Blurb!
Sorry, no, it wasn’t something I ate.
I just can’t help it. I’m blurbing all the time.
"Awesome book!" <- that’s a blurb.
"A KISS IS NOT JUST A KISS … NOR IS A SIGH JUST A SIGH …" <- that’s another blurb.
"Amber, a 24-year-old sassy and slightly plump woman, reluctantly agrees to model half-nude for Joe, a talented young painter, but suddenly she faces a danger much higher than losing her heart: Joe risks execution for a crime he didn’t commit." <- a longer blurb, which, in fact, caused this mail, and I’ll tell you why in a moment.
No, I’m not offended
As you might know, I’m writing fiction… Again. Old dream, old story… Did it all the time when I was a kid, but then stopped after high-school, because they totally zapped my creative abilities.
I’ve been studying the art of writing fiction since 1994. I’ve bought many courses and books about that topic, and I feel that I’ve gotten far now thanks to a course by Tina Adams called Write a Romance. It’s endorsed by none less than Leighann Dobbs, bestselling author of a ton of great cozy mysteries. http://writearomance.com/
At the end of the course, Tina suggest that we write a blurb for our novel, and that’s what I did.
A friend and I were talking about fiction writing, so I sent him my blurb, and you know what he said???
"Not to be nasty but…"
Of course, we all know that those phrases starting with "not to be" ALWAYS are exactly meant to be…
So I asked what he meant by that, and John replied:
"As for my comment about your blurb I’m sorry if I offended."
He didn’t. I’m rarely offended.
I just wanted to know if he thought it was boring, too sugared or what.
John continued:
"What I was trying to get across is that when I’m deciding whether or not to read a book the first thing I read is the blurb. If it grabs me I read the book. If it doesn’t I don’t. It’s as simple as that.
So the book blurb has to read like a scene from the book."
What Is a Blurb
Does a blurb have to read like a scene from the book?
I wasn’t so sure, so I checked Wiki, who told me some interesting things about blurbs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blurb
You should read it. The history of the word "Blurb" isn’t boring.
What is a blurb today?
According to Wikipedia, "A blurb on a book or a film can be any combination of quotes from the work, the author, the publisher, reviewers or fans, a summary of the plot, a biography of the author or simply claims about the importance of the work."
In other words: My blurb is a blurb. Nah! 😛
Fiction Week
This week we’re going to talk more about fiction, because real human beings like one of my friends make $40K quarterly writing fiction.
Oh, and because it’s filled with prestige to write fiction.
"What do you do for a living?"
"I write books."
"Oh, really? What kind of books."
"Books about how to use a computer."
"Ah, okay, I thought it was real books like novels…"
Yeah, to be a real author, you HAVE to write fiction. Or have it written for you.
But like I said, much more about fiction this week 🙂
Best regards,
P.S. With one last look over her shoulder, Britt turned her head so her long pony tail whirled around and almost strangled her. She waved goodbye and left the room.