This week: Entice Me! Edited by: StephBee  
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“Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you.” – Marsha Norman
“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne
FROM THE EDITOR
May is a busy month! The Kentucky Derby was recently held and Mother’s Day has come and gone by the time this newsletter is posted. Then at the end of the month, we’ve got Memorial Day, a day to honor those who gave their life in service to the nation. It’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Month and my favorite National BBQ month. I’m pooped already!
How many people here LOVE  to BBQ? If you share your favorite BBQ recipes, I’ll share them in my JUNE 2023 Newsletter.
I had a nice, low key National Dispatcher’s Week. When you work 24-7 sometimes it’s about the little things and for me, at work, the things involve having a snack. We had great snacks from tacos to Chinese food. What are your favorite snack foods?
I brought back Best of the Rest to celebrate National Library Week, but sadly, I didn’t have anyone participate.  . If you want to pop into Best of the Rest and share some items, go ahead. I know it’s after the fact, but I’ll be giving out MB and Awardicons to my favorites.
What I like about romance writing is: It’s an easy read, it’s an endearing read, leaves me with hope and allows me to visualize and imagine the scenes playing out. A good romance allows me to get in the story. Honestly, sometimes, I just want a light-hearted read that’s uplifting.
When I go to pick out a romance book, the first thing I look for is the cover and the subgenre (I’m a sucker for a historical/period romance). Once the cover intrigues my imagination, I look at the blurb. Most of the time, the blurb is the hook that sells me on the story. For this newsletter, I’m going to be discussing romantic blurbs and how to write a good romantic blurb for your story.
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Book blurbs serve a purpose. Using a good economy of words and doing their best to be succinct, they are used to entice you to buy the book by teasing details of the characters, the setting, or the plot. Typically, book blurbs are between 150-300 words – just enough to hook you in.
Writing a blurb should always be done after you’re done writing the story. This way you know your characters, are familiar with the setting and totally understand the plot. In fact, after writing the story, you still aren’t done with that story. You have to work on cover design, write your blurb, and develop a marketing plan for your book. If you’re self-publishing, there are always resources to help, but typically, even a publisher will ask you to come up with a book blurb.
Here are some tips:
Read other book blurbs. Get a feel for what writing one would be like by reading them. Find some time to visit a library and just read blurbs for a little while. Usually blurbs have 3 paragraphs, an opening that establishes the setting, genre and characters. The 2nd paragraph usually teases the characters and plot. The 3rd Paragraph leaves you hanging so you’ll buy the book.
Once you get a feel for a blurb, practice writing yours. You don’t have to settle on something fresh out of the gate, either. Feel free to rewrite your blurb until you feel comfortable with it.
If you want to be fancy, add a kick to it, or a 1 line hook. For example…
Ella had the life of a tennis star…
Aiden was looking for something to put his life in order…
Rachel would have Cotton Mather turning over in his grave
Then go into your blurb.
The first paragraph is generally about 1 of your characters and their situation, which should establish the time, setting, subgenre.
The 2nd paragraph is general about the other character and cements the time, setting, genre.
The 3rd paragraph heightens the tension and builds suspense.
THE TRICK IS NOT TO GIVE AWAY THE BOOK. Leave out the ending. Don’t give that away. The minute you do, you spoil it for the potential buyer who wants to read the book.
Don’t tell potential readers this is a “fast paced read” or it will “keep you turning the pages” (That’s for writing a review). The goal is to get the reader to look in the book and make the ultimate decision to buy it.
Write in the third person. It’s industry standard. Avoid clinches. Write the book blurb in your own voice. That comes off much more authentic and enticing.
How much weight do you put into reading a blurb? Does it help you decide to buy the book? I’ll share your answers in my next newsletter.
Read “From the Back Cover:” and let me know if it was enough to entice you to want to pick up the book and read it?
REFERENCE: https://rosalindjames.com/how-to-write-a-romance-blurb
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Feedback from my last Romance/Love Newsletter Dated: 4-19-2023:
Sadly, I didn’t have any feedback on my last newsletter.
StephBee is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. Her summer story, Journey of the Heart is available on Amazon as an ebook. James is a drifter, looking for a home. Rachel owns a struggling winery. Can James settle down long enough to help Rachel? If so, he just might find out there's much more to life.
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Romance/Love: May 17, 2023 Issue [#11967]
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