Friday, May 7, 2010

Blurb Anxiety

So, I hit send on my edits. There was trepidation and nerves. I was fortunate in that the edits were minor and any changes I made were minor, yet I couldn't help being insecure about it. Did I do it right? Did I address all the areas adequately? Have I met expectations? Are they still happy they bought my story? LOL I know, it's neurotic, but this is the first edit process I've been through so I think it's allowed. Now? I wait and work on the blurb. I have to summarize the main elements of the story, give a sense of the characters and my voice, ensuring it's catchy and interesting enough to convince people to buy it, and, oh yeah--it has to be under 120 words! All the writers out there will know what I'm talking about. What ideas to incorporate? Is it enough of a hook? Does it accurately reflect the feel of the story? Will anyone even want to read it? It's hard to boil a story down to a handful of words and hope you've conveyed what you set out to. Wish me luck!

Thankfully, one thing I don't have to worry about is the excerpt. How could I possibly choose? The editor will select that and I have to say I'm really excited to see what she pulls out to become the official excerpt. It will be like opening a present! Hopefully, I'll be able to post a release date soon, display the cover, and unveil the blurb and excerpt for real!

BTW, don't forget Monday I talk to Madelyn Ford about her journey to publication and what she's learned. Her insights are awesome!

5 comments:

  1. Congratulations on sending in your edits! It's is nerve-wracking. : )

    Good luck on the blurb; you'll do fine.

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  2. I know you'll do fine on the blurb. But I do understand what you mean. At least they choose the excerpt. (I had to choose it myself for FL!)
    I had to send them a blurb right off with the submission. And now I want a different one!

    It's all so exiting as well as scary!

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  3. Great to hear you've sent back your edits. It's such a feeling of accomplishment, isn't it? I'm one of those strange people who enjoys doing blurbs, but mine are usually around 175 words, so 120 would be a challenge. ;) Good luck with yours!

    I'll definitely be back tomorrow to visit Madelyn!

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  4. Congrats on sending your edits back. I always have trouble with blurbs too :) Good luck!

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