Bios, Blurbs and Excerpts - a Wednesday Topic Chat
Published: Tue, 01/28/20
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Bios, Blurbs and Excerpts
From the moment you set pen to paper or opened your favorite word processor you stepped into the world of shameless self-promotion.
You want to people to read your book. Even if you give it away you will have stiff competition from other authors offering free books. Sales or marketing, even KDP
books need to catch the eye of a reader. You need to convince your target audience to choose your book from the virtual forest of books online and off.
Part of Shameless Self Promotion is your Bio, Blurb and Excerpt. Three things you will need no matter how you intend to get your book in front of new eyes.
Your bio, blurb and excerpt will be shared and recycled many times during the shelf life of your book. You will use variations for blog tours. If you work on
various Bios, Blurbs and Excerpts for your book, you can put them in your Submission Packet and use them over and over again. You may use them in Press Releases, Book Signing Flyers, Interviews… You will not be sorry you wrote them.
I am ending our Month of Submission Packet items with this Topic Chat about Bios, Blurbs and Excerpts. I am still composting ideas for February.
Here are some links to get you started on Wednesday’s Topic.
It’s one of the most challenging tasks that can be asked of an author, to choose a passage from their book that represents, better yet, encapsulates its
essence. When I owned a PR firm, most of my clients were authors, and I’d select their excerpts all the time. Piece of cake! Then I became an author, and soon discovered, it’s much harder when it’s your book.
If contributing guest posts is part of your content distribution and promotion strategy, you're probably familiar with the following scenario: You write a great
article for a guest publication, and at the end, you’re compensated with a teeny, tiny paragraph about yourself.
When writing a novel, there are few
selling tools as important as a solidly written book blurb. Sure, the cover design creates intrigue. But, if you have caught a potential reader’s attention, the blurb is what will sell your book—and convert readers. When defining a “blurb” it’s important to distinguish between a “description blurb” that you write for the back cover of your book and a “review blurb”. Here, we’ll be focusing on the former. How to write a blurb as an author.
Some of you have already asked why do we need a Cover Letter if we have already sent a Query Letter? I think it is an excellent question, wait for
it..
A COVER LETTER IS NOT A QUERY LETTER. IT IS A LETTER YOU WILL ENCLOSE AS THE BEGINNING OF YOUR SUBMISSION PACKET. THIS LETTER GOES INTO THE PACKET WITH YOUR SYNOPSIS OR YOUR COMPLETED MANUSCRIPT.
If your targeted publisher accepts complete manuscripts without the formality of a Query Letter, then you will want to adapt your Cover Letter to include
information about you, as an author. Mention previous publications and expertise. (Include these things only if this is your Cover Letter in this case is your First Contact with the Publisher or Agent). Do not repeat this information if you already sent a Query Letter.
Read the publisher’s guidelines carefully because some of them may have a specific Cover Letter Format. You may be expected to include a Synopsis, and the Same
Blurb you used in your Query Letter. Most agents and publishers are okay to go if you simply say, “Here is the Submission you requested.”
General items you might include in your Cover Letter might be a reminder of your previous Query Letter. This is because the people are generally very busy and the
intern who opens the mail may not realize your Query has been answered and the Manuscript requested.
One last thing to mention in your Cover Letter is if the Manuscript if you snail mailed is disposable. The intern will be glad to know he won’t be putting together
a mailer for your Submission. If you do want it returned you must make it as easy as possible with a postage paid envelope addressed to yourself.
Just remember to adjust the information in the Cover Letter if this is your first contact with the publisher.
Join us Wednesday January 22nd at 8PM ET and we will talk about cover letters.
Previously, we talked about building a Submission Packet and followed up on Wednesday with How to Write a Synopsis. As we continue to talk about the items we
should collect for our Submission Packets, the next item on the list is our Query Letter. One Wednesday, January 22nd we will explore the components of a Cover letter.
Here is the List, again, for reference and hints about future topics related to collecting items to save in your Submission
Files.
Things to include in a Submission Packet
Write your Synopsis
Write a Query Letter
Write a Cover Letter
Complete a Publishers Choice Form (Found in the Blog Post)
Revise a Chapter
Write an Author Bio in three sizes, long, medium and short form.
Write some practice Press Releases
Make a List of Potential Blog Hosts
Start a List of Questions to help a Blogger do her homework and Keep the Answers Handy
Save these items in an easy to find file (USB Drive, SD chip, cloud drive)
When you write a Query Letter you are addressing an agent or an editor. If you know their name, use it. Double check to be sure they are still there.
If you meet an agent at a convention or speak with a publisher who indicates an interest, it will not hurt to remind them of when and where you spoke.
The first paragraph should be very close to what you would write for a jacket blurb. Unlike the Synopsis, do not give away the ending. In this blurb, you don’t
want to talk about yourself, you want to sell your book.
If you have any publishing credits or experience that qualifies you to write your book, mention it after the blurb. Do not lead with your advanced age or bring up
the fact that you have no published work. Just leave that out.
Always thank the recipient for her time. They often catch up on queries during lunch breaks or during commutes or the alone time just after the children are put to
bed. It is a big deal that she gave your query some of her spare time.
You should also let the editor or agent know that your book is complete. It is very rare for an editor to give new writers the nod for an incomplete book. You need
to prove yourself up front. Maybe, after your second or third book with an editor, he will consider your unfinished work.
Your Query Letter should be short and to the point. You want to look professional, and you have spent some time learning about the far side of writing a novel.
One final note, if you have written a book about a gardener and you have experience with the genre, you may suggest selling it in garden shops and garden clubs.
This may catch some attention because it shows you are thinking ahead. These days, a publisher may ask for a marketing plan at some point in the submission process.
On Wednesday, we will talk about a Cover Letter. We will look at what it does and how to write it.
Join us tomorrow at 7PM ET at the writerschatroom.com/wp
