Writing A Blurb

So I’ve been trying to write a blurb for Getting Away. This is not an easy task. In fact, I found it easier to write an 81k word novel than a couple of short paragraphs to describe it. How much to include? How much to leave out and how much will sell the book to a reader? Which is, of course, the ultimate goal.

I’ve read various articles and found some very useful advice from the book Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody (a great book I can recommend) and came up with something I thought was half decent. After posting it on a Facebook writer’s group I received some constructive and some not quite so constructive feedback. Here is my latest, updated, new and improved attempt.

Ta da!

"Nancy Smart is in the wrong place at the wrong time when she becomes accidentally embroiled in a plan to kidnap the heir to a fortune and her lack-lustre life is turned upside down.

Back in the gang’s tropical hideaway, the homemade rum starts to flow, friendships are formed and she may even be falling in love with head honcho, Joe. However, the gang’s incompetent plot seems doomed to failure. Sympathising with their plight and eager to help, Nancy agrees to collaborate with her captives to hatch a new and improved plan.

Soon, Nancy finds herself, leading a wild goose chase across the streets of Europe, with the police in hot pursuit. With everybody’s freedom resting on her shoulders, does she have enough courage to succeed? And if she does, will she ever see Joe again?"

Dong, dong, dahhhh!! Cliff-hanger ending!

The Feedback I Received

I don’t think it’s too bad but here are a few comments I received that I’m still unsure about. Have a read and let me know what you think.

1. 

I originally started with the line ‘Uninspired, 26-year-old Nancy Smart is going nowhere fast in her lack-lustre life’ and I had a comment along the lines of the following...

The contributor had worked for a publishing house and neither she nor the editors there would read a book that started like this as it would be too boring.

Isn’t this a common theme? If a character’s life is already exciting and fulfilled what’s the point of the book? Surely being taken out of their normal boring life and how they react to the incident is how the story comes together?

Think Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Walter Mitty, Cinderella and so on and so forth. Maybe it was the way I wrote it rather than the situation.

2.

One commenter said she wouldn’t just go along with a crime, and granted neither would most of us, but...

A. She doesn’t know the circumstances and the reasons behind it

B. She hasn’t met my hot love interest yet, she might well change her mind

C. Just because she wouldn’t doesn’t mean that someone else wouldn’t. People commit crimes every day, think Killing Eve, Oceans 8, Thelma & Louise (my favourite ever film, btw, and not just for Brad’s six-pack). There are some badass b*tches out there!

D. It’s a piece of fiction

3.

Another contributor said there should be a paragraph from the male character’s point of view. I get this and if the book was a straight-out traditional romance I would agree but when it’s written in the POV of the main female character do I need to?

Yes Joe is a central character and yes he has a story but I’m not sure he should get a say in the blurb.

Did Helen Fielding put a paragraph in her blurb about what Mark Darcy wanted in Bridget Jones?

Did Charlotte Bronte include a paragraph from Mr Rochester’s point of view in Jane Eyre?

I think not, because in a way it’s unnecessary. The story is the female protagonist’s journey, she’s a strong character and the book is about what happens to her. I may be wrong (although I rarely am).

4.

A fourth asked, how is someone accidentally kidnapped?

Er, read the book and find out. How much do I have to explain in the blurb?

On the whole, I’m pretty happy with how the blurb stands now, but I will keep mulling it over and change things around if it doesn’t work for me.

I would say any advice is gratefully received, but I’ll probably end up slagging it off in my next blog post (!). Only joking, I am new to this book marketing stuff so would be happy to receive feedback, ideally, I’d like someone to write the bloomin’ thing for me! Go ahead, fill your boots.

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