So
you’ve sold your book. Now you need to write a blurb. It will be an important
part of your marketing. Its function is to get a reader’s attention and
hopefully entice them into purchasing your book.
A
few tips for creating a GOOD blurb.
1.
Make
first sentence enticing, clever, and creative.
2.
Keep
the blurb short. (< 200 words)
3.
Cut
out sub-plots.
4.
Introduce
the story’s setting.
5.
Add
tension to make it dramatic.
6.
Stay
true to your voice.
7.
Try
not to mention more than two character’s names, and promise your audience a
read they won’t forget.
8.
Never
give away spoilers.
9.
Stay
away from clichés.
Blurbs
from my books:
YA
Dystopian – RATGIRL: Song of the Viper
Sixteen-year-old Jax Stone is an expert at
surviving in a dangerous city, where rats rival the homeless for food and
shelter, but she’s an amateur at fighting the immoral mayor when he orders the
kidnapping of her little brother. Desperation demands she quickly master the
role of courageous opponent.
Jax disguises herself as a world-renowned
exterminator and barters with the mayor for her brother’s freedom. To fulfill
the contract she lures the rats to their death in the toxic river with her
mesmerizing singing in exchange for gold to pay passage for her brother and
herself to the New Continent. But when the corrupt mayor
reneges on their agreement, Jax has no choice but to stage another daring coup.
She draws upon her musical
gift once again and this time leads not only her brother, but all of the city’s
children to safety, with the help of a ragtag band of friends and a handsome
stranger, who holds the secret to her past and the key to her heart.
YA Fantasy - Scheherazade's Secret
The age-old Arabian Nights tale has a new twist in this
fast-paced novelette. When a beggar girl in the streets of Parsa discovers the
royal prince is returning to the city, she wishes to be his wife, but her wish
gets twisted. She and her younger sister find themselves in the harem of his
father, as the latest of a long line of brides that never live to see the day
after the marriage. Herazade must think fast to save both her sister and
herself, so she relies on a mysterious genie in the dented, old lamp.
MG
Historical Fiction – Twice Betrayed
The
thread of friendship is stretched to the
breaking point…
With
the spark of independence crackling in Colonial Philadelphia, Perdy Rogers
chafes under the strict rule of her Quaker grandmother and the endless duties
of her apprenticeship in Betsy Ross’s upholstery shop. So when her best friend
shares a secret and invites Perdy to help plan an elopement, she’s thrilled to
be with her friends again. But Perdy has no idea that one favor will unravel
the stable fabric of her life and involve her in a tangled web of deceit, lies
and treachery.
Disguised
as boys, three girls head to the river to put Perdy’s plan into action, but
only two return. When the third, a young milliner’s assistant, is found drowned
with gold coins sewn into her hems, coded spy letters in her bodice, and a
journal implicating another sewing apprentice as her co-conspirator, all eyes
turn to Perdy Rogers. But she’s no spy!
Accused of treason, she struggles to prove her
innocence with the help of a handsome stranger and learns the hard way that
freedom, whether an individual’s or a country’s, comes at a cost.
Picture
Book – Daddy, Can You See the Moon? (COMING in 2018)
A young
boy and his soldier dad share special moments by looking at the moon each
night. But when Dad comes home a wounded warrior, his son discovers it’s the
power of love that kept them connected all along, and he plays a major part in
his father’s recovery.
Picture Book – Rock Star Santa
It’s Christmas
Eve and children await Santa’s arrival, only they’re not tucked snuggly in
their beds dreaming of sugarplums. They’re stomping and clapping at
a Christmas concert with a rowdy reindeer band, where Santa is the “ROCK
STAR.” It’s an original, modern day retelling of a Christmas classic, but what
happens on this night before Christmas is rockin’.
If
you’d like me to give you personal feedback on your book blurb, you can send it
to me at info@gayleckrause.com
Happy Writing!
