I did not read the book, look at a manuscript or pdf, or have any textual interaction beyond timmons explaining the project. Im going to be starting up a campaign of pacg with my daughters, and i plan on using the different characters from the class decks. A book without blurbs can look fishy did nobody read it. Win your very own set of enid blyton s famous five books.
Jun 11, 20 hopefully both my blurbs and shout lines tell the potential reader something about the book and make them want to find out more. Fantasy book blurbs summary or tease, which do you prefer. These are actual blurbs taken directly from the back of published novels. The novels feature the adventures of a group of young children julian, dick, anne and georgina george and their dog timmy. How to write a great ya fantasy or scifi book blurb. The 5 core elements of a book blurb and why you should know. He is a fulltime writer and parttime book blogger at 101 books, where he is currently blogging through time magazines top 100 englishspeaking novels. Five go adventuring again published in 1943 is the second book in the famous five series by the british author, enid blyton. Nov 01, 2011 the double shadow by sally gardner is a epically brilliant book. The first book, five on a treasure island, was published in. Their blurbs are quite amazing and generous and im immensely grateful to them. Fantasy book blurbs summary or tease, which do you.
Mar 18, 2012 how to write an interesting bio blurb. I was weird about it on my novel, recently packaged with blurbage. Youve snagged a prospective date by your alluring cover, so now youve got to show theres more than just surface appeal. One blurb, two blurb, three blurb, thirty blurbs poetry. Tes global ltd is registered in england company no 02017289 with its registered office. One day, george takes them to explore nearby kirrin island, with its rocky little coast and old ruined castle on the top. But i did find a number of blurbs that were incredibly compelling, and i analyzed what was working in these cases. Create, print, and sell professionalquality photo books, magazines, trade books, and ebooks with blurb. Gather a bunch and use the best ones for a particular purpose. Sell your book in the blurb bookstore, through amazon, or in the global retail network of over 38,000 retailers, libraries, and schools. Students will write a blurb for home of the brave, following the guidelines and suggestions offered by the teacher or arising out of class discussions. It begins with julian, dick and anne going to stay with their cousin. All stories involve characters who are in a certain setting at a certain. Blyton often worked in cycles, creating several books in a series.
Frank mccourt on the five people you meet in heaven, by mitch albom in the five people you meet in heaven, mitch albom lifts us to a new level. Malcolm gladwell, the bestselling author of the tipping point, and some of the book covers that feature his blurbs. Aug 08, 2009 this website and its content is subject to our terms and conditions. Blurbs are basically endorsements from other authors for your book, which go on the front or back cover. Georgina is also the cousin of the other three children. Most fiction book blurbs start with a situation a, introduce a problem b and promise a twist c. Writing a book blurb is harder than you think, and is an excellent way of getting yourself noticed. The famous five are a group of children who have the sort of adventures.
Blogging, getting published, rewriting and editing. Kevin canty is a storm of talent and this book of stories lingers in the mind as only the best fiction does. The curious history of book blurbs and why theyre still around those snippets of praise on book covers have been around for over 150 years at least. Writing a book blurb is a little like online dating, i suppose. Man booker prize judge colin thubron has complained this week that star endorsements bully readers into admiring books, but its long been standard. Grade 5 lesson on blurbsadapt by using whatever book. Your book blurb aka online description, like your dating profile.
For all intents and purposes, your publisher has written this. The kirrin series would be the most wellknown of all the enid blyton books in fact the five characters who star in them are often known as the famous five. The famous five is a series of childrens adventure novels written by english author enid blyton. Art posts must be formatted as title by creator, usernames are ok. These are the blurbs that were left on the conference room floor. The key with fiction is to excite and engage your reader. Ive read about four or five, including unbecoming, divergent. Its hardly news that when it comes to selling books, blurbs from even famous people are of dubious value. Malcolm gladwell hands out book blurbs like santa does. Its the perennial question of whether the blurbs on book covers are still meaningful or have become just background noise. Timmons collected thirty blurbs for the book, including blurbs from craig dworkin, rodrigo toscano, and me. The double shadow by sally gardner is a epically brilliant book.
Extra blurbs are often put on the first page of the book, in front of the. Echo the tone of your book in your blurb so readers get a sense of how you write. Julian, dick and anne are spending the holidays with their tomboy cousin george and her dog, timothy. Highlights crews novels, short stories, anthologies, and nonfiction writings. Setting conflict objective possible solution emotional promise. The first book, five on a treasure island, was published in 1942. If not for its brevity, i could have made this blog about the top four things church members want in a church bulletin. For one week, the volume of traffic on nearby desert roads and at an otherwise sleepy airport rivals the operational volume at some of the largest highways and commercial airports in the country. To help prevent you from falling into this unfortunate group, weve put together a few tips that should help you write a winning book blurb, whether its for the latest fantasy novel or for a nonfiction selfhelp guide. Six writers tell all about covers and blurbs the awl. Six of the best enid blyton quotes childrens books. With blurbs often clocking in at under a hundred words, some may wonder if theres much room for anything substantial, but whats brevity if not the soul of wit.
Hopefully both my blurbs and shout lines tell the potential. Print as you go sell one copy at a time and let blurb fulfill the orders or place a large order and sell inperson. Dan poynter, known as the godfather of selfpublishing and author of the selfpublishing manual, the selfpublishing encyclopedia, is there a book inside you. Youre setting the expectation for the book in the blurb, so make sure that your themes, ideas, and issues match. In addition to the example provided in lesson one of a wellwritten book blurb, im including a few examples from bestselling memoirs which have their blurbs perfected. Posts about childrens literature written by nicolelisamaria. Six writers tell all about covers and blurbs by matthew gallaway april 4, 2011 writers by definition spend a lot of time on the inside of books, which is why what happens on the outside namely, cover art and blurbs can feel precarious and daunting. I did not read the book, look at a manuscript or pdf, or have any textual interaction beyond timmons explaining the project in an email solicitation. The first famous five book, five on a treasure island, was published in 1942. Jul 19, 20 writing a book blurb is a little like online dating, i suppose. Is there a list of short blurbs or summaries of each of. Make sure your book blurb reads like those that are selling well. Writing a book blurb for your back cover, and other promotional uses, is one of the hardest steps for many authors.
How to pitch influencers and get great blurbs for your book. So while endorsements from these influencers are difficult to achieve, they are certainly worth the time and effort. How to write an effective blurb for a selfpublished book. How to create a back book cover blurb that sells i just published a guest post which goes into this with some examples. 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. Youve written your book, but now you have to publish it and kdp has a box that you dread. There are five of them altogether which make up the famous five. Do not post memes or photos of booksbook shelvesbook haulsplaces that make you think of a particular book. Your blurb will be an important part of your marketing. An easytofollow, practical guide to writing the best blurb to sell your selfpublished book, provided by ya author sarah juckes of completelynovel. There are many ways that readers are encouraged to pick up a book in a bookshop or library, or to purchase a book online. Meet enid blytons most famous characters julian, dick, anne, george and of course the everloyal timmy the dog for the first time in this, the first book in the classic famous five series.
Keep in mind that quoting individual authors instead of publications. Oct 16, 2014 writing the blurb for your selfpublished book is one of the privileges of being an indie author. How to write an irresistible book blurb in 5 easy steps. Amazon might allow 4,00o characters in the book description box, but nobody wants to wade through a long blurb.
How to write a great nonfiction book blurb from polly letofsky of my word publishing. Sep 15, 2017 do celebrity book blurbs blackmail readers. Famous five enid blyton lashings of information about the. Each summer, tens of thousands of people journey to the nevada desert by land and by air to participate in a unique event. Tes global ltd is registered in england company no 02017289 with its registered office at 26 red lion square london wc1r 4hq.
A book blurb should be a fair representation of the style of the book. Blurb create, print, and sell professionalquality photo. Buying the book itself was the price of admission for each screaming fan, myself included. How to write an interesting bio blurb this is a satirical article. The very first famous five adventure, featuring julian. Apr 08, 20 there is a big gap between numbers four and five. Includes a biographical sketch, interviews, and more. However, this task typically comes just when youre at your least able. For one week, the volume of traffic on nearby desert roads and at an otherwise sleepy airport rivals the operational volume at some of the largest highways and. Also blurbs by joy williams, padgett powell, ann beattie. Your book blurb must be wellwritten to get a readers attention. Even so, many poorlywritten blurbs resort to a liberal sprinkling of quotations, often a sign that the blurb writer hasnt much to really say. The occult art of the poetry book blurb rachael mead.
Many authors write the book blurb as an afterthought. See more ideas about books to read, good books and books. Apr 04, 2011 six writers tell all about covers and blurbs by matthew gallaway april 4, 2011 writers by definition spend a lot of time on the inside of books, which is why what happens on the outside namely, cover art and blurbs can feel precarious and daunting. Sep 27, 2015 the curious history of book blurbs and why theyre still around those snippets of praise on book covers have been around for over 150 years at least. Chose from several free tools or use adobe indesign or adobe lightroom. The famous five are among enid blytons bestloved creations and countless children have gone adventuring with them since the publication of five on a treasure island in 1942, the first of twentyone fulllength adventures and numerous short stories. The childrens film foundation made two films based on the books, in 1957 and 1964, and an animated series. How to get awesome book cover blurbs posted on february 26, 2020 by sandra beckwith 21 comments affiliate disclosure. Entwined by heather dixon wallwork, the near witch by victoria schwab, the iron daughter by julie kagawa, eve by anna care. John newberry was an 18th century, british publisher, called the father of childrens literature because he was the first to make literature for children sustainable and profitable. It uses twilight as an example, but dont hold that against me. Here are eight examples of bad blurbs by good writers. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others.
Man booker prize judge colin thubron has complained this week that star endorsements bully readers. His imagination is a dark wood with wildlife in it. Copywriting is a completely different skillset to creating fiction, and im here to help you get that blurb in tiptop shape. The fourth child in the series is a rather untamable girl by the name of georgina. These may be used for an interview, a book jacket, or even an event program in which you are a presenter. While church members do want some announcements in the church bulletin, they do not want it cluttered with announcements. From the authors perspective, we need them in order to get the publishing sales force excited about the book, and the sales force needs them to get the booksellers excited about the book. Students will consider the themes of the book and integrate at least one in their blurb. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dustjacket of a book, and are now found on web portals and news websites. Enid blyton famous five series 21 books collection box gift set. Writing the blurb for your selfpublished book is one of the privileges of being an indie author. This article gives you simple steps to follow to write a book blurb, and gives examples of both fiction and nonfiction back cover blurbs.
Jan 14, 2014 but i did find a number of blurbs that were incredibly compelling, and i analyzed what was working in these cases. A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. You have one shot at introducing your story to your reader make it count. You probably know the famous ones, like one ring to rule them all from the lord of the rings, or just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water from jaws 2. You will need three for the back cover of your book. I feel like we have to promote ourselves, he said of endorsing. Its 75 years since enid blytons famous five went to treasure. Once youve taken in all of the above and gotten a feel for the promise you want to make to the reader, use the outlines below to write your book cover blurb. Jun 01, 2015 the occult art of the poetry book blurb on taking up writing it had not once occurred to me that one of the tasks of being a writer might be to come up with those concise, quippy phrases on the covers of books. Ive come up with this easy acronym to help you create a book blurb. The harry crews online bibliography features information about american author harry crews b. Dec 17, 2015 malcolm gladwell hands out book blurbs like santa does presents. This website and its content is subject to our terms and conditions. How to get awesome book cover blurbs build book buzz.
In this post, we tell you how to write a book blurb in five easy steps. Grade 5 lesson on blurbsadapt by using whatever book your. 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. Aim for a word count in the vicinity of 150 words 14 paragraphs. Smartboard, projector, and class computer smartboard charts. Working title to adapt ya favorite the famous five indiewire. The 5 core elements of a book blurb and why you should. Writing a short book blurb is not only fun, but great practice for writing promotional copy of any kind. What i would like to do is to have my daughters first figure out what class theyd like to play, then give them the characters from that class that they can choose from.
A mish mash of detective, romance and thriller this book is beautifully written. Plot edit julian, dick, anne, george and timmy return to kirrin cottage for the christmas holidays. As a poetry reader, i know both the power of a good blurb and the equally potent effect of a good name on the back of a book. At some point in the publishing process of these legendary novels, a group of people sat around a table and decided what would appear on the back copy. This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, i will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Five things church members want in a church bulletin. Famous five run away together by enid blyton childrens books. Highly acclaimed book his mom didnt actually read it, but gave him five stars on amazon. Follow these five pointers and see if it works for you. Celebrate her birthday by remembering her most famous lines. Shelfies, hauls, etc may be posted in the monthly show and tell post which occurs on the 7th of each month. Mar 09, 2012 place testimonials that corroborate your claims about what the book will do for the reader.
Youll also find some useful links to websites with further information. I cannot remember when i was so impressed by a first book by an unknown writer. How to write a killer blurb that convinces readers to buy your book the book blurb is your sales pitch. Below are the tips that ive gleaned from awesome ya fantasy and scifi book blurbs.
Its as good as her other three, i coriander, the red necklace and the silver blade which im staring at as i write this. Create, print, and sell professionalquality photo books blurb. Sign up to our newsletters full of updates, activities, ways to support us and fun ideas to inspire. Looking at and writing blurbsfinal project for the readaloud of home of the brave katherine applegate teacher materials. Once your title and cover have drawn the reader in, the blurb is what is going to make the difference between a missed opportunity and a sale. The first book and the following adventures of the gang went on to become some of the most read tales in british history. By sina queyras following up on craig santos perezs post on. I loved reading about the adventures of the famous five when i was a child so reading this anthology was a walk down memory.