A.J. Maguire

Tag: blurbs

  • The Working Blurb

    I think I’ve read so many books on how to write books that it’s actually a little sad now. On the one hand, I’ve picked up some invaluable advice from people far more experienced than me, and on the other hand …

    I think I could have stopped at the 7th book. Most of them tell you the same things but in different ways.

    Things like …

    “Choose a designating writing time and make it a habit.” (I do try to do this. 6-7:30AM is my time now, but schedules change so it’s likely to go back to 8-10:30PM again soon.)

    “Read. Read. Read some more.” (Psh! You can’t stop me from reading.)

    “Outline.” And  … “Don’t Outline.” And … “Do whatever, just get words on the page.” (That last one is my motto.)

    Or … and I actually have done this  …

    “Take your favorite novel by your favorite author (not you) and hand-write the first three chapters.”

    Actually, I think they said to go ahead and hand-write the whole book, but I never went past the first three chapters. The point of the exercise was to pay attention to style and voice and, as crazy as it sounds, it actually works.

    But among my favorite tools when first starting a new project is writing the “working blurb.” It’s also been called the “nugget” for those familiar with the lingo. Normally it’s only 50-100 words but I let it push out to 150 sometimes.

    Basically, this “working blurb” goes in place of my title page during the first draft. I have copies of it on 3×5 cards in my wallet and attached to the notebook where all the hand-written material is. It is what keeps me excited about the novel and helps remind me what I’m hoping to accomplish.

    And in the spirit of the new project I’m going to share it today. To all fellow authors out there who may not have attempted writing a “nugget” or a “working blurb” before, I highly suggest you try it. It’s just 100-150 words that make you want to write the book.

    Dead Weight – Working Blurb

    Reeling after their narrow escape from Europa the crew of the hauler class ship Zephyr seek refuge in Sect Space, as far removed from the Consulate as they can get. With their covers blown and their former Captain comatose, Jorry and Seach find themselves answering a call for help from an old friend. The call takes them to Saturn, deep inside Consulate space, and to make matters worse, Jorry is still haunted by the man she killed on Europa. 

    As Jorry slowly loses her mind, Seach must find a way to keep them all out of Consulate hands. When the ship is damaged, they are forced to dock with an abandoned station hidden in Saturn’s upper atmosphere. But they aren’t the only one’s wandering the corridors of this dead station and whatever is lurking there isn’t pleased by their trespass. 

     

     

  • Blurbs & The Hated Synopsis

    As of today I have 38,643 words edited in the Tapped novel. According to my calendar I should be on Chapter 11, but I’m actually moving into Chapter 13 next week. I’m supremely pleased with the way it is turning out. Thanks to my developmental editor I’m having a blast fleshing out all those places that were too lean before and bringing more color to the characters/relationships on the page.

    Author’s note : Developmental editors are editors who look at the story as a whole and tell you what works and what doesn’t work. They often note in the manuscript if there are serious grammatical errors because … well, because I think they probably twitch whenever they see you’ve abused every literary device known to man. 

    I also managed to write a new working synopsis to help reflect the changes going into the book. It’s a horrible draft and it’s a mite too long, but at least it’s started so that when I begin the querying process I won’t have to start at square one.

    I’ve decided that blurb and synopsis writing require a different sphere of my brain than my normal writing. And it’s a sphere of my brain that absolutely does not like to work. It’s like a koala when you wake it up in the middle of the day (they’re nocturnal and eucalyptus leaves do fun things to their chemistry so they’re kind of drunk) so what you get when you rouse my koala-like marketing sphere is a hung-over grouch that can barely function.

    So!

    I utilized a marketing professional to help me. She went through my website and suggested several changes that I’ve already implemented (Yay! I’m officially ajmaguire.com!) and helped me draft a blurb for Tapped that looks professional and manages to capture the core of the book.

    The experience working with this professional was quite interesting. She was extremely helpful, kept the dialogue pointed in the right direction, and didn’t admit to cringing when she had to go through the working synopsis to get a feel for Tapped. (Though I’m sure she did cringe at least twice.) She was also reasonably priced and I will certainly be going back to her.

    I highly recommend both developmental editors and marketing professionals to any aspiring authors/writers out there. Both have given me invaluable insight into the business side of novel-writing.

    Tapped – Blurb

    Jorry thought winning a galactic war would be enough to buy a peaceful life. She was wrong. Running from the government she fought so hard for, she carves a simple life out for herself and her family. When her family is dragged into a black market deal Jorry finds herself directly in the sights of those she’s been hiding from and must decide how far she’s willing to go to protect the people she loves.