Last week I finished reading Fiction Blurbs by Phoebe J. Ravencraft and Bryan Cohen. The hardest thing in writing is distilling a three-hundred-page book into a couple of paragraphs that will entice a reader to give it a chance.
This book was just my kind of practical, easy-to-follow guide for writing back cover copy, query letters, or any type of marketing blurb. It started with an overview of the entire blurb and then broke each sentence down by chapter. Yes, every sentence in the book has a chapter devoted to it with specific goals, word choices, and examples.
The first sentence of the blurb is the hook, that one sentence that will draw readers in. I started practicing my blurbs and wrote ten for one book. I kept this up through several books. But which sentences would most appeal to readers? I had a couple of favorites, but when you write them yourself, it’s hard to know if others will like them.
I decided to test them on my friend Jocelyn and created a quick survey. She immediately got back to me with her favorites. I would love to know which ones you like best. There are three surveys, one for each book. Click on one or all of them—I’d appreciate the feedback.
The craziest part of this is how much fun it was once I started. A chore that morphs into something fun is my favorite kind of project.
