How to Write an Awesome Book Blurb (Without Losing your Sanity)
What’s the scariest thing in the world to a writer? Is it… editing? Third drafts? OH! OH! I KNOW IT’S PITCHING, RIGHT?! Wrong. It’s the dreaded book blurb. Somehow we can write 50,000-word novels yet when it comes to writing a little paragraph about that novel– well let’s just say we’d rather shave our eyebrows off. So what does a GREAT book blurb look like? And, what does your blurb need in order to catch readers’ attention? Fear no more, dear writer. Because today I’m breaking down two powerhouse blurbs. And from these examples you’ll see that every great blurb needs these 4 things: A summary of your world An introduction to your main characters A brief explanation of the major conflict An intriguing cliffhanger Winning Example Book Blurbs “A world with no hunger. No disease. No war. No misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life– and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control. Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe– a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own. They learn living in a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.” -Scythe by Neal Shusterman —– “In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as...
What is a Character Arc? And Why Does your Character NEED One?
What is a Character Arc? And Why Does your Character NEED one? Click To Tweet Have you ever had a life-changing experience? Did someone or something show you a new side of yourself? Did the experience change your previous ideas, notions, or beliefs? Or, did that experience improve you overall as a person? It doesn’t even have to have been a good experience. A terrible experience can be just as powerful a teacher. The point is, you’ll always remember that moment in your life as the day you forever changed as a person. So how does this relate to our topic? Well, in so many words, your experience gave YOU a character arc. Now, what in the hecksville do I mean by that? Well today, I’m breakin’ down what a character arc IS, how it affects your character and why your character needs an arc of their own. So let’s hop to it! *cracks knuckles* What IS a Character Arc? So, I mentioned a character arc briefly before. But let’s break it down some more because a character arc is a vital representation of your character’s journey. In fact, it is the character’s journey. Put it simply, a character arc is the transformation of your character over the course of the story. If a character experiences an arc, that means he began as one kinda guy and gradually became a new person thanks to the challenges he faces in your story. Need a better understanding of what this means? Have a look-sy at the visual outline below I’ve provided (click to download your own FREE copy!) This will be your reference guide throughout this post: (Click...
How to REALLY Show Support to Indie Authors: A Step-by-Step Guide
Your bff is an indie author. Your neighbor is an indie author. Your sister is an indie author. The cute guy you sit behind in Social Studies is an indie author. So… what exactly does “indie author” mean? And how can you show support to an indie author? First, let’s talk differences between indie authors and traditionally published authors… An indie author has self-published their work. That means they’ve gone through Amazon or Barnes & Noble or some other avenue to publish their works themselves. Another big ol’ difference is that indies usually crack open their own piggie bank to pay for their book cover designs, editors, and formatting programs to help them craft their novel to perfection. Now, traditional authors may do this too, but typically when a contract is signed, the big publishing houses take care of most of this stuff for the author (the author collaborates and/or gives his/her approval). Lastly, another big difference is that indies don’t have a marketing team that a traditionally published author would get. So that means, typically, they’re their own publicist, marketing strategist, and networking agent. That means they do double the ad work for half the reward. Self-publishing has never been more popular. That means your indie author needs help getting noticed now more than ever! So how do you help indie authors in simple, easy ways that prove you’re an awesome friend who is genuinely interested in their life goals? Well, I’ve organized the desires of all indie authors into three major categories. So let’s hop to numero uno, shall we? 1. Provide Moral Support Indies are spent because not only do we work crazy hours and never sleep and drink too much coffee,...
How to Maintain a Balanced, Healthy Lifestyle as a Busy Writer
Who likes running? Anyone? *crickets* Who likes eating carrots and broccoli? *crickets* Ok ok ok how ’bout this one: Who likes using up free time to lift weights instead of finishing that final draft of their novels?? 🙁 Meh. Still no one, eh? As writers, our protein powder and the size of our muscles may not be *top* priority on our to-do list. But here’s the thing: you don’t have to be a bodybuilder to maintain a healthy (mental, emotional and physical) lifestyle as a busy writer! Here’s a fact you need to grasp if you have plans of becoming a published author: The hours are long and tough You sit a lot Because of high demands to get that amazing sequel written, you won’t have much time to do *other* things You sit a lot You may be prone to eat whatever is in front of you and drink ungodly amounts of coffee You sit a lot You may not see the light of day and will work very late night shifts too. You sit a lot Family and friends will get less of your attention Did I mention you sit alot??? This life does not lend itself to the most healthy activity. In fact, if you’re not careful, you can become dreadfully imbalanced mentally, emotionally and physically in a short period of time. So how do you maintain a healthy lifestyle that fits into your routine and is totally not overwhelming? You hone the art of self-discipline. Now I know, the last thing you want to do is crack the whip on yourself when your parents, your teachers, your other...
How to Tell if your Novel is Ready to be Published: 20 Questions to Ask (Part 2)
Last week we discussed 10 ways to make sure your novel is ready to be released. I shared two sections dissecting information on the meat of your novel- what your story needs and what your characters need. If you missed last week’s article, check it out here! If you’re up to speed, however, this week we’re dissecting two new avenues of novel publication preparation: editing and revising and beta readers. Each section asks five vital questions you need to answer before you publish your novel. So, is your novel going to be up to par? Let’s find out! Series 3: Editing and Revising Have you checked for run-on sentences, proper capitalization, punctuation and misspelled words? All right, this is a fairly obvious one, but we’ll expand on how important it is to have fresh eyes look for these issues as well in our next subheading. But for now, make sure names of people and places, months, titles, ‘I’ are always properly capitalized. Use commas like a dash of salt: merely to accentuate the emphasis in a sentence or to provide a pause for the reader. Take out as many adverbs as possible and replace them with stronger words. Break up your story’s pace, too. Have a longer sentence followed by a dash of shorter ones. Simplify whenever possible and re-read the sentence aloud to make sure it reads properly. And don’t rely on spellcheck to find all misplaced words. It won’t pick up perfectly spelled words completely misplaced in a sentence! Lastly, make sure your story...I’m Rae Elliott: Author, Blogger, Geek
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