Saturday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

THE ART OF THE BOOK BLURB

By: Laurie Schnebly Campbell

What makes people talk about your book before they’ve ever read Page 1?

Well, maybe they remember you from high school and can’t wait to see if they’re featured on page 28.

Or maybe they heard the publisher paid a billion-dollar advance to get your manuscript.

Or maybe they saw that Josh Brolin and Jessica Alba agreed to co-star when it’s also released as a movie on Publication Day.

But aside from news like that, pretty much the ONLY thing that gets people talking is word of mouth.

We’ve all heard (or read) comments like:

“I’ve already pre-ordered that one.”

“I hear it’s a great book, can’t wait to get it.”

“It looks really good; I was reading the blurb.”

Ah, the blurb.

While we might have no control over our publisher’s budget, much less over movie stars, we CAN control the blurb.

Most people would rather face dragons.

If that sounds like you, you’re sure not alone. Even writers who are naturally gifted at self-promotion – and, boy, don’t we envy them? – find it tough to condense their fabulous book into 50 words.

Which is easy to understand. If you had to condense your entire life into 50 words, where would you even start?

Getting just 50 words to sum up everything that’s great about a story you’ve spent the past however-many months on can be every bit as challenging.

So that’s why it helps to think like an advertising copywriter.

. . .

Read the full article HERE!

~*~

If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

1. The Art of the Book Blurb | Writers In The Storm http://ow.ly/MZUf4
2. Have You Found Your Voice Yet? http://ow.ly/MZVhy #amwriting #writetip
3. Giving a Protagonist a Hidden Motivation | Writing Is Hard Work http://ow.ly/MZVqU
4. Evaluating your computer backup strategy - Unclutterer http://ow.ly/MZVHV
5. The Epic Guide to Setting Your Story (with a free breakdown questionnaire) | She's Novel http://ow.ly/MZVQp
6. 50 Things to Tweet About: Tip #49 of 52 Ways to Market Your Book - Author Marketing Experts, Inc. http://ow.ly/N04io
7. The Power of Pre-Orders • Ryan Casey http://ow.ly/N0CGf
8. Understanding Writing Advice | The Editor's Blog http://ow.ly/N0CUh
9. Spellbind Your Readers With Realistic Magic - WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™ http://ow.ly/N0CXv
10. Writers On The Move: Tips on Writing Suspense Stories for Children, Part 2 http://ow.ly/N0D0S
11. Revolver v. Pistol: Do You Know The Difference? http://ow.ly/N0D5t
12. Experiences: How to Stand Out in a New Age of Marketing Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/N0D9R
13. Amazon Pays Thousands A Year To This Self-Published Writer | The Passive Voice | http://ow.ly/N0Dhp
14. The Definitive Guide to Pricing Your Book | Wise Ink's Blog for Indie Authors about Self-Publishing http://ow.ly/N0DoH
15. How to Promote Your Book like a Boss on Facebook with Jill Bennett | Romance University http://ow.ly/N0DrG
16. Audiobook Samples Now Available on Goodreads | Ink, Bits, & Pixels http://ow.ly/N0Duv
17. First Person Plural: Sharing Your Stories: Beyond the Book http://ow.ly/N0DyH
18. Alexandra Sokoloff: Story Elements checklist http://ow.ly/N0DCO #amwriting
19. Writing a Personal Essay: 8 Common Mistakes to Avoid http://ow.ly/N0DIj
20. Kidlit · Generic Description http://ow.ly/N0DLL
21. Novel Rocket: Building Believable Characters http://ow.ly/N0DPT
22. Do Your Readers Know You or Your Book Exist? http://ow.ly/N0DSU

Happy writing and running, Kathy