Kathryn stocketts debut novel which has already been turned into a saccharine hollywood movie explores the relationship between white. A book blurb should be a fair representation of the style of the book. Blurbs are recommendations that go on the cover and sometimes the inside pages of your book. I have two ebooks indiepublished, and i quickly realized that i needed help beguiling the reading public. When writing a novel, there are few selling tools as important as a solidly written book blurb. Use the rotate button to change the orientation of your text. Sep 11, 2019 in between, a katie parker production.
Mar 26, 2020 you wrote the book and then edited the book. Introduce your main character s at its core, novels are a storytelling medium. Before you shop, find a fair to give a portion of your purchase back to a school. Then you found someone interested in publishing it and edited the whole thing again. Back cover blurbs for books tips for wrting blurbs that. How to get blurbs for your book from famous authors. Black maids raise white children, but arent trusted not to steal the silver is the first line that you read on the blurb of the help and this rings through not only in the book but in history too. Check out the incredible book blurbs that local kids have submitted. This article has helpful approaches to writing back cover blurbs. Writing the blurb for your selfpublished book is one of the privileges of being an indie author. We get so caught up in delivering an enthralling story or a big idea.
The help is set in the early 1960s in jackson, mississippi, and told primarily from the firstperson perspectives of three women. Aug 08, 2009 examples of blurbs to share in your primary classroom. Jul 19, 20 a useful way to help keep it mysterious is to keep it short. 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 self help guide. Aibileen clark, minny jackson, and eugenia skeeter phelan. I am not sure which was better the audio book or the kindle read. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. How to get book blurbs, endorsements, and testimonials from. But, in our opinion, there are few better ways to figure out how to do something than by seeing how the professionals do it. All stories involve characters who are in a certain setting at a certain. Also, by looking at blurbs, we can identify what makes our favourite novels blurbs work well, and perhaps help us write better blurbs ourselves, as occasionally publishers request a blurb for a submission instead of sample chapters. The story is about african americans working in white households in jackson, mississippi, during. The space on the back cover of a book for blurbs, which are brief promotional paragraphs, is one of the more valuable spots for book promotion.
They assure readers that someone is vouching for the quality of the book, even if only in the form of a snappy oneliner on its cover. Its important that this information matches everywhere that your book is displayed. Kathryn stockett takes risks by portraying blacks the. In a way, getting blurbs is worse than everything that. A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. Ive come up with this easy acronym to help you create a book blurb. But, if you have caught a potential readers attention, the blurb is what will sell your bookand convert readers.
Nov 11, 2015 how to title your book and its description are two we have covered, but possibly the very best way to do this other than a good book cover is through the use of blurbs. Then ensure you incorporate them into your back book jacket blurb. Im going to teach you a free and easy secret to getting blurbs for your selfpublished book. How to get blurbs for your poetry collection writers digest. Encouraged by a new york editor, she decides to write a book about the. The book is narrated by three very different women. Basic blurbcover copyproduct description for fiction or nonfiction.
Great for volunteers, who can use the info to help students find books. When it comes to book blurbs, by shakespeare, he was right. Lets look at a few bestselling blurbs and see what we can learn from their successes. Share these short summaries with students to generate excitement.
Jones is a wonderful story about a young girl in foster care who is trying to figure out where she fits in. But its even better to get blurbs from famous authors, or authors of other books. If you are looking for someone to write a fresh blurb for your poetry book, you must hire her. Jan 14, 2012 black maids raise white children, but arent trusted not to steal the silver is the first line that you read on the blurb of the help and this rings through not only in the book but in history. The 5 core elements of a book blurb and why you should know. Considering theres no rulebook to follow, writers are often confused about how to request and obtain blurbs. You have one shot at introducing your story to your reader make it count. Unlike oblivious elizabeth and vicious hilly, skeeter is at the verge of enlightenment. This is my second time working with authoreva and she has given me another outstanding experience. Sign in help center english us deutsch espanol francais italiano nederlands portugues do brasil. This will help you in the promotional activities for your book as well. Many authors write the book blurb as an afterthought.
Blurb create, print, and sell professionalquality photo. Draw another text container on the spine of the book and enter the title and author information there, as well. How to write the perfect blurb examples, formula, opening. When youre refining your books blurb, there is a lot you can learn from guides and expert advice. The help is a 2009 novel by american author kathryn stockett. Learn about a lot of books in a short amount of time, even when youre on the go. Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep.
Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dustjacket of a book, and are now found on web portals and news websites. Before writing your back book blurb, choose 35 of the bestselling books in your genre and make a note of stylistic similarities. Add them to announcements, share them during class, or play them at your book fair. The curious history of book blurbs and why theyre still around those snippets of praise on book covers have been around for over 150 years at least. Entwined by heather dixon wallwork, the near witch by victoria schwab, the iron daughter by julie kagawa, eve by anna care. A book blurb is a quote from that you put on your book cover or in some other form of media that says something positive about you or your book, and come from someone else. Getting great blurbs for your book can help you catch the attention of new readers, but it can often be hard to know how and where to start. Minny, a black maid unable to keep a job due to her hot head, aibileen, another black maid. Unlocking the power of emotions to help our kids, ourselves, and our society thrive brackett ph. How to write an irresistible book blurb in 5 easy steps.
This article gives you simple steps to follow to write a book blurb, and gives examples of both fiction and nonfiction back cover blurbs. Book blurbs is designed to help you navigate the sea of literature available to your children. Setting conflict objective possible solution emotional promise. Author confessions how to write the perfect blurb for your book novel 1 it took me about a week to get it right. But recall the words of polonius, notorious blatherer himselfbrevity is the soul of wit. I downloaded writing book blurbs and synopses out of genuine need. Type the books title, a subtitle if there is one, and any authors names.
I go with my gut on blurbs because most of what i want from a blurb are the big, fat emotions the stuff that slaps the reader in the face. Kathryn stocketts debut novel, the help, is about crossing lines. Chose from several free tools or use adobe indesign or adobe lightroom. Writing a book blurb for your back cover, and other promotional uses, is one of the hardest steps for many authors.
The help, kathryn stockett the help is a 2009 novel by american author kathryn stockett. A strong, descriptive blurb is easily one of the most important and powerful selling tools for your book. Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step. Katie is prepared to sabotage her chances in her new foster home before they decide to send her back to the orphanage. Whereas novels focus on creating intrigue and use blurbs that attempt to lure in the reader, blurbs for nonfiction books need to take a different approach. May 06, 2014 while it might not be easy to describe your 50,000 word epic saga in a few lines, writing a brief blurb does force you to consider and explain in a few lines what the main theme of your book is and why your book is great. Extended product description great for a book thats part of a series, anthology, omnibus set, or boxed set super short blurbs available for retailers such as smashwords. The other part is the right tone funny, serious, suspenseful, etc. Once your title and cover have drawn the reader in, the blurb is what is going to make the difference between a missed opportunity and a sale. She took my poetry samples and current book blurb and wrote something amazing. How to write a blurb for your nonfiction book blurb blog.
I knew i needed to shorten my blurbs, but every time i tried it, the new blurb lost its punch. If youve written a book, you need to market and promote it so people will actually buy it. Fun animation and voices to bring stories to life in short videos. The help is most definitely on my short list for all time favorite books. The fruition of this project gives the book its narrative arc, but elsewhere the novel is a complex, immaculately structured but tremendously. However, this task typically comes just when youre at your least able.
Jan 14, 2019 how long did it take you to write the blurb of your book. That is probably quite intimidating to someone whos just written a few thousand. Reviews to help you choose picture books, childrens literature, young adult fiction, fiction and nonfiction. Writing a short book blurb is not only fun, but great practice for writing promotional copy of any kind. They may or may not help sell some readers on your book, but theyre a publishing convention. Writing a book blurb is harder than you think, and is an excellent way of getting yourself noticed. Nov 11, 2016 i decided to have a look at a range of wellknown childrens books to see how they sell themselves. Create, print, and sell professionalquality photo books, magazines, trade books, and ebooks with blurb.
Now you have to write copy for the back and, if you dont have a publisher that takes care of it, get some blurbs. Follow these five pointers and see if it works for you. Childrens book blurbs geo ashton a blog for aspiring. Aibileen is a maid who takes care of children and cleans.
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