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Description:
Today's episode is titled "Reasons to Write the Blurb Early," but I really wanted to name it "Reasons to Not Procrastinate on Writing the Blurb." That was too long, but regardless, here we are to discuss why you shouldn't be putting off writing your blurb even though it's admittedly one of the hardest and most disliked things to do as a writer.
Listen
You are listening to The Novel Writing Podcast, Episode 158.
I'm your host, Colleen Mitchell. Grab a cup, cozy up, and let's get to writing!
Introduction
Today's episode is titled "Reasons to Write the Blurb Early," but I really wanted to name it "Reasons to Not Procrastinate on Writing the Blurb." That was too long, but regardless, here we are to discuss why you shouldn't be putting off writing your blurb even though it's admittedly one of the hardest and most disliked things to do as a writer.
What is a Blurb?
Blurbs are the back-of-book description, the Amazon sales copy, and the words that compel a potential reader to take the next step in the process of becoming a true fan. They're marketing tools, and while that makes it sound like something you do at the end of the entire book-writing process, when you start writing your blurb early on, you end up understanding your story way better.
The first draft blurbs can literally be just a page or two of word-vomiting the summary of the story.
Reason #1: Understand Your Story’s Structure and Direction
Writing a blurb early on means that you better understand the structure and direction of the story. That's their only purpose in the beginning. Nobody will see those first drafts of the word-vomit blurb, and that gives you freedom to reveal secrets and twisty bits without worrying about spoiling it for someone.
This is not the outline, but it's a summary of the major points of the story. You still want to write it through the lens of appealing to a potential reader, but not agonize so much about what to include.
A general rule of thumb for the blurb is that it's okay to reveal anything that happens in the First Act of the story and hint/tease at the stakes and obstacles faced throughout the remainder.
Reason #2: Identify Missing or Weak Plot Points
It will help identify plot points that are missing or need work. If you take the time to study blurb structure from bestsellers or comps in your genre, or use a blurb formula like those taught by Kindlepreneur or others, you could find out that you are at risk of having a sagging middle or that the stakes aren't high enough or that you don't have enough obstacles. By using your blurb as part of your outlining process (which is how we teach it in The 60 Day Novel Writing Challenge), you're better prepared to have a solid first draft than if you wait until the end to write the blurb.
Reason #3: Boost Motivation
It will excite you to work on the book! For me, having a blurb version of the story I want to write really motivates me because I want to read the story it's teasing!
We hold Blurb Workshops every quarter inside our Coaching & Critique group, and a few weeks ago we also held a call on how to write a better blurb. I wrote an example blurb using tips from Julie C. Gilbert's book, 5 Steps to Better Blurbs, and now I'm stoked to work on a story I essentially can't touch for a couple of years until my main series is done.
Losing motivation is the #1 reason I see writers stop writing. While motivation itself is like a hummingbird, and we've talked about this before, it's very real to get in a slump and not feel like writing and not have the energy to get back into it.
So having established motivators ready to go, like a blurb reminding you of why you're excited to write, is a great way to help yourself get through the periods of low motivation.
Reason #4: Easier Final Blurb Polishing
It means that polishing off the final blurb is going to be 1000% easier. If you refine and revise your blurb every time you finish a draft, then it will be much easier to put the stamp of approval on the final version because it won't take nearly as much effort as trying to write the whole thing at the very end.
Even if your story changes with each draft, having blurbs with each one is a great way to keep track of the changes, and also develop your own style for blurbs. Some authors will use the same structure for all of their blurbs, and a great way to come up with your style is to make blurb writing and revising part of your overall process.
Final Thoughts
Again, blurb-writing is a tough subject for many writers just because of how hard it is to shrink an entire novel into 150-250 words that appropriately hooks a reader without giving away the ending. But I promise it's a skill you can learn, that's worth learning, and will not only help you write stronger stories from the beginning, but also get better at the language you'll use when people ask what your book is about.
Coaching & Critique Group
And if you want help with blurbs, check out our Coaching & Critique group! In there we have that recorded call on How to Write Better Blurbs, and the quarterly Blurb Workshop to get direct feedback from myself, our editor Lauren, and the other members (who basically mimic your potential readers). You can find more information about the Coaching & Critique group in the description.
Closing
That's it for today's episode! Thanks for joining me, and remember, the first draft is supposed to be garbage.
Show Notes
Dive into the first episode of the Novel Writing Podcast with your host Colleen and her sometimes-guest Halie Fewkes Damewood! Here, we give you the gist of who we are, what we do, and what you can expect from this podcast.
What to do next…
Halie & Colleen are both authors! Find their books below:
Secrets of the Tally, by Halie Fewkes Damewood
The Chronicles of Talahm, by Colleen Mitchell
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