Blurbs are from Beelzebub

Why did you buy that book anyway?

My guess is the first thing you noticed was the cover. Something in the art caught your eye. It conveyed the type of story that you didn’t even know you wanted to find.

And then you spotted the title. It tickled the imagination enough that you picked the book up.

And then what did you do?

Oh, my friend, you read the back of the book. I know you did, and I don’t blame you! Perhaps you were disgusted because it was just one-line reviews from people trying to convince you how wonderful the book was. Perhaps you were exasperated because the text told you how groundbreaking the book was, but nothing about the story itself.

Why did you turn to the back of the book? Why, you wanted to know what the book was about. You wanted to read the blurb.

And that, my friend, may be the hardest thing I have ever had to write in my life.

Write an 80,000 word novel? Oh yeah. I can do that, and I have!

Tell you what it’s about? Yeah, that’s difficult, but I can do that.

But you see, a blurb is not a summary. It’s not a synopsis. A blurb grabs the reader’s attention and tells them why they must read this book. It conveys the tone, the setting, and enough of the plot and characters to make the reader say, “This is something I gotta read.”

Oh, and make sure you do it in a few hundred words, too.

And I am convinced blurbs are Beelzebub’s punishment for writers who think they actually have talent. Oh ho! You can spin a story, yes, but can you tell me what it’s about without sounding like an idiot? Of course not! Slap some words on a page, my friend, but you’ll fail this task as surely as Sisyphus fails his mountain climbing challenge.

I know many writers fail at this. There’s a reason that publishing houses often employ people that aren’t authors to put together ad copy.

And last night I sat and agonized over three blurbs for an upcoming trilogy.

My friends, this was not an evening I relished.

But… it’s done. It’ll have to be. We sent the blurbs off to our cover artist.

And that means that within the next week or two… we might be able to share some covers with you. And some news.

And maybe… hopefully… some blurbs.

Oh, and in the meantime? The next time you browse through some bookshelves, pick up a book and absorb the blurb. Take a moment to thank someone for the artistry on display there. It took work to get those words on that cover!