The one part I really loath about writing and publishing is writing the blurb for the back of the book. Trying to explain the premise of a book in a few short paragraphs and still make the book sound awesome is difficult. Seriously.
Since the world of publishing is beginning to move past Dystopia and post-apocalyptic novels, I'm probably going to have to self-publish All for Owen. This is fine, because I really love having all that control over the publishing and marketing process. The problem is, the book blurb is such a pain.
After a long Labor Day weekend, and a lot of brain strain, here is my book blurb:
Seventeen-year-old, Jason Lowe thinks he can hide forever in his forgotten neighborhood – pretending like the world had never ended. He is the only one to get the plague and live. At least now he’s immune.
When the masked creatures called Angsts discover Sunset Street, they bring the plague with them and infect most the residents.
The Angsts give the boys of Sunset Street one shot at saving their community – to travel across the barren valley and trade for vaccines. But everything rests on keeping Sunset’s least valuable resident alive, twelve-year-old Owen Rosner.
I'm not a fan of this summary. Really, I think this could be so much better, but I honestly don't know what else to do to make it better, without giving away important pieces to the story.
Any suggestions?
I hate blurbs too. Disclosing the critical, engaging content without spoiling the story makes it extremely difficult. Here is how I would change what you wrote:
ReplyDeleteSeventeen-year-old Jason Lowe thinks he can hide forever in his forgotten neighborhood of Sunset Street – pretending that the world never ended.
When the masked creatures called Angsts discover Jason's neighborhood, they bring a plague with them and infect most of the residents.
The Angsts give the boys of Sunset Street one shot at saving their community, by traveling across the dangerous valley to trade for vaccines. But everything rests on keeping Sunset’s least valuable resident alive, twelve-year-old Owen Rosner.
Brandon, great job reworking this! It's so helpful to have a fresh pair of eyes go over it.
ReplyDelete