Writing A Book Blurb

How do you write the blurb for the back of your book? (AKA - The Jacket Copy; what you find on the back of a paperback; the plot paragraph of a query letter; what your book is about.) 

I have attended workshops. I’ve read articles. I’ve done research. How do you condense 100,000 words into one paragraph, a mere handful of sentences? I’ve done it once before. As I get ready to do it again, I find myself trying to remember how I did it the first time. That means diving into my notes.

A couple years ago I went to a workshop and it provided me with guidance that I’m going back to now. That workshop combined with others, combined with my own book blurb reading, combined with internet research, has given me a good idea of how to start writing my latest blurb. 

1. The most important thing is a hook. The first sentence should grab a reader, just like the first line of the novel. The first sentence may or may not have the main characters name in it or who the main character is, but I think it should reflect current emotional state of the character. In my novel, the main character starts out appearing pretty calm, and I think I’m going to say that, but that’s not all. I’m going to mention if she’s lonely or isolated or something similar. 

2. Bam! I’m going to hit her with the inciting incident. 

3. After the inciting incident, where is she now? She certainly not in the same emotional place she was in the beginning. 

4. But we need stakes! What are they? Is it life or death? What will she gain or lose? What are the obstacles in her way?

5. Don’t give away the ending! The blurb should be enticing. Throw a cliffhanger on the end. The blurb needs to make people want to read the book.

6. The blurb should be written in the tone of the novel. Is it a cheeky novel? Then it should be a cheeky blurb. Is it a scary novel? Then it should be a scary blurb. Getting the tone right will likely happen in the editing. 

7. I was once told that the blurb should be 250-300 words. NO! Don’t do that. A query letter is often 300(ish) words. The blurb should hover around 150 words. I’ve heard that in workshops, seminars, podcasts, videos, etc.

8. Edit, edit and edit some more. The first seven points might get seven sentences to make the blurb, but are they good sentences? The links I’ve included below have steps to writing the one paragraph synopsis. I’ll follow the points I’ve talked about to get the first draft done, but that’s what it is — A first draft. I’m sure the first sentence will change ten times. Maybe more. It will all change. Then change again. Writers write, but they also edit. A lot.

I hope this helps people writing their synopsis. If it doesn’t, see the links below. Something should help, right? While I was writing this, I also wrote the first iteration of the blurb for my WIP. Is it going to stay the same? Nope. Reading it again, I know it needs to change. At least I have something to work with now. 

Recent stuff:

I decided that it might be nice sharing what I read, watched, attended, etc. Normally, I think it would be for the week or two previous. Today, let’s go for the month previous.

Posts for Writers:

5 Paying Literary Magazines: https://authorspublish.com/5-paying-literary-magazines-to-submit-to-in-november-2023/ 

A Guide to Canadian Literary Magazines: https://magazine-awards.com/en/a-guide-to-canadian-literary-mags/ 

What did I read last month?

She-Hulk by Soule and Pulido: The Complete Collection 

The Name of All Things, by Jenn Lyons

Compulsory, by Martha Wells

Split Tooth, by Tanya Tagaq

Lumberjanes Volume #11: Time After Crime

Assistant To The Villain, by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

What have I been listening to?

Podcast: The Shit No One Tells You About Writing. I can’t recommend it enough. They also have a Substack!

Taylor Swift! So much. 1989 at the end of the month, but before that, a lot of Folklore. I took my daughter to see the Eras Tour Movie

Skrillex… Ratata… 

Helpful Book Blurb/Jacket Copy Links:

https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/blurb/ 

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-a-back-cover-blurb-that-sells

https://blog.kotobee.com/book-blurb/

https://blog.kotobee.com/book-blurb/

 

On Workshops and Seminars

I have attended many workshops, seminars and conferences over the years. It’s almost overwhelming to think about. That’s part of the reason I started writing on Substack, I want to share what I’ve learned. 

Workshops and seminars have helped me learn and develop. I know I’m a better writer because of them. After going to a couple of events, I joined the Writers’ Community of York Region. Through the WCYR, I have attended workshops and seminars on dialogue, query letters, poetry, plot holes, and more. Eventually, I extended out, joining webinars and conferences put on by various libraries, The FOLD (Festival for Literary Diversity), New England Science Fiction Association, and other organizations. There are so many excellent writing organizations out there. There are local ones, and there are ones that reach out internationally. I don’t even remember all the events that I’ve been to. During COVID, I was able to attend events far out of my area since everything was online. 

I wasn’t only listening to speakers and taking notes. I was also participating in interactive workshops. I was writing to prompts, based on topics, images, ideas, that the speaker would give attendees. I was listening and then practicing. I learned and I wrote, more and more.

Am I done learning? No. I think anyone who says yes is fooling themselves. There’s always more to learn. More to practice. You can’t get better at writing if you don’t write. Even if you don’t go and listen to someone speak on a particular subject, you can still benefit from groups where you are writing. Writing to prompts is still one of my favourite things — You never know what is going to come up

A writer friend of mine, hosted a workshop on workshops last spring. One point she made that has stuck with me is: Would I be better off writing? When I see a new seminar or workshop announced by one of the organizations I'm a member of or follow, I ask myself that question now - Would I be better off writing? Those workshops, seminars, and events are a lot of what is fueling my Substack/Newsletter. Sometimes though, the voices are too loud and a story just wants too get out.

I enjoy courses, seminars, workshops, etc., too much to ever stop attending. I’ll always be learning.

What is Speculative Fiction?

When I think of Speculative Fiction, I think of science fiction and fantasy, and all the genres that fall under those umbrellas. Everything from paranormal romance to dystopias to cyberpunk. Things that don’t fall under the rules of our world. I’ve been asked about the fiction I write recently by a couple of different sources. The novel I’m working on right now is gothic fiction, but the novel I’m querying is epic fantasy. Both fall under speculative fiction, so I thought I’d try to define it; find out what it means to me and maybe what it means to others.

I like the definition I found from Southern New Hampshire University: “With subgenres like fantasy, science fiction, horror, alternate history and more, speculative fiction is an encompassing genre that freely explores possibility and impossibility alike.”

Pretty much what I thought, right?

My question then becomes: is all “fantasy, science fiction, horror, alternate history…” speculative fiction? After some searching on the internet (a very dangerous pastime), I saw that any alternate history, even one without fantastical elements, can be considered speculative. But not all historical fiction is not speculative. Not all science fiction or horror is speculative. All fantasy is, though. As I searched, I came across this simple, yet fantastic diagram by Annie Neugebauer.

Does it answer my question? Yes. I write speculative fiction. Generally speaking, I write fantasy, horror (gothic) and a little sci-fi. They all have some sort of element that is not bound to the rules of our world, whether or not those rules are explicitly stated. There has to be some sort of “world-building”, but not necessarily the epic fantasy, Lord of the Rings style. There should be an explanation (hopefully woven well into the story) about how the story’s world is different from the real world. The definition that Annie Neugebauer comes up with excludes science fiction and horror that doesn’t “speculate”. Basically, science fiction that is based on current technology isn’t speculative, and horror without any supernatural elements isn’t speculative.

This also means that speculative fiction can change over time, as technology and our understanding of the world changes. Genres have been changing for ages. New subgenres are added all the time, (some of which I plan on exploring in my Substack/newsletter – What is Gaslamp?)

Did you know there is a “MasterClass” article on speculative fiction? They call it a “super genre”, which I think is pretty accurate. They cite Margaret Atwood, J. R. R. Tolkien, William Shakespeare, and Euripides as speculative fiction writers.

A few speculative books I’ve enjoyed recently:

• The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, by Megan Bannen
• Network Effect, by Marta Wells
• Under the Whispering Door, by T.J. Klune
• An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir
• Silver in the Wood, by Emily Tesh
• Wayward Son, by Rainbow Rowell
• Dragons Don’t Eat Meat, by Kim McDougall
• Legends & Lattes, by Travis Baldree

I could go on, but I won’t. Network Effect is very different from Under the Whispering Door, but they were both AMAZING. They were all great books, all with something speculative.

 I hope this helps anyone who was hoping to better understand Speculative Fiction. Do you write/read speculative fiction? Do you have any questions about it?

Resources:

https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/liberal-arts/speculative-fiction 

https://annieneugebauer.com/2014/03/24/what-is-speculative-fiction/ 

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-speculative-fiction-defining-and-understanding-the-different-genres-of-speculative-fiction 

https://bookriot.com/what-is-speculative-fiction/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculative_fiction 

How To End A Short Story

 When Do I Write “The End”?

I love short stories. I love reading them. I love writing them. You can experiment more with your writing in a short story. You’re not investing 100,000 words to see if something works. You’re investing 2,500 (or less, maybe more). They can be a peak into the life of a character. 

I’ve read short stories from across genres. From Alice Munro to Stephen King and everything in between. They’re a great way to discover new authors. I often read a short story, then look up the other works of an author (P. Djèlí Clark, N.K. Jemisin, Aliette de Bodard). 

One of my problems with short stories: How do you end them? Sometimes I write a story and the end comes naturally. The arc is complete. The main character learned something. A villain was defeated. Someone says something semi-profound or insightful, then BAM! It’s done. Too often, I find myself staring at a paragraph, at something the main character has said or done and wondered: Is this it? Are they done? The story is over, right? 

So, how can you (I/we) know when a short story is finished? Short stories often end like novels (but with less words). When I’m not sure if I should continue, or if the story is getting out of control, I need to ask myself some questions.

Has the main character reached a “happily ever after” or “happy for now” point in their lives? Has the conflict been addressed and at least partially resolved? If yes, then I think it’s done.

Is there a twist? Is that little girl not so innocent? Was the kindly neighbour the killer the whole time? The twist has to be carefully crafted, but if it’s done right, surprise! Then the story is over.

Is it a “slice of life” story? Are we opening the door to a moment in time? When the character is ready to move on from the scene, the story is likely over.

Have I written too much and gotten lost? I overwrite. I know I do. Many writers do. Write the extra bit. Maybe it’ll help give reason to a character’s earlier actions. Cut it back during edits.

Can the main character or the very important secondary character walk away? If they turn away from the situation, the story can be done.

Is there an emotional explosion? All that’s been happening takes its toll, then boom! That main character blows up. They yell at everyone, or has a breakdown, or declares their love. When the emotion has run out, the story can too.

Does the main character realize the answer to the question that has been plaguing them all along? If the question is answered, the conflict is over. I can write "the end."

Has the story come full circle? If the main character is back where they started, for good or ill, the story can be done.

I have eight questions I can ask myself when writing (and ending) a short story. Am I an expert in ending short stories? Nope. Part of the reason I started the research was because I was struggling with how to end a story. Why not share what I learned, right? Has this helped me with ending the story? Yes!

Does anyone else struggle with ending short stories? How do you like to end yours? When do you know you’re done?

Resources:

https://thewritelife.com/how-to-end-a-story/ 

https://thejohnfox.com/2021/02/100-ways-to-end-a-story/ 

https://www.writersdigest.com/be-inspired/6-tips-for-a-satisfying-short-story-ending 

Anatomy of a Query Letter

 A Few Thoughts

I was recently asked to read someone’s query letter. In all honesty, I was gentler than I would have been with someone I knew well, gentler than I wanted to be. I wasn’t sure how to frame my comments. My husband helped and reminded me of the poop (sh*t) sandwich method. Start with something nice, then give the critical feedback, end with something nice. What did I tell this person? Only the truth.

I told them that from their synopsis, I would read the story (an LGBTQ+ historical romance). I thought the synopsis did a good job of showing off their style. - That’s the good part of the sandwich. - I gave a gentle critique of the synopsis, stating that it should be shorter, one to maybe two paragraphs. I also thought the comps (comparative works) that they provided were great. Assuming they were accurate, I think they help define a market/fanbase for the writer’s novel. Sandwich complete. 

I did deviate after. I told this person that from what I’ve learned, the query letter should start with a logline/hook. I also gave a few comments regarding query letter structure, which I have seen repeated in most workshops, posts, videos and podcasts. The title of their novel should be the only one in all caps. The other titles (like for comps) should be italicized. Query letters should be double-spaced and one page. I personally add in personalizations for the agent, so sometimes my query letter slides onto page two. 

I’d like to do a deeper dive into what I’ve learned about querying and query letters. I am currently querying an adult epic fantasy novel and I’ve been to more workshops than I can count. I’ve watched multiple panels, participated in one. I listened to The Shit No One Tells You About Writing and found Perfect Pitch from Eric Smith. I’ve changed my query letter between rounds of querying.

I’m still unagented in case anyone is wondering.

The point, I suppose, is that I feel like I have a lot of query letter info stored in my brain and when someone asks to share it, I want to. Even if I’m not getting an agent right now, maybe I can help someone else. Since I told a lot of the above to someone I didn’t know, I’m going to tell anyone and everyone who reads this. I’ll include links too! Resources are important. Any help crafting a query letter is worth it.

https://www.theshitaboutwriting.com/

https://www.ericsmithrocks.com/perfect-pitch

What I Read On Vacation

I read 8 books on vacation. 8 books! In 2 weeks. I wouldn’t say that would be impossible during a regular 2 week, if the books were short and we threw a bunch of comics in there too. I read in the car. It was a road trip. We stopped in Quebec, had 2 stops in Nova Scotia and stayed for a while in Prince Edward Island. I love it out east. I love PEI. To get to all those places though, took a lot of car time. So I read. 

The road trip booklist consisted of: 

Burr, by Brooke Lockyer
Chrysalis, by Anuje Varghese
Pumpkinheads, by Rainbow Rowell & Faith Erin Hicks
The Heart Principle, by Helen Hoang
Rapture in Death, by J.D. Robb
Dragons Don’t Eat Meat, by Kim McDougall
Dragon Actually, by G.A. Aiken
Drunk on Love, Jasmine Guillory

I also started Stardust, by Neil Gaiman (which I have since finished). In the car, with eastern Canada zooming by, I wanted love and action. I wanted cute moments that would send my heart aflutter. I wanted to be absorbed by the worlds the authors created. Some were better than others at achieving this, some were too good, and my husband and family would have to shout to get my attention. Sometimes I’d get lost in a thought and find myself staring at the trees of New Brunswick or the winding coast of Nova Scotia. Sometimes I’d be reading on a beach in PEI. 

It was a great trip with great friends, beautiful coasts, and relaxation. I’m excited for the next time we head out on the road. 

Do you have a genre you love to read on vacation? Is it always the same?

Loving Banned Books

Here’s the thing: I kinda love Banned Books lists. Why? Because I like to see which of these banned books I’ve read. It makes me weirdly satisfied to know that I read a book, liked it (maybe loved it) and I’ve somehow defied the people who want to get rid of them.

My children are getting older and their reading is starting to overlap with mine. Either they’re reading books I or my husband read when we were younger, or they’re reading more recent books that we’ve enjoyed. Knowing my children are defying people who want to ban books is also satisfying. This school year, my daughter read The Book Thief for class and LOVED it. It was a group read with a few others in the class. They all loved it. They were excited by it. They told the rest of the class they got the best book out of all the selections. I’m waiting for my children to read more "banned books" and then for us scoff at the people who tried to get rid of them.

A few books I've read that have been banned or were threatened to be banned in various parts of the world:

• The Color Purple
• Fahrenheit 451
• To Kill A Mockingbird
• The Handmaid's Tale
• 1984
• The Giver
• Brave New World
• The Satanic Verses
• The Harry Potter Series
• Lives of Girls and Women
• Their Eyes Were Watching God
• Where the Wild Things Are

You can find these books and many other amazing books listed in the links below

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/banned-books/_/N-rtm

https://bannedbooksweek.org/

https://www.cbc.ca/books/29-books-that-were-challenged-in-canada-1.4551912

https://www.rd.com/list/banned-books/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_banned_by_governments

https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1417106201/im-with-the-banned-books-cover-poster

How many banned books have you read? 

Are You Ready To Take Over The Family Business?

A Trope Question - Come On A Journey With Me

I have a plot question and I’ve wondered if it actually happens in real life. Do parents really expect their children to taking over “the family business”? It’s something I’ve been seeing on screen and in books forever. The earliest example I can think of encountering is While You Were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman and the most reason is Book Lovers, by Emily Henry. I understand the idea of wanting to build something for your family, so support and sustain them. I understand the pride of creating something to pass down to your children. Yet surely a mature adult will understand that their children grow to be their own people, and might have hopes and dreams that differ from theirs. 

Do I understand parents putting pressure on their children? Of course. That’s a different talking. 

I think it’s time to search for the “Family Business” trope.

Okay, Googling “the family business trope” led me to some mafia movies. Not what I was looking for…

Searching “taking over the family business trope” led me to tvtropes.org and this link: tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FamilyBusiness which I think explains it pretty well. It’s a relatively common trope used in all genres, not just the romantic comedy.

I also found an interesting article in the Harvard Business review about family businesses and how from large to small, families stay in the business, even if some lines of logic think eventually the “family” should be taken out of the business and led by professional management: https://hbr.org/1976/07/transferring-power-in-the-family-business

From my brief dip into researching the “family business trope”, I’ve learned that it’s something that happens now and has been happening for a long time. How many families pressure children into taking over a business they don’t want? I guess there’s no way of knowing how often that happens in real life. It does happen though. Searching “people who don't want to take over the family business” led me to these top two results: https://www.thomasnet.com/insights/10-reasons-why-your-kids-don-t-want-to-take-over-the-family-business/ and https://www.rbcwealthmanagement.com/en-us/insights/business-succession-when-your-kids-dont-want-to-take-the-reins. So, it happens. Often enough that resources exist to help people whose children do not want to take over their business.

I learned something about the real life inspiration for a popular trope. I have resources if this ever becomes a part of one of my stories. Hopefully, this helps someone else out there too. 

Some Thoughts on Procrastination

Is Substack a new way for me to procrastinate? I have a blog I started way back in 2006, and I wrote a lot. I used to post all the time. What if I had spent that time writing a novel or short stories? 

Maybe I wasn't ready for that. 

The year I started my blog, I got married. Soon after, I had children. Work, responsibilities, busy, busy, busy. Blogging was a fun break.

I think I’ve decided… When I have something non-fiction-esque to say, I can say it here, on Substack. 

Why not on the blog anymore? Well, I will cross-post there, but this platform offers something different. It's like a blog, MailChimp and Twitter (old Twitter) rolled into one. So far, I like it. Will that change? Well see.

It's also done a good job of enabling my procrastination. I need to create a limit for myself, since querying my fantasy novel and writing my gothic novel are my priorities. I don't want my new Substack to whither and die, therefore I think I should also set a minimum for myself. Three posts/articles/letters per month. I don't want to get districted: maximum six. I'd like to average four posts per month / once per week. That's reasonable, right? Will that change? Probably.

Does this count? It's just me thinking out loud (on fake paper).

It probably counts.

How do you procrastinate?

First appeared on my Substack

I started a Substack

I thought I would cross-post here since I still have love for my blog.

On my writing journey, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve gone to conferences and festivals, taken courses and gone to workshops. The most recent of them from the WCYR (I’m a member of the WCYR - Writer’s Community of York Region) and the FOLD (Festival of Literary Diversity).

What is my first Substack going to be about? Query letters! That’s not only what’s on my mind, it’s also important to any writer who wants to be traditionally published. In simple terms, a query letter is a writer’s introduction to an agent who they want to represent them. (They can also be sent to some publishers directly, typically small presses, who do not require writers to be represented by an agent, but we’re going to focus on agents.)

On the first day of the FOLD, my query letter was presented on the panel “The Sh*t No One Tells You About Writing” based on the popular podcast. It was an exciting moment for me. Each agent (Kelvin Kong, CeCe Lyra, Carly Watters, Léonicka Valcius) presented a query letter. They then discussed the letter, what worked and didn't work, then talked about the author’s first five pages. Not only was the feedback for my query letter valuable, but so was the feedback the agents gave the other writers.

How did I get to that point? How did I create a query letter I was ready to give to agents? I went to workshops. So many. I did research. (I’ve included a few links below). The best information I got about how to write a query letter was attending presentations. Before “The Sh*t No One Tells You About Writing”, I attended presentations given by Farah Heron, Greg Ioannou, and MJ Moores, among others. I attended workshops where I could submit my letter and get personal feedback. There are free workshops out there. I've gone to ones put on by local libraries and writers groups. If time is an issue, listen to a podcast like The Sh*t No One Tells You About Writing. There are others out there.

Remember, the letter needs to entice an agent to want to read your work and give them a sense of who you are. I hope we can all get our query letters right.

Check me out here: https://lonicameron.substack.com/

Non-exhaustive references and resources: 

https://www.theshitaboutwriting.com/

https://thefoldcanada.org

https://wcyork.ca

https://www.carlywatters.com/2013/11/04/how-to-write-a-book-synopsis/

https://www.writerswrite.co.za/how-to-write-a-query-letter-in-12-easy-steps/

https://www.writersdigest.com/getting-published/tips-on-writing-query-letters-to-publishers-and-literary-agents

https://www.writersdigest.com/publishing-insights/how-to-write-successful-queries-for-any-genre-of-writing

https://thefoldcanada.org/festival-events/the-festival-of-literary-diversity/schedule/3-the-sht-no-one-tells-you-about-writing/

https://www.ericsmithrocks.com/perfect-pitch

https://farahheron.com/

https://mjmoores.com/

It's January!

Happy New Year! This is my second day back in the real world. I took time off with the family. I have to take the time while the children are still young, when they actually want to spend time with me. I dread the day when they’re too cool for me.

Since I’m back in the world, I wanted to share what I’ve been reading and watching. I’m halfway through The Hacienda by Isabel Canas. It came in from the eLibrary the other day and I’m loving it. The story is amazing; the characters are so real and Canas writes beautifully. I feel like I’ve picked out 100 amazing sentences already!

Before that, I read Crumbs, by Danie Stirling. It is the CUTEST. I loved it so much.

Before that, I was swimming in holiday tales, including The Girl Who Saved Christmas, by Matt Haig. Not only was it sweet, but real, it reminded me that I needed to read The Radleys.

I also just finished watching The Ways of the Househusband, an anime of Netflix. I needed something fun during the craziness of the holidays. I’ve watched a few cute animes on Netflix in recent months. Romantic Killer and Blue Period, to name a couple more.

What’s next in my reading/watching life? Probably Lumberjanes #10 or Love on the Brain. Maybe Wednesday.