The blurb of your book is the second thing a potential reader will look at after the coverso take the time to get it right. How to write a blurb definition, examples, and more blurb blog. Drag and drop the booksmart icon into your applications folder. The definition of a blurb is a short advertisement, announcement or description. He is the author of the novels motor city burning, all souls day, and motor city, and the nonfiction book american berserk. Murrow and other leading radio personalities blurbed the book, published in 1950 by oxford university press, and siepmann thanked paul lazarsfeld and herta herzog in his acknowledgments further reading. That first connection over a love of words convinced goldstein to have her editor ask pinker to blurb her next book.
The blurb on the back of the book says that it will touch your heart. How is it that a writer can write a story spanning tens of thousands of words but stumble at a 250300 word book blurb describing it. How to write a book blurb that sells with examples reedsy blog. Writing the blurb for your selfpublished book is one of the privileges of being an indie author. Doubleclick the install blurb booksmart icon to launch the installation wizard, and follow the directions. We are committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. How to write an interesting bio blurb this is a satirical article. Blurbs are short descriptions that promote things such as movies, books, or other projects.
But it is the single most important piece of writing you will do on your book. Many authors write the book blurb as an afterthought. Most run several paragraphs, but some publishers want them shorter or in a special format so be sure to check with your publishers guidelines before you begin work. How you can make a million writing your own e book. Brief introduction to the writer, usually following the headline. Millions is a fun book, full of wild and also touching emotion. If you want instruction on how to write a professional biography from someone who actually cares. Books need to be read in order, starting with pennies dollars hundreds thousands finishing with millions this was everything i wanted and hoped for. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dustjacket of a book, and are now found on web portals and news websites. The main character, damian, is fascinated with saints. Torn between the vices of buying a million pizzas and the virtues of ending world poverty, the boys. Publishers summary and recommendation of a book, printed usually on the front flap of the books dust jacket, or in an advertisement or catalog. Frank cottrell boyce is a screenwriter whose films include welcome to sarajevo, hilary and jackie, 24 hour party people, and millions, which was also his first book. Put simply, being concise is hard, and being concise about something you know insideandout can seem downright impossible.
Its so tempting to think if everyone is doing x and i. But, if you have caught a potential readers attention, the blurb is what will sell your book and convert readers. We need to destroy the blurbing industrial complex the millions. All books are picked, packed and dispatched from the united kingdom. This is widely considered to be the first book blurb in the english language. In a nutshell, its the 200 odd words on the back cover of your book that describes the book to the reader.
Design your books, both printed and electronic, and publish them via blurb. It uses twilight as an example, but dont hold that against me. His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including granta, the new york times, the london independent, l. Jul 19, 20 the blurb of your book is the second thing a potential reader will look at after the coverso take the time to get it right. Doubleclick the booksmart icon to launch booksmart, and start creating your book. Photo books, cookbooks, travel books, childrens books, graphic novels, notsographic novels. How to create a back book cover blurb that sells i just published a guest post which goes into this with some examples. Youve written your book, but now you have to publish it and kdp has a box that you dread. Almost 90 years after it was written, romance in marseille by claude mckay is getting a chance to reach wider audiences thanks to penguin classics. Get access to exclusive email offers when you join the blurb bookmaking community. If you need to make a change to your book after youve uploaded it, edit your book in booksmart then upload it again. The novel millions takes place in the early 2000s in the suburbs of london.
The 5 core elements of a book blurb and why you should. Definition a blurb is a short summary or some words of praise accompanying a creative work, usually referring to the words on the back of the book but also commonly seen on dvd and video cases, web portals and news websites. Her first book, poems, was published in 1944, with a blurb from eliot. A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. The company was founded in 2005 by eileen gittins and funded by canaan partners and anthem venture partners. But fear not, because theres a secret science to writing the perfect book blurb.
Shteyngart sat down with the daily beast to discuss the book, the art of the blurb, and, yes, teaching james franco. The publishers blurb refers to this book as an existential crime novel. The play explores what happens when two brothers find a million pounds and is narrated by one of the boys who is now faced with a moral dilemma. Here are six rules to be mindful of before you put pen to paper on your back book cover blurb. In the present research, i aim to investigate generic structure and promotional elements pes of online bestselling fiction blurbs from two booksellersu. Damians voice leaps off the page and into your heart. Mar 18, 2012 how to write an interesting bio blurb this is a satirical article.
By andrew wilson the author hoping to sell a million of his own. A blurb is the book description you find on the back of a book or online to describe a books contents. This should override any older versions of booksmart you may. Here are some tips on what you can do to boost a books sales with its blurb. The millionselling series starts here, it says, letting readers know that these books are really popular. The play was created from the successful film, which, unusually, came before the novel. Max magee created the millions and is its publisher. Millions and over 2 million other books are available for amazon kindle.
Adriana zehbrauskas for the new york times a faulkner for our time. Copywriting is a completely different skillset to creating fiction, and im here to help you get that blurb in tiptop shape. I have been a long time user but they are unable to print photo books true to the original images. Blurb definition and meaning collins english dictionary. During the second world war, a collection of valuable paintings from the national gallery was hidden in a. Park, the international history of communication study page 268 edward r. Blurb is a selfpublishing company, which means that. Chapter 1 brothers damian and anthony cunningham begin their first day as new students at great ditton primary. This is your chance to really sell your work, so make the blurb pithy and. I enjoyed this book immensely because there are continuous problems that the children have to face with hilarious, thrilling and heartstopping. Feb 10, 2016 how to create a back book cover blurb that sells i just published a guest post which goes into this with some examples.
Proper usage and audio pronunciation plus ipa phonetic transcription of the word blurb. Blurb is a basic service useable for basic book printing. Browse bestsellers, new releases and the most talked about books. These may be used for an interview, a book jacket, or even an event program in which you are a presenter. Learn the words you need to communicate with confidence. Blurb definition is a short publicity notice as on a book jacket. Dictionary term of the day articles subjects businessdictionary business dictionary. A blurb is the back cover teaser that lures a reader or an agenteditor into wanting to buyread your book. However, this task typically comes just when youre at your least able. Traditionally, it would be found on the inside back cover of a hardback. Their technical staff is obtuse and they use a biased color profile. Improve your vocabulary with english vocabulary in use from cambridge.
A book blurb should be a fair representation of the style of the book. The 5 core elements of a book blurb and why you should know. This study guide consists of approximately 36 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of millions. It is a tricky job because the blurb writer wants to provide as much interesting information as possible about the author in one or two paragraphs. Noun plaudits include what appears to be a long blurb from pearl s. Blurbs are the second most important selling tool you have for your book, so. The blurb on the book is very misleading in this respect. All of my questions were answered and it had the ending i had been hoping for too. Then, write 12 additional sentences that explain the. I loved it, absolutely loved it, as i did his first book. When writing a novel, there are few selling tools as important as a solidly written book blurb. Synonyms for blurb at with free online thesaurus, antonyms, and definitions. Your blurb can usually be used as your pitch in your query letter or when you are doing an actual facetoface pitch session with an agenteditor.
Embossing, foil stamping, and other customizations. How to write a blurb definition, examples, and more blurb. Suddenly finding themselves with a vast amount of cash, the boys have just one glorious, appalling dilemma how to spend it in the few days before it becomes worthless. To date, blurb authors have created more than two million books since the company started, with a new book created every minute. It is an adaptation of his screenplay for the film. Entwined by heather dixon wallwork, the near witch by victoria schwab, the iron daughter by julie kagawa, eve by anna care. The jackson five, the jacksons, genius a modern definition, genius a moderne definition, homage to michael jackson, the homage to michael jackson, the homage to michael joseph jackson. Share read this book and over 1 million others with a kindle unlimited membership. Before we get into why most authors hate writing their back book cover blurb, lets clarify what it actually is. From cambridge english corpus paratextual traces the blurb, back cover, inside cover, notes and title are part of the marketing process. Preorder titles at great prices from your favorite authors.
How to write a blurb definition, examples, and more. Writing a book blurb is harder than you think, and is an excellent way of getting yourself noticed. Two bothers, damian and anthony, are unwittingly caught up in a train robbery during britains countdown to join the euro. Abstract the purpose of this paper is to present a preliminary approach to the study of blurbs, brief texts traditionally displayed on bookcovers, and nowadays also on the internet, which provide. Blurb offers bookmaking tools catering to diverse digital skills. As paperback publishing developed, readers began seeing the blurb appearing on the back cover. When you need to write a blurb for a movie, book, or other project, start by writing a clever and catchy hook that introduces some of the characters and setting of the topic.
Framed was inspired by a news story hed read in an old scrapbook. Your blurb can usually be used as your pitch in your query letter or when you are. Your book blurb aka online description, like your dating profile, has to be engaging and alluring to attract passersby. The blurb about a new book, film, or exhibition is information about it that is written. The books are as amazing and varied as the people making them. Millions is a childrens novel published early in 2004, the first book by british screenwriter frank cottrell boyce. I wanted to print a photo book with blurb for a long time, and finally ordered my first blurb photo book in june 2014. Sep 12, 2018 a blurb is a short description of a book that is written for promotional purposes. Blurb is an american selfpublishing platform that enables their users to create, selfpublish, promote, share, and sell their own print and ebooks. But, if you have caught a potential readers attention, the blurb is what will sell your bookand convert readers. Make changes to book after its uploaded help center.
If you want instruction on how to write a professional biography from someone who actually cares, try this article. Boyce does a nice job of balancing the serious elements of grief with bits of humor that add up to a compelling tale of comingofage and growing up. Noun a blurb on a book jacket recent examples on the web. If you find a public profile on our website with a book that was published years ago, then that book is still publicly available for sale. Generally, 150200 words are more than enough for a full blurb. Information about blurb in the dictionary, synonyms and antonyms. Generic structure and promotional elements in bestselling. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. Murrow and other leading radio personalities blurbed the book, published in 1950 by oxford university press, and siepmann thanked paul lazarsfeld and herta herzog in his acknowledgments. As already noted, writing a back book blurb is a marketing exercise. The book also raises issues of the best way to help the poor. Blurb definition in the cambridge english dictionary. The new york times best sellers may 03, 2020 authoritatively ranked lists of books sold in the united states, sorted by format and genre.