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.
