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Just like synopses and
query letters, you need to learn how to
write book blurbs, taglines, teasers and
ads that will sell your romance to your
potential readers.
At first
you might be inclined to think these are
easy since they are short, snappy bits of
writing. But it’s just this brevity that
makes them much harder to write, in my
opinion, than writing the whole
novel.
Let me
preface here again with the fact that I am
published by small, independent presses.
The experience with a larger, "New York"
style publishing house may be different.
But with a smaller press, the author takes
on a larger role in the sale and promotion
of his or her book. One of the expectations
is that the author will provide book
blurbs.
The book
blurb is what you’ll find on the back of
any book you pick up. In general it is two
or three paragraphs that sum up the story
without giving away the whole plot. It’s
the little taste of the treat that you hope
will entice the reader to devour the whole
thing. In your blurb you want to introduce
the hero and heroine and give a simple plot
setup. You will then want to touch on some
of what they must go through in the story,
and what it is they each have to lose.
Finish up with a snappy summation that
could include your
tagline.
It would
be worth it to make a trip to the library
and sit down with a selection of books in
your genre. Study the blurbs on the back
and ask yourself these questions: How did
the author introduce the hero and heroine?
How much of the plot did the author reveal?
What buzz words did the author use to grab
the readers attention? How did the author
establish the tone of the book in the
blurb?
The
following is my book blurb for my novel,
Big Fat Lies.
"Teacher
Sofie Peterson, a big beautiful woman,
embarks on a Caribbean cruise with her best
friend Libby Washington. Together they are
celebrating Sofie’s divorce from a man who
left her—for another man! Without Sofie's
knowledge, Libby spins a lie about them to
impress businessman Simon Landrich and
worse yet, sets Sofie up with Simon's
associate Wallace
Henderson.
Also on
board is Finn Baxter, an ex-cop private eye
hot on the trail of a con man with whom he
has a personal vendetta. He has plans for
the con man—which he keeps under wraps—but
he didn’t plan on meeting a feisty red-head
and losing his heart. Sofie and Finn try to
resist their growing attraction, while
Wallace ardently pursues
Sofie.
When
accidents begin to happen to Sofie, it
isn't clear who is the perpetrator. Finn,
who always seems to be on the scene of the
accidents? Wallace, who may be trying to
scare Sofie into his arms? Or fellow
passenger Barbara Shulman, with her
unexplained but obvious hatred of
Sofie?
What is
clear is that a cruise gets complicated
when you start it with a big fat
lie!"
The last
line of my blurb, whittled down to
"A
cruise gets complicated when you start it
with a big fat
lie!",
became my tagline, which I used in
all of my advertising for this book. Think
of the tag line as that memorable one liner
from a commercial on TV. "Good to the last
drop." "So easy, a caveman could do it!" "A
little dab’ll do
it."
Teasers
and spoilers could probably be lumped
together here. The idea of them both is to
tweak the reader’s interest, give them a
small taste of what’s to come with your
book…like a good stripper, tease your
audience to the point they are panting for
more! Skyla Dawn Cameron is an author who
makes good use of teasers and spoilers. She
provides a monthly free e-serial on her
website www.skyladawncameron.com Tied to
the e-serial is a thread on her message
board www.indigochick.conforums3.com where
she has a Spoilerz zone. These spoilers
often lead to intense discussions,
speculation, even some fan-fiction. Check
out this message board to get a good idea
of how to construct effective teasers and
spoilers.
Book ads
can come in many forms these days, the most
recent popular trend being book trailers
which are then posted in places like
YouTube. Like movie trailers, these
mini-films are short, snappy introductions
to your book containing graphics, music and
text. Ideally, they should run around a
minute in length. Like television
commercials, you want to grab the reader
and keep them long enough to sell them on
your book. A long, rambling trailer will
only serve to send them to the fridge.
Think what you do during the long
commercial breaks on tv. For some good
examples of book trailers, go to
www.YouTube.com and search either Skyla
Dawn Cameron or Howard Hopkins. Both
authors have created some compelling promo
ads.
Ads can
also be as simple as a short print or
banner ad that can be posted around the
‘Net and pull people to your site and your
book. Free banner making software is
readily available online and can be found
with a simple Google
search.
Developing your skills at
writing these various types of advertising
for your romance novel, will go a long way
into increasing interest in and sales of
your book.
About the
Author:
Judy
Bagshaw has been published since
2000. Writing romance featuring
full-figured heroines, her publishing
credits include 4 novels, 1
collection of short stories, and
short stories in three anthologies.
She was also part of the writing team
for the Ginn Reading Series, and
Reaching Readers Series, used in many
elementary schools. Retired from
teaching, she writes full-time from
her home in Ontario, Canada. Visit
Judy's
website: www.judybagshaw.com
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