Be right back..
OK, found it. It fits into Samhain's request for a blurb under 100 words...or is that 200 words?
Growing old isn’t easy. Emily planned to grow old with Tom so it didn’t have to be easy, they’d have each other. A drunken driver ended that. Now she faces her senior years alone. Invisible to the rest of the world and treated as sexless, she starts life over again. After she visits a local Pirate Festival to honor the many years of playing pirate with Tom, she will begin her new life as a travel writer for a magazine targeting baby boomers.
But a mirror she finds at the Festival derails those plans, tossing her into an alternate world, the pirate haven of Tortuga. Here she finds Hollywood pirates with ipods strapped next to their cutlass. Bars with blenders and streets sporting characters from other times and places.
Has she gone mad or is any of this real? With little choice before her, she embraces the madness and takes on the role of pirate.
Hmmm, read better when I wrote it. I like the hook better... Not sure where I put that, must find it...probably on the other computer. Ever notice how whatever you want is always on the other computer?
Great blog! I kinda, sorta shared mine yesterday. I'll sit back and see what everyone comes up with.
Happy blurbing.
LOL, Chance -- I think I'll remember to read mine in funny voices next time they seem to be getting the best of me.
I still do that "In a world where. . ." that you suggested the other. It makes me happy. :)
And Chance, your blurb is VERY intriguing. It's the first time I've seen a whole description of the story (just gotten bits and pieces from the comments you've made).
You've definitely raised some questions in my mind that I want to have answered. The big one is about age, and you've said it isn't easy growing old, but then she loses her partner in crime -- so that's a great question -- how is she going to handle that?
And then, is any of what she's experiencing even real? And what exactly DOES happen at this pirate haven? You've dangled lots of tantalizing things! (Stop it -- you know what I'm saying!) LOL
Thanks, Renee, and happy blurbing to you! I remember yours from yesterday, and they were very enjoyable -- you definitely had some intriguing stories. We may have to go back to yesterday (time travel!) and bring them over here to look at some more!
I'm struggling a lot to come up with a blurb for the finished MS. Not that I've spent any time working on it, but I've been thinking about it for a while and no good ideas have floated to the surface just yet. So this should be a good day to figure it out.
However, gotta get some other stuff done before I can play. I shall return!
I absolutely HEART made up words. I make up words all the time. And use made up words. The crazier the word, the more tempt I am to use it.
I'm pretty sure if I ever get to that point, I'm just going to say on the back of my cover, "Do what I do and flip to the middle of the book. If I'm boring your ass, then this book is not for you."
I'm sure that's going to help my sales... A LOT.
I'm not good at blurbing. (That sounds dirty.) Or summarizing in general. English 101 was painful. All those outlines and summaries of those 10-30 page papers would keep me up all night while I tried to figure out what to put in there and what to leave out.
Bo'sun -- I have been struggling too, trying to come up with something for books I've written previously, or, even MORE fun, books I *plan* to write. Sometimes my brain spews forth a blurb that's completely formed -- LOL. Most times -- not so much!
Sin, good to see you! My made-up words tend to be a blending of other words. LOL But they usually do a better job than the original words. LOL
I love your blurb: "Get your ass to page 135 and start reading. You're gonna love it. If you don't, I'm gonna stick something in your eye." LOL
Hey, you might create a new blurb trend. Psychoblurbs. LOL
LOL, you psychoblurbed me much better than I did myself.
Today is all about how dirty we can make the word "blurb" sound in a sentence. Or at least that's how I feel every time I type it.
All atwitter is one of my favs to use. "She was all atwitter when she found the rusty ice pick to shove in his eye."
Dear DRD,
As always, lovely to see you. Might I kick you in the shin now?
Sincerely,
Evil Twin
Dear Evil Twin,
Have you lost your mind? That's the only thing I can think when you ASK PERMISSION to do bodily harm.
Blurbingly yours,
DRD
P.S. Here's $500 towards your bail fund. I suspect it's running low. :)
Dear DRD,
I wasn't asking permission as much as I was giving you a warning that it was coming. It is the polite thing to do between twins.
I think.
Not that I specialize in polite. Unless polite is the new way of saying "get bent".
Sincerely,
Evil Twin
PS. I'm going to need more than $500. Hold a fundraiser for me. I'm pretty sure Satan will contribute if you write to him on stone tablet.
I forgot to tell you this blog is great.
Dear Evil Twin,
Thank you for the clarification regarding warnings. Als, "polite" is a sliding scale, with you on one end, and the other end -- well, everyone else in the world is there.
Very truly yours,
DRD
P.S. The $500 was not intended to REPLENISH your bail fund. I am in the process of finalizing details for a telethon since clearly an annual event will be required.
I'm not so hot at blurbs, but I think they're total fun to play with.
Let's see....for my current WIP:
Josephine Kelley is the world's leading expert in homemade explosives--and serving a nineteen year prison sentence to prove it. After two years in, she's desperate to get out. Desperate enough to take the first offer thrown at her: let the Spanish government send her into a separatist terrorist cell to dismantle the bomb they're planning on a high-speed rail line out of Madrid.
Sounds easy enough, and for a girl who grew up inside the leadership of the IRA, it should be. But in a situation where no one is who they say they are, and everyone seems to have hidden agendas, choosing sides gets complicated fast. And when the Spanish cop who let her out of jail realizes she might be making bombs, instead of dismantling them, his only option is to take her right back to jail--the last place Josephine is willing to go.
Forgot to say, Donna, this is an awesome blog. I had no idea that blub had such a hilarious start, but "blurbing" is definitely a word I need to use more often!
I'm not sure I'm a fond of made up words. Unless they're made up by J.K. Rowling. I'm especially not fond of made up words if they're impossible to pronounce, as if I didn't have enough problems speaking my native language as it is.
Though I'm VERY fond of the made up word "Amanda Wilson" simply because the definition is so hilarious.
Blurbs. They have sucked me into a book that once I got there I was like, "The Blurb was SOOOOO much better." And then I've read blurbs where they were okay, but nothing to write home about (I bought the book because of it's cover or the opening page), and voila, a brilliant novel. I'm reading a book now that I didn't really care much for the blurb--or even really the premise. (As I say: it was okayyyyy, but it wasn't something that I thought I must read; however the opening chapter was so great that I stayed up until midnight and read about four more chapters before I made myself go to bed.)
LMAO. The "Amanda Wilson" is classic.
Get the blurb out of here! That's how it started? Who'd a thunk?
And to play on Sin's fav made up word, I like "twitterpated". I've been known to get twitterpated a time or two, though not for a long time now. *sigh*
Loving the blurbs so far. Off to see what I can do.
Hal, how can you say you're "not so hot" with blurbs? That was awesome!
And I had no idea about blurb's origin either -- it always sounds like something a stomach does -- so I expected it to be something like that. LOL
I love twitterpated.
Hellie, I must be the only one who doesn't know the meaning of "Amanda Wilson". Will I be afraid if I look it up? LOL
I've been sucked in by a blurb, and then later I could see why they chose that particular slant, even if it doesn't exactly describe the story. But it feels a little like discovering the Hottie you're lusting after has sprayed-on abs. LOL
Urban Dictionary would not approve my definition of Amanda Wilson because they said it fell under their "inside joke" clause. Which is total BS.
My definition of Amanda Wilson is: An asshat who has a soft spot for douche bags.
We even set it up with a noun example, verb example and adjective example. It was stellar writing meeting work, if I do say so myself.
THE COUPLE WE THOUGHT WERE A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN JUST FILED FOR DIVORCE
After 6000 years, Eve Smith has finally received her heart's desire: a divorce; and she will do anything to keep it, even if it requires her marrying someone else. Anyone but her ex-husband. But her ex-husband, Adam, is less than thrilled by the court's decision and will do anything to get his wife back. Including sabotaging her dates and reminding her of the marriage they had before the kids came.
A SNAKE IN PARADISE
Adam isn't sure what he's done to piss off his wife, but he's finding that a simple "I'm sorry" isn't going to cut it. Time is running out; and Vegas is offering up more problems than solutions. A thousand places for Eve to marry--and all to the wrong guy. He might be able to remind her he's the one she's looking for if only Lucifer, the guy who ruined a good thing in the first place, would stop trying to help him.
How do you convince the person who promised to love you forever that they're still in love with you?
Yeah, I suck at this. I'm going to abandon this book. I'm sick of it. What should I write now?
Hellie -- you don't suck at this! It's wicked awesome! I love the whole concept -- and I'm cackling at the whole paragraph after A Snake in Paradise.
I think you suck at recognizing your awesomeness. :)
Don't abandon that book. It's priceless.
Hellie, Sin -- great blurbs for Amanda Wilson. LOL
I love twitterpated. I use that a lot.
Though I know it comes from Bambi, and I don't care that Bambi's mother dies. I also don't care that in The Yearling that the deer dies too. I mean, can you be any more ridiculous?
Amanda Wilson: noun. An asshat who has a soft spot for douche bags.
And before you call us cruel (though we are), she did call herself an asshat first. And of course, we ran with it.
Never call yourself something you don't want me to remember for the rest of our natural born lives.
Okay, Sin -- just call me an Awesome Buffet (with a side of Awesome -- no extra charge).
LOL
Poor Pixie.
Okay, this is what I've got. First try, not even sure it matches the tone of the book. And it's long!
Emma Dawson has two problems. One, her high school crush, who happens to be a Major League baseball player as well as majorly hot, just returned to town. His new job as baseball coach at their old high school makes them coworkers, and due to problem two, enemies. Speaking of problem two, Emma has been thrust into a leadership role fighting for school dollars desperately needed for new books. School dollars that supposedly don’t exist. Except they just appeared out of nowhere and were used to buy Mr. Major Leagues all new baseball equipment.
Nate Campbell thought he would quietly return to the town where he grew up, take a job coaching at his old high school, and mold the next generation of professional baseball players. Or at least give his kids the best shot they could get. So when the principle, slimy as he may be, gives him everything he asks for and more, life is looking good. Until doe-eyed Emma Dawson declares him “the enemy” and pulls him into a battle he never intended to fight.
And so the games begin. But somewhere along the way, Emma and Nate stop fighting each other, join forces against a common enemy, and realize money and books and bats don’t really matter when you’re playing for keeps.
I love that Hellie! Especially the titles. They play with my expectations. I like it a lot ;)
And thanks Donna!
Hellie - You cannot abandon this book. It's a dream premise and Chance has already pitched it, so you're stuck now. LOL! That blurb is freaking awesome. I want those catch phrase sentences in my blurb. Someone put them in there. LOL!
I love it Ter!! I especially loved how you folded problem one into problem two at the beginning. And the last line was just inspired. Ahhhh.
Hal - I love yours but I have one question. Is there romance? Because I think you have a romance in there and I didn't get it from that blurb. Just curious.
Ter, excellent question, and one I have no idea how to answer. You thought it was an easy question, didn't you? lol. I started writing the first book as romantic suspense, but everyone who's read it swears up and down its a straight thriller. So for this book, I just decided to run with the thriller idea.
So, no the book is not a romance, but yes, there is (or will be) a fully flushed-out romance plot between Jo and the Spanish cop, Luken.
That doesn't answer your question does it? LOL!
Thanks, Hal! I always try to work the title in. Corny, they name is Terri. LOL!
Hal - I think if you drop a hint into that last sentence that he's somehow reluctant to take her back to prison, because she's growing on him or some such, then you'd give off just enough to let us know there's more than a working relationship there.
There's a worker dude in here who is apparently a neat-freak. So far, he's changed one water stained tile in my office ceiling, brought in a damp rag to clean up the dust left behind, and now is vacuuming my floor.
Since when did construction dudes come in neat-freak packages?
Terri, I almost missed your blurb because I was commenting. It is wicked good -- you've got the conflict, and the characters are clear. I love the "somewhere along the way" phrase -- a much nicer way of saying "sh*t happens". And that's your FIRST try? Wow.
*slinks away to practice*
Hal, maybe it's my romantic leanings, but I assumed there was a romance between those two. So maybe Terri's right about adding a little hint. I can't wait to read this story. :)
Thanks, Donna. Yep, first try. Clearly I can't use this for a pitch so it'll need work. And I really want that A SNAKE IN PARADISE kind of thing Hellie has. Good thing she's around for us to copy her brilliance.
So, where's yours? LOL!
There’s a worker dude in here who is apparently a neat-freak. So far, he’s changed one water stained tile in my office ceiling, brought in a damp rag to clean up the dust left behind, and now is vacuuming my floor.
So when did you propose to him? LOL
Oh, and does he have any brothers? :)
I *knew* you were gonna ask that! LOL
I like Hellie's A Snake in Paradise thing too. I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate that.
Let me go blurb hunting. . .
He's short and looks to be about ten years younger than I am. He'd ma'am me too much. No proposals here, but I can see about sending him your way.
Oops -- not that I consider YOU a geriatric. Eek. I was talking about myself.
Yeesh.
I love it, Bo'sun, however I'm going to break you of "PRINCIPLE" for PRINCIPAL if it's the last thing I do! Remember, a person has principles (okay, I don't)--but the guy who lords his power at the school is a princiPAL...like a PAL....it's very ironic!
Was it a nice Southern boy kind of "ma'am" or the "I'm being kind to a geriatric" kind of "ma'am"?
If it's the latter, maybe you can spank that out of him. LOL I mean, he DOES have the neat freak qualities that are so rare!
It's a mental block, Hellie. I don't know why. And I bet it's wrong all over this damn MS. Spellcheck doesn't catch that sort of thing!
No worries, Donna, I'm feeling quite geriatric today. Now, that blurb?
Okay, here's a shortie blurb on a WIP:
When Sebastian Dunsmore encounters the woman who jilted him five years previously, he sets out to discover why she abandoned him on the eve of their elopement, after giving herself body and soul to him. He has re-invented himself from the scapegrace younger son plagued with debts, willing to sacrifice anything for a fortune.
Now he is a dashing privateer, intent on earning enough to purchase a magnificent estate, hoping to win back Lisette, the love of his life. To his surprise, she enlists his aid in returning a "valuable object" from Jamaica to England: her son Lucius, the spitting image of his mother, but with a birth date that makes Sebastian wonder, and hope.
EMMA DAWSON IS JUST BATTING A THOUSAND
Emma Dawson has two problems. One, her high school crush, who happens to be a Major League baseball player as well as majorly hot, just returned to town. His new job as baseball coach at their old high school makes them coworkers, and due to problem two, enemies. Speaking of problem two, Emma has been thrust into a leadership role fighting for school dollars desperately needed for new books. School dollars that supposedly don’t exist. Except they just appeared out of nowhere and were used to buy Mr. Major Leagues all new baseball equipment.
NATE CAMPBELL HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY BENCHED
Nate Campbell thought he would quietly return to the town where he grew up, take a job coaching at his old high school, and mold the next generation of professional baseball players. Or at least give his kids the best shot they could get. So when the principal, slimy as he may be, gives him everything he asks for and more, life is looking good. Until doe-eyed Emma Dawson declares him “the enemy” and pulls him into a battle he never intended to fight.
BATTER UP
And so the games begin. But somewhere along the way, Emma and Nate stop fighting each other, join forces against a common enemy, and realize money and books and bats don’t really matter when you’re playing for keeps.
Thank you, Hellie!!! That's so cool. LOL! *cut and pastes for safe keeping*
Donna - We need a blip on Lisette, my dear. And we need to know why he wants anything to do with a woman who jilted him and presumably broke his heart.
Without telling me something redeeming about her, I dislike her immediately. LOL!
LOL -- Bo'sun -- I'm working on her. I told you this post was a self-study thing because I needed the help! Poor Lisette was forced into a marriage with a rich old geezer -- she thought she could escape it, but alas.
Hellie -- that is perfect! You've got yourself a new job!
Now see, I can like her knowing that. LOL! Yes, we are all a work in progress. And I'm all for Hellie taking over the blipping in the blurbs job.
Hellie, I love how the "blips" are titles, AND great lead-ins to the paragraphs.
They're kind of pre-blurb blurbs. LOL
Here's what I think of Hal's. *LOL* I'm sure this falls under the line of "line edits" but here goes:
NEVER SEND A COP IN TO DO A CRIMINAL'S JOB
Josephine Kelley is the world’s leading expert in homemade explosives–and serving a nineteen year prison sentence to prove it. After two years in, she’s desperate to get out. Desperate enough to take the first offer thrown at her: let the Spanish government send her into a separatist terrorist cell to dismantle the bomb they’re planning on a high-speed rail line out of Madrid.
BUT THERE IS ALWAYS A PRICE TO PAY FOR DOING THE RIGHT THING
Sounds easy enough, and for a girl who grew up inside the leadership of the IRA, it should be. But in a situation where no one is who they say they are, and everyone seems to have hidden agendas, choosing sides gets complicated fast. And when the Spanish cop who let her out of jail realizes she might be making bombs, instead of dismantling them, his only option is to take her right back to jail–the last place Josephine is willing to go.
I'm a HUGE sucker for blurbs. I buy my books after reading the back cover copy (technically what they call it in the book marketing department).
It was actually my task when I worked as a publicist/marketing manager for a small niche publisher to write back cover copy. I LOVED it.
I always got the manuscript first (when the editor was still working on it) so that I could start writing the back cover copy.
It was also my job to then write summaries of the books for the rest of the marketing department in order to decide on positioning statments and how we would "sell" the book to buyers for the major book store.
Man, I loved that job - hated the people with everything I was worth though. Sigh.
I still can walk into a book store and pull a book or two from the shelf and see my words right there on the back cover and know they are helping readers decide if they should buy it or not. Hopefully they are :)
Hellie - all your blurbs are awesome! Great Job - I might need to hire you to do mine when the book gets closer to the end. :)
The "blips" are fun, I think. I like them on blurbs because I have a very short attention span and they're HOOKS. I love hooks. And I love the play on words they usually are--they tie with the theme or something...
Scapegoat, that sounds like an amazing job!
And I'm taking back that $500 I gave to Sin for her bail fund. I'm starting a BLURB fund now!
Okay, I'll call it Back Cover Copy. :)
*shoves Scapegoat out of the way*
Great idea! I'll let you know how Hellie does when mine is finished. LOL
I'm going to think in terms of the hooks, Hellie. That's a great idea.
No, I only wrote the Adam & Eve blurb. The rest were the other author's blurbs. I just added blips.
Okay, here's my try at Donna's. Destroy at will.
A CHANCE ENCOUNTER WITH THE PAST
Sebastian Dunsmore has re-invented himself from the scapegrace younger son plagued with debts, willing to sacrifice anything for a fortune; and he is determined to figure out why the woman who gave her body and soul to him abandoned him at the altar on the eve of their elopement.
OFFERS A VERY INTERESTING PRESENT
Now he is a dashing privateer, intent on earning enough to purchase a magnificent estate, hoping to win back Lisette, the love of his life. To his surprise, she enlists his aid in returning a “valuable object” from Jamaica to England: her son Lucius, the spitting image of his mother, but with a birth date that makes Sebastian wonder, and hope.
WITH A POSSIBLITY OF A FUTURE
Lisette [--] knows Sebastian has every right to hate her, but she knows he is the only man who can return her son safely back to England and she is willing to do anything—even give her body and soul once more to the only man who ever had it.
Hellie, I think I'm in love! I love all the blips too!
*runs around the ship cackling*
oh my god, Hellie!!!! I love, love, love the titles. "Never send a cop to do a criminal's job" - YES!!!
We need a new drink, to celebrate Hellie's new job. I'm think of Blippertini, or perhaps, You Bet Your Sweet Blipper.
LOL
You Bet Your Sweet Blipper. I like that one.
Dude, if only my job could be that fun. You heard Scapey--the people actually in that position are evil to work for. *LOL* I've already done my time with Satan. No repeats for me if I can help it.
*grins* I was hoping you liked the blips, Hal. I'm not sure I'm in love with "cop", but I couldn't think of an appropriate alternative.
Hellie, I hear you about the non-fun jobs. I just realized my favorite job was the very first one I had, when I was a secretary at an Army ROTC summer training camp. Sigh.
It just went downhill after that.
Wow...color me impressed! I want to read all of these books!
And Hel's blurp hooks are wondrous!
I sorta liked blippertini but I can go with the You Bet Yer Sweet Blipper... I see a layered drink, with a thin dark carmelized sort of layer seperating the three main ingredients...
Bo'sun! Yer blurb is spot on! And Hel, I will keep pitching it so you have to finish it. They are all waiting for it. I may copy your blurb and hand it out to people I meet at Nationals... ;)
Clearly the "ARMY ROTC SUMMER TRAINING CAMP" would be the KEY words here. How could you NOT have fun there?
Girlllll, let me tell you. LOL It was an awesome job being around all those men, and being one of a very few women. LOL
Girllllll, you don't HAVE to tell me. I have a very vivid imagination...and all those push ups. And getting to say, "Again. Again. Again." And they do it...
When you pass out my blurb, be sure to include the sentence where I say "I suck" and say I plan to abandon the project and write on something else. That should wildly impress them.
On a side note Hellie - A publisher needs to seriously snatch your book up asap. I'm dying to read it!
Hellie, you are being cruel to all of us when you say you're going to abandon that project.
*sad face*
And I was a SECRETARY. LOL I didn't need to say "Again. Again. Again." LOL Ah, if only I knew then what I know now. . .
*sad face*
I'm a secretary now, and I swear to God half my demands around here are, "AGAIN! AGAIN! AGAIN!" and not for anything remotely interesting. It's all paperwork submissions and filing forms.
Chance, I almost forgot to say "thumbs up" for the drink ingredients.
Oh, and would you mind steering the ship for a little bit while I go run some errands? Thanks!
*executes perfect swan dive into the water*
Wow, leave the one with the alcohol in charge of steering. Nice. Did no one tell her about the dingies to get to shore? You people are just cruel.
I'm liking the You Bet Your Sweet Blipper. I was thinking of a Fuzzy Blipper and that doesn't sound nearly as cool.
The AGAINs happen here too. "I can't find that, will you print it off AGAIN?" "It's in my email somewhere, would you forward it AGAIN?" "I can't find my copy, how much was that check AGAIN?"
Girlllll, let me tell you. LOL It was an awesome job being around all those men, and being one of a very few women. LOL
I spent a summer as a secretary for a baseball camp. They brought in college baseball coaches from all over the country, you know, the young, hot ones who had a free summers and were then stranded at this camp in the middle of nowhere for the whole summer. So we kept them occupied. Neighborly duty and all.
Hal - I WANT that job.
Bo'sun, I would arm wrestle you for that job! LOL Baseball mens are some of my faves!
And I decided against the dingie -- not a dramatic enough exit. LOL
The baseball gig sounds sweet too. *fans self* I always pick the wrong jobs.
We could do rock-paper-scissors to see who gets the job. LOL
Or we could all work there. Not that we'd get a whole lot of work done...
Well, I'll volunteer to watch while they're doing their workouts. :)
I'll take towel duty. ;)
Before or AFTER they use them? LOL
Only one entrance to the showers, darlin'. Gotta pass me before and after.
Oh, we need your blurb bit about Lisette. Don't think I'm letting you off the hook. And I want to see a blurb for the wedding one.
And boy did we get away from blurbs. LOL! I want to try to write one for the new WIP. But I need to finish one little thing first.
Okay, Bossy -- um, I mean, Bo'sun! LOL
I think you've seen the wedding blurb -- it was in my query letter.
I'm trying to work on the Lisette one. Seriously. I am. Right now. Oh, look. Turtles. . .
Love the blurbs, makes me want to go buy these books.
I don't know why I was surprised to learn that blurb started out as a made up word, but I was.
Shakespeare made up hundreds of words.
I was going to post my blurb, but I can't find it-argh!
Di
Dead Reckoning! Get the hell off the turtles! They're endangered!
You wanna waterski, get the dolphins ta help out. Geez.
Hellie - Not a chance in hell are you dropping this project! We'll badger ya to hades and back and back again and again and again and again and again!
BTW, Scapegoat...
Here I go and show how naive I am. I thought the authors wrote the blurbs and would use that as a gauge of whether they could write and if I liked the voice!
Jokes on me!
I was reading you!
Dead Reckoning! Get the hell off the turtles! They’re endangered!
You wanna waterski, get the dolphins ta help out. Geez.
I WAS using the dolphins! They're pulling the turtles while I balance on them! LOL (They like it.)
Di, I was amazed at blurb being a made-up word. I couldn't find an explanation of WHY he picked that particular word -- I wish I knew. Like did he hear a sound and picked it for that reason? LOL
The turtle thing reminds me of last week when my kiddo tried to herd a turtle across the street. In the rain. In traffic. Well, two stopped cars. It was hysterical. LOL! She scared the poor thing so badly it did a u-turn and raced under my car. Probably the fastest that turtle ever moved in his life.
I am so going to make her a herding turtles button!
LOL -- the turtle version of the Frogger game!
But bless her heart, it was in the right place!
Working on the blurb but I need to leave work. I'll post from home!
She needs that button. LOL!
I've actually been working on revisions, so I didn't get much blurbitation done. :)
Donna, I owe you big time. Writing this blurb helped me find a title for the new WIP. Something I've been struggling to find.
Here it is, minus the blips. I need Hellie to write those.
INEVITABLE
Once upon a time, Joe Dempsey thought he found “the one” only to find “the one” had no desire to spend the rest of her days on a tiny strip of land at the bottom of the Outer Banks. And Joe had no desire to spend the rest of his days anywhere else. Today, Joe likes his life. He has his boat, his dog and his island – everything he needs. Until the day his brother brings home a fiancé. That’s when Joe’s simple life gets complicated. Two weeks with Melissa stirs up old dreams and new feelings. Feelings Joe has no business entertaining.
Melissa Chandler is a people pleaser. Her entire life has been about doing what makes everyone else happy. Her grandparents, her friends, and her fiancé have been making her decisions for so long, Melissa isn’t sure what she wants anymore. Until an innocent trip to meet her fiancé’s family brings her face to face with a man who makes her want all sorts of things. Things she’s not supposed to want at all.
With Lucas called back to the city, Melissa and Joe find themselves spending more and more time together. Alone. By the time Lucas returns, lines have been crossed, promises broken, and heartbreak is inevitable.
My definition of Amanda Wilson is: An asshat who has a soft spot for douche bags.
Sounds like one of my DS’s ex girlfiends.
Funny, If you know you know ...
Wonderful blog, Donna.
Loved everyone's blurbs.
Hellion yours were Especially Wonderfully clever...
AND Don't even think about abandoning A & E's Story.
Its too late.
You're too good a writer.
And
I wanna Read the friggin thing. So Finsh already!
Bo'sun -- it sounds wicked good! And I'm glad I helped out behind the scenes. It makes me feel a lot more productive today than I thought I was. :)
Sounds like one of my DS’s ex girlfiends
Julie, we missed you! And did you just make up a word -- that last one? It's awesome, and I'm going to use that somewhere. LOL
Sin Says: Never call yourself something you don’t want me to remember for the rest of our natural born lives.
Julie said
Call me Supreme Goddess , SIN.
Or you may use my full title …
Duchess of-the Unattainable Climatic hedonistic Empire Benevolent Auspicious Goddess Supreme
Or D.O.U.C.H.E.B.A.G.S.
for short!
And did you just make up a word — that last one?
Girlfiends? It is Just a rather accurate discription, Donna!
Please. Use it. and dedicate IT to them! LOL
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