THAT'S Gonna Be a Problem
In the last four weeks or so, I have been approached by three or four authors who want help polishing their books. I accepted work with one because he seems driven and ambitious and so far, I haven't regretted working with him for an instant. What's interesting to me is that being a Book Doctor is a bit like being a therapist. I usually let the writer tell me about their project at length, and there's always a point in the conversation where I go Ah-Ha . . . THAT'S gonna be a problem.
What do I mean? I think every author, before they get too far into their book, should write the back cover copy for their novel in less than 200 words. Not a synopsis, their MARKETING copy. Four paragraphs, max. And a tag line.
Then step back.
Show it to people.
You are not allowed to add anything when you show it. No back story. You don't get to pitch it. This is a blind test. No fancy cover. Just the copy. Don't just show it to friends. And definitely show it to some writers. Better yet? If you have access to a good editor . . . show them.
I think two things often happen. One . . . what you wrote will sound an AWFUL lot like someone else's book . . . so much so that it doesn't leap off the page/cover. It adds nothing new. At its heart, it's a story about . . . a vampire, a werewolf, a bride, a P.I., a cop, a doctor, a soldier . . . a . . . and there on that back cover is a problem because it's just NOT FRESH.
Or two . . . there's a fatal flaw in there, something that RIGHT NOW, as you envision the book, will be hard to overcome when you pitch it to agents, and then for those agents, editors . . . and then . . . for those editors . . . the marketing people who actually have to WRITE your actual back cover copy and sell it to the bookstores.
And in this era of Kindle, or Nook, and people tossing things up--you know what? You still have to market--direct to readers perhaps. And if you have something to significantly overcome, best do it NOW.
Anyone care to try? It's not a synopsis. How are you going to market your book?
19 comments:
Rule #2 in private investigator Nicholas Colt’s Philosophy of Life: If you have a good Tuesday, Wednesday is likely to be a bitch.
Welcome to Wednesday.
Fifteen-year-old Brittney Ryan has taken to the streets. Colt is hired to find her and bring her home.
Piece of cake, he thinks. A surprise visit to the forbidden boyfriend should put this one in the scrapbook.
But something more sinister is behind Brittney’s disappearance, and Colt soon finds himself in an ever-widening maze of deceit, betrayal, and murder.
And, when he learns what the mysterious phrase Pocket-47 means, he is haunted even more by the plane crash that killed his family and rock band twenty years ago--a crash he now realizes might not have been an accident.
Colt is determined to save Brittney and untangle the threads of his own tortured past.
Unfortunately, one of the most heinous and violent criminals in modern history has other ideas.
Which might be okay, because…
Rule #1 in Nicholas Colt’s Philosophy of Life: Screw the rules. Let's jam.
Oddly, my publisher didn't like this one and opted to use a previous version for their catalog. But I like this one best, and it's the one I put on my website.
http://judehardinbooks.com/
This was fun ... it's the first time I've actually played around with any marketing copy for my WIP.
MONSTEROLOGY: The Case of the Imp Thief
An imp is in town and that can only mean one thing … something bad is about to happen.
Really bad.
Sam Bellows is new at school, and that can only mean one thing … he's trying to help his dad—a world-famous monsterologist—find the imp before it can work its evil magic.
There's just one problem. Sam sticks out at school like a great big ugly monster. But what else would you expect from a kid who's great-great-great-great grandfather was a monster?
Ack! My melted brain is fried at the moment, it's acting like the Magic Eight Ball - Try Again, it tells me. In other words, I got to think about this before barfing up the back blurb.
JV, I totally want to read your book!
A Wiccan eco-terrorist and a Christian soldier must stop a crusade in 2065 Boulder, Colorado.
When Trinidad was twelve, his parents blew themselves up in an ecoterr attack that killed several Christians. To make amends for his family's crime, he left Wicca--and his best friend Castile--to soldier for a church under siege. Fostered by a loving priest and trained by a godless warrior, he learned the brutal art of balancing faith and war. But when his Bishop turns up with a silver scar she claims is an angelic order to take the Cross, Castile shows Trinidad the scar actually came from healing sand in an ancient holy graveyard--a place that could turn Christianity on its head.
Not only are the pagans sorely outnumbered in a war founded in a lie, the Christian army has the ultimate secret weapon: it can heal itself at will. Torn between his past, his faith, and his vows to protect the innocent, Trinidad covertly bands with his Castile and a violent tribe of vodou practitioners to subvert the Bishop's efforts. But protecting the Church is not all that drives the Bishop. She's also bent on revenge against the Wiccan ecoterr who murdered her family. Trinidad must shed all he knows and loves to protect the people from a woman who would kill thousands to see Castile dead.
Jude, I love yours. Welcome to Wednesday. It'd make a great title for a book, too. :)
Jon, do you ever got to Monsterpedia? I love that site. I can totally see a series out of your idea, kind of a lighthearted, kidlit Supernatural. Coolness.
With just one glance into another’s eyes, Misty can see into a person’s soul and know all their secrets. A skill that’s been known to get her in trouble in the past because not everything she reads is clear. Some things are just images, like a short film clip. Others are random thoughts or emotions.
When Misty comes face to face with a serial killer she sees her own murder. At the police station she can describe the brutality and horror she saw in his eyes, but not the man himself. She knows the police think she’s a kook, but she has to make them listen.
Max Jennings is a by the book cop and he’s on the trail of the nastiest serial killer in history. When Misty McAllister walks into his squad room and declares she’s met the Angel Fall’s Strangler at the mall, Max labels her a whacko. When the strangler leaves a message on Misty’s doorstep in the form of a dead body Max labels her a suspect, but Misty insists it’s a warning. Now, she’s in a race for her life and only one man can help her, the one who doesn’t believe her.
Thanks, Kath! With any luck, you'll have that chance.
SS@S, that's a great resource! Thanks. I've been buying monster books in print, but for some reason, had never bothered to search online. *bonks myself in the head*
My hope, of course, is to make this a series, kind of like Encyclopedia Brown with monsters, or a lighter X Files. Goosebumps territory. So it's not all one story, but all based in the same world and always featuring the same family. Sam's dad is a monsterologist; his mom is part-monster. So Sam and all his siblings are part-human, part-monster. In each book, they'd solve a different monster-related problem.
Now I just have to write the damn thing and sell it. You know, the easy part. Ha ha. But thanks again—I bookmarked the site.
Jude:
You know I love this version. And I think it plays to your market.
JVZ:
I'd love to . . . wait for it . . . get a sense of setting. 'Cause you do that well! (Something you excel at, really.)
Starbucks:
WOW . . . You've posted stuff before, but this is the most developed AND concise glimpse yet. Well-done.
Aimless:
Sounds good . . . I've love a sentence or two more about HER though. Is she a garden-variety psychic? Does it run in her family? Has she had this power since a child? Something that makes her distinct . . .
And another one where I'd love to know setting. Small town? City?
High praise from you! Thanks! It's not being so well received on FB, but there you go. I'm interested in all opinions, good, bad, and ugly.
Aimless, not to nitpick, but I don't like fragments for effect like you've used in your second sentence. I think that bit could be revamped to leave out that sometimes her visions are unclear (which really doesn't lend much to your plot synopsis here) and use the space to bring us closer to Misty. Link her skill tightly to the character, tell us a bit about her, like Erica says. Then you're nearly there! It sounds like a fun story.
Oy, you know this is my least favorite part of the game - I wrote a rough of the query, and it sucks badly... if I get time to give it another try today, I'll post one.
I WANT TO READ JON'S!!!! Can you hurry up and write it, please? :-)
Bets,
I like that... I think it's very concise and you've got a lot of plot going on, so that's hard to do... the only thing, and this might be a personal thing, I'd like to see a bit of the flavor of your characters... because I'm not getting the witty, sexy as hell, uber-cool vibe here that I usually get when you talk about Trin and Castile.
Oo, good point, Merry. That would make it more marketable. Hmm, have to think on that one.
I LOVE all of these... would you people PLEASE get going and get those published already?
OK, here's mine:
Tarik's mother disappeared in a magical anomaly just after he was born. His father Jeddah has been trying to get her back ever since. When Jeddah disappears after a deal gone bad with the Prince of Daemons, Tarik vows to get them both back... and that's when the trouble really begins.
Tarik's best friend is a 20 pound talking bullfrog. He is stuck with a disappointed Faerie Princess as a companion, and has befriended two Daemon hounds. Together this quintet of misfits go in search of clues to find and retrieve both of Tarik's parents.
Treachery, deception, lies, magic, talking bullfrogs... and the story is just the beginning.
After writing this I realized that its just like all Disney stories... parents are gone and child(ren) have to fend for themselves. I hope it isn't too generic.
Ewoh:
The only red flag for me . . . is unless it is a massive surprise, I need to know who or what they are up against. I think the danger quotient will add to the suspense, and maybe that needs to be spelling out. I also don't know his age . . . MARKETING-side . . . I don't know if this is MG, YA or adult. Of course it's present, I am sure, in the book. But when you eventually pitch, and in the creative process . . . it's good to feel that bull's eye, you know?
I'd read on!
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