Being able to write a good blurb for your book is an important skill to have, whether its for your website, a query to an editor or agent, or for your selfpublishing book. Personally, i found the service excellent, the book arrived on time and my daughter is delighted. A simple outline for writing a killer book blurb ink and. I want to show you how to write an irresistible book blurb to sell your book. The book was released in the united kingdom on september 3, 2001 and in north america on april 15, 2002, under the alternate title point blank in 2003, the novel was listed on the bbcs survey the big read. Please type your blurb in ms or open office word, print it, and bring it to class on thursday. Point blanc is the second book in the alex rider series, written by british author anthony. Like the sound of the book based on the blurb on the back what is a blurb. An easytofollow, practical guide to writing the best blurb to sell your selfpublished book, provided by ya author sarah juckes of completelynovel. All you have to do is provide me with some information and i will write one undeniably catchy blurb. Examples of blurbs to share in your classroom to help students get a sense of a book before choosing one. Writing a short book blurb is not only fun, but great practice for writing promotional copy of any kind. Many writers find writing book blurbs really difficult.
Point blanc is the second book in the alex rider series, written by british author anthony horowitz. Your book blurb must be wellwritten to get a readers attention. Most run several paragraphs, but some publishers want them shorter or in a special format so be sure to check with your publishers guidelines before you begin work. Introduce the situation and characters in the case of a memoir, you are likely to be the main character. Your book blurb aka online description, like your dating profile. Put simply, being concise is hard, and being concise about something you know insideandout can seem downright impossible. Then, write 12 additional sentences that explain the plot of the story in a general way. Make sure you supply me with a general synopsis as well. The editorcopywriter producing the blurb will be an experienced professional with many years of experience in editing and the writing skill to put together good copy for your work or an experienced copy writer. Your blurb will be an important part of your marketing.
Jun 12, 2015 the back cover book blurb can be the hardest part as an author condensing your book into a few, short paragraphs in a way that makes your book impossible to overlook. Its safe to say that a wellwritten blurb is absolutely essential to your poetry books overall success and reputation. They only found one similarity to link the billionaires,that they childrens attended the. Fully modifiable, these templates come with different color palettes to harmonize content and. A simple outline for writing a killer book blurb september 25, 2016 september 25, 2016 kaitlin hillerich in my last post, i mentioned that ive been working on a novella and shared some reasons why you should write one of your own. Alex rider is at school and witnesses a man called skoda. Creating a book blurb, while still technically writing, is closer to a science than an art. Many authors find that one of the hardest parts of writing a book, is cramming their 80,000word novel into a descriptive 250word blurb. It is about a caterpillar that is really hungry and all the things that he is eating. Point blanc anthony horowitz author alex rider sherlock. Make sure your book blurb reads like those that are selling well. I have created this resource to tie in with a greater inschool development on reading.
Second book doesnt leave behind too many trace for the first book. Kinnells landmark the book of nightmares was published in 1971. To write a good blurb, you have to make it short and exciting, yet relevant. This is because writers dont really understand what a blurb is meant to do. How to write an effective blurb for a selfpublished book. Maybe this story will remind you of a time that you were. See more ideas about writing, writing a book, nonfiction books. Start reading point blank alex rider book 2 on your kindle in under a minute. Writing a book blurb is a little like online dating, i suppose. The blurb that appears on the back cover of your book, and on your amazon page, will either. In this article, i offer 10 steps for writing a book along with 10 bonus steps to getting your book done. Youll also find some useful links to websites with further information. It is the second book in the alex rider series, and centers around a teenager who goes undercover at a prep school to investigate suspicious murders. Ask the class if they know why blurbs are written for book covers.
Point blank is a young adult novel by anthony horowitz. Amazon might allow 4,00o characters in the book description box, but nobody wants to wade through a long blurb. At some point, anthony horowitz stopped writing tongueincheek novels with more puns than a james bond movie, dark humor, and an almost dickensian absurdity to them. Stellenbosch from point blanc and has dinner with her at a hotel in france. How to write a book blurb in 4 steps the opening of your blurb has to be incredibly precise and dynamic, says editor rebecca heyman for a lot of firsttime authors, i think theres an instinct to make sure readers understand everything that happened in the book s universe before the beginning of the actual story. Every blurb needs a standout, meat, and an emotional payoff. In this post, we tell you how to write a book blurb in five easy steps.
Brooks posted on march 19, 20 december 6, 2014 categories staff articles tags bios for authors, example of a bad biography, good bio, how to write a bio blurb, how to write a biography, how to write a good bio blurb, tips for authors, tools for authors, writing a biography 30 comments on lets talk about me. Blurbs are brief summaries of what a reader will find on the other end of a hyperlink. You know, the ones that readers use to choose the book they want to read next or throw on the pile beside the bed where, among the. You have to invest everything you are into creating an important p. In 2007, it was adapted into a graphic novel, written by antony johnston, and. These may be used for an interview, a book jacket, or even an event program in which you are a presenter. Investigations into the accidental deaths of two of the worlds most powerful men have revealed just one link.
Writing a book blurb for your back cover, and other promotional uses, is one of the hardest steps for many authors. Writing a book blurb is harder than you think, and is an excellent way of getting yourself noticed. He started writing novels filled with action, suspense, realism, and little to no humor whatsoever. The hard part of writing a book isnt getting published.
Its worth noting that the abna award asks for a 300 word pitch, which makes it a more elaborate book blurb. Work by convincing readers to take a chance on it, or. In sextons blurb, one cant help but hear an additional echo of plaths the blood jet is poetry. This is a worksheet intended to be used for planning to write a blurb for a novel study. A blurb is a brief summary of your life and work experience. Choose save as and give your book an original filename. Nicholas rossis has a wonderfully informative share about turning your facebook author page into a new sales funnel for your books. How to write a blurb for your novel peter reys blog. When you need to write a blurb for a movie, book, or other project, start by writing a clever and catchy hook that introduces some of the characters and setting of the topic. Blurbs are the second most important selling tool you have for your book, so. The series is aimed primarily at teens and young adults. I have seen nonfiction blurbs that are more about the author than the content of the book and i have seen fiction blurbs that are a synopsis of the story and even tell the reader the ending. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Have you ever read a blurb that tells you the entire plot of the novel and you have put.
Alex found himself infiltrating one of the most elite and famous academy point blanc academy. You should have the following goals and ideas in mind. Amazon allstar author in kindle unlimited, amazon bestselling author, nominated for an audie award for best romance 2018, featured in audibls national television campaign, nominated by audible for. How to write a killer book synopsis aka back blurb or summary duration. Introduce the situation and characters in the case of. Read this article closely, follow its advice, and watch your career reap the rewards. The series comprises eleven novels, as well as six graphic novels, seven short stories, and a supplementary book. Write to the point is the best available guide to effective writing of nonfiction. Anthony has written over 40 books including the bestselling teen spy series alex rider. Alex need to figure out about the dead of two billionaires. Have something to say, and say what you mean to say as simply as you can. How to write a blurb to sell your book writing tips. Writers tips writing the blurb and facebook author pages. You must make your selfdescription blurb as interesting as possible.
The 5 core elements of a book blurb and why you should. On taking up writing it had not once occurred to me that one of the tasks of being a writer might be to come up with those concise, quippy phrases on the covers of books. It seems a simple enough task to write a paragraph about oneself, and simpler still for a real writer. They only found one similarity to link the billionaires,that they childrens attended the same school. Those are bill stotts most important points, and for all those readers who know that this simple advice may be difficult to follow, he offers encouragement on such topics as. Youve snagged a prospective date by your alluring cover, so now youve got to show theres more than just surface appeal. Writing it out fortunately for the fiction writers out there, writing a book blurb for a memoir is incredibly similar to writing a description for a fictional story. Ppt what is a book blurb powerpoint presentation free. It matters not only what a blurb actually says but who said it and when. The blurb of your book is the second thing a potential reader will look at after the coverso take the time to get it right. You want to try to attract the attention of your future employer. This is a simple activity in which you cut up the book cover from its blurb and the children have to rematch them. A master of the spy thriller, anthony is the only writer authorized by both the arthur conan doyle and ian fleming estates to write.
To help prevent you from falling into this unfortunate group, weve put together a few tips that should help you write a winning book blurb, whether its for the latest fantasy novel or for a nonfiction selfhelp guide. The original edition of point blanc first published 2001 by walker books ltd. Alex rider is a series of spy novels by anthony horowitz about a teenage spy named alex rider. A blurb is the book description you find on the back of a book or online to describe a books contents. Smithers, who works for mi6, gives alex a few devices in case of an emergency while on his mission. How to sell your manuscript to publishers and your indie book to readers writers craft 19 kindle edition by hall, rayne. It can be a daunting task, so heres pins giving you a step by step approach for creating your fiction or nonfiction book blurb. Fail to engage your target readers in that sense, a good blurb is anything but subjective. If youd like for me to read the entire book instead of just. Ideally, you should put the 150 word blurb on the back cover and the 250 300 word description in the amazon book description field.
How is it that a writer can write a story spanning tens of thousands of words but stumble at a 250300 word book blurb describing it. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading writing book blurbs and synopses. The first novel, stormbreaker, was released in the united kingdom in 2000 and was adapted into a film in 2006 starring alex pettyfer. Review the tips for starter templates to get started. Yet, simple though it seems, many writers have difficulty writing a bio blurb that does not have the side effect of producing heavy.
How to sell your manuscript to publishers and your. After completing his first mission with mi6, teenage spy alex rider is sent on another quest. No doubt, for your book, having an intriguing blurb is as important as having a great cover, an intriguing title and your story professionally edited thats why, if youre serious about your writing, you should devote a bit of time to learn how to write a blurb in fact, if the cover, well, the thumbnail version of it, is essential to catch a perspective readers eye, then its the. Below you will find a link to her post on writing the blurb, a great read for all authors. Make your characters feel real to the audience number of books published. The book won the 2004 maryland blackeyed susan book award for grade 69. On back covers of books there is usually a summary which attempts to get the reader interested. Every blurb writer needs to know their audience and what the reader is looking to buy. Point blanc is the second book in the alex rider series, written by british author, anthony horowitz. Lets give you some guidance about what makes a good blurb, and a great one. Do you write your own, or get someone else to do it. Aim for a word count in the vicinity of 150 words 14 paragraphs. This article gives you simple steps to follow to write a book blurb, and gives examples of both fiction and nonfiction back cover blurbs.
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