Blurbs Sell Books

Today on the show, BPF trainer and writer John Phythyon and copywriting guru Abigail Dunard tackle an author-submitted blurb to dissect it and understand how to write killer sales copy.

To watch video of this episode, view it on Facebook at Best Page Forward.

Here are this episode’s read-along selections:

Blurb:

Liberty 2041 by Carolyn Feder Gold

A fighter, a force of nature seems to describe her best, but in reality, Jesica is anxious, insecure, and self-preoccupied. Her disguise, an inflated ego, is her worst enemy, except, of course, for the nefarious World Chancellor. Will she dare show her vulnerability to get rid of him, saving the world from a morass of toxicity or will she cave in and disappear into anonymity?

Targeted Takeaway:

Longtime listeners know we emphasize character development over plot. Readers identify with characters, not the stories surrounding them, and therefore a blurb needs to focus on that protagonist’s emotional arc through the early part of the novel. This helps readers identify with their problems and root for them to conquer them.

However, we do need to understand the world in which the person exists. For an emotional conflict to resonate, we must know why it matters to the character. In other words, we need stakes. Something has to be at risk for the MC, or your deep character study won’t matter. The protag simply exists in a white room – blank, featureless, isolated. We need to get them out of the White Room and into the world.

While we will always tell you the plot doesn’t matter, you have to give us enough of it that we understand the stakes for your protagonist. If readers see what your MC stands to lose, they’ll want to buy to find out what happens.

And that makes you the winner.

Today on the show, BPF Editor-in-Chief and Blurb Whisperer Abigail Dunard are back at it with another deep dive into the scintillating sea of book descriptions!

To watch video of this episode, view it on Facebook at Best Page Forward.

Here are this episode’s read-along selections:

Blurb:

Mr. Darcy & Elizabeth: What Time Has Done: a Pride and Prejudice Variation Romance by Alyssa Jefferson

“Do not refuse me now. I have waited so long.”

Elizabeth Bennet has lived a life of deprivation and penance for six and a half years. After refusing the pompous marriage proposal of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, she embarked on a tour of enjoyment with her aunt and uncle—only to discover upon her return that scandal and tragedy had torn her family apart. After the dust settled, she found herself the governess of Charlotte Collins’s family, fixed in Longbourn in the employ of its new master. Without fortune or reputation, connections or resources, Elizabeth had only her resilient spirit and lively mind to keep her from sinking into regret and misery.

When a chance visit to Rosings Park throws Elizabeth again into the path of Mr. Darcy, she expects him to be angry with her—or at the very least, indifferent to her. She is pleasantly surprised to find that he is neither. His manners to her are everything a gentleman’s ought to be, and she begins to wonder if she could have been happy with him, after all. However, the point is moot. If the thought of marrying her when she was poor was enough to mortify Mr. Darcy six and a half years ago, how could so proud a man ever condescend to marry a governess?

This is the first book in the What Time Has Done Series.

Today on the show, BPF Editor-in-Chief and Blurb Whisperer Abigail Dunard are back at it with another deep dive into the scintillating sea of book descriptions!

To watch video of this episode, view it on Facebook at Best Page Forward.

Here are this episode’s read-along selections:

Blurb:

Steam Team by Mary Wernke

Another year, another school- Sophia Clark would never fit in. After all, she liked getting good grades, but not loads of makeup and hair gel. And, she definitely wasn't boy crazy.

Thirteen is a difficult age for everyone, but perhaps doubly so for Sophie. Her mom is a local celebrity and her dad is something of a hermit from Nebraska.

Nebraska?

Happy to get away for an end-of-summer vacation, Sophie is surprised to meet a new girl with, well, issues. But she also fins herself in a new role as a protector when her mom is suspected of murder and her new friend becomes desperately ill.

Today on the show, author Jim Heskett and copywriting guru Abigail Dunard tackle an author-submitted blurb to dissect it and understand how to write killer sales copy.

To watch video of this episode, view it on Facebook at Best Page Forward.

Bryan Cohen joins us today for episode 100! We recap the Top 10 targeted tips from all 100 episodes!

Want to submit your own blurb for consideration? Fill out the form at www.bestpageforward.net/podcast or send an email to [email protected]