The HEA Cafe

Part of the legacy of growing up in a small, midwestern town is that I had a strong work ethic drilled into me from an early age.  So when I signed up to blog here on the 19^th of every month, my first question was – what useful thing could I blog about?  What could I say that might be of interest to other writers? 

So I decided to talk about some of the things you can do BEFORE you’re published to make the transition from unpublished to published writer easier — things I wish I’d done.  Because once I got “the call,” my life changed.  It was a great change, of course, but it came fast.  Suddenly I had to deal with all sorts of issues I never worried about before: publicity and promotion, back cover blurbs, book signings, marketing, branding.  Did I need bookmarks?  A book trailer?  Did I have to advertise?  Hire a publicist?  The list was endless and overwhelming.  I felt panicked and lost.  Even worse — I lost valuable writing time as I dealt with these suddenly pressing issues.

 Not that there is an easy answer to these questions.  A lot depends on the type of book you sell (category or single title) and your budget.  But there are still plenty of things everyone can do to prepare for life after “the call” and make the transition to published writer smoother.

So that’s what I figured I’d blog about — helpful tips for the pre-published.  In other words, how you can learn from my mistakes.  Today I’ll start out with a basic sales tool — marketing blurbs. 

You might already have these.  I didn’t.  They are hard to write, so I ignored them (big sigh).  Your life after the sale will be easier if you write blurbs in the following lengths:

A one-sentence blurb.  This is your elevator pitch (what you say when you have 15 seconds to explain what your book is about).  It should be short, exciting, intriguing.  Before you sell, you can use it in query letters and pitches.  Afterward, you can use it on bookmarks, in advertisements, on your website, postcards — basically any place you promote your book.  So make it good!

One and two-paragraph blurbs.  I was surprised one afternoon after “the call” when my editor emailed and asked for a two-paragraph summary of my book that she could send to the senior editor — and she needed it within the hour!  Of course, I didn’t have one, which threw me into a total panic.  So be prepared.  This is basically the back-cover copy.  I suggest having both one and two-paragraph versions prepared.  You can use these blurbs in advertisements, on promotional materials, and on your website.  Think hooks!  I now write these blurbs before I write the story to make sure that I’ve got a marketable book.  And I put them at the top of my synopsis as a lead-in to the story itself.

The short (one to two page) synopsis (oh, dread, dread).  Seriously, you need this, even after the sale.  If you sell to Harlequin/Silhouette, for example, you have to fill out something online called the Art Fact Sheet, which they use for both the cover art and overseas sales. Included in that Art Fact Sheet is a short synopsis that overseas buyers will glance at to decide if they want to buy your book.  Other editors in your publishing house might read the synopsis to get an idea of what the book is about.  Your future editor might use it to pitch your book in-house to get you that sale.  So while it isn’t fun to write, it has to be done.

 One more thing — put effort into these blurbs.  You really want them to be snazzy.  They will (or won’t!) sell your book.  You can take online courses to learn how to write them (Suzanne McMinn offers a great one).  Or collect bookmarks and study back cover copy to see how it’s done.  Either way, it’s worth getting them right.

So these are my first tips.  Have your blurbs ready.  I hope this helps!  More on the 19^th of next month!

Gail Barrett

Heart of a Thief – Book One of The Crusaders miniseries, coming May 2008 from Silhouette Romantic Suspense

www.gailbarrett.com

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