Hey everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve posted about anything other than reviews and interviews, so I thought it would be a good idea to check in and tell you all what I’ve been up to. It’s just been crazily busy as always.
Progress on TMT
Firstly, I’m still working on editing TMT. I’m about to start a rewrite of a chapter that I feel really needs to be fleshed out. I also want to have another look at a new character, because I feel like he got a bit lost in the book, and that just won’t do. So that’s big on my edit to-do list.
Blurb Hell
The other thing I’ve been working on is my blurb. I have had all these amazing reviews pouring in, with lots of love for E. However, a lot of people are saying “I didn’t think I was going to like this book.” That tells me that I am not making a good first impression with potential readers. I’ve had a lot of compliments on the cover, so that leads me to the blurb. My blurb is just not telling people how awesome my story is.
Well, let’s face it: blurb writing is hard! Let’s take 100,000 words and boil it down to… oh… maybe 300, tops. Sound like fun? Hell no! On top of that, add the fact that I am one of those people that thinks that stories should be read “blind”. I think an author should reveal a story artistically, and part of the fun is in the careful, measured revelation of details. At least, this is my favorite way of reading. I read Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief knowing absolutely nothing about it, and it was perfect. Would knowing something have spoiled the story for me, at least a little bit? Yeah, I think it would have. Maybe that’s just me, but I find it hard to get my head out of this way of thinking. And as far as blurbs go, that translates into difficulty.
So when I’m writing a blurb, everything feels like a spoiler. When I wrote my first blurb, I was trying really hard not to give away too much, but perhaps that translated to inaccessible. Ideally, I would have people read the first few paragraphs of my story. I am almost tempted to just put the first scene as my blurb. But lo and behold, I am still working on an alternative (much thanks and lots of love to my fellow Rock the Book chicks for all the excellent advice and feedback, and to my other half, for putting up with 500 crappy blurbs). Hopefully, I will have something soon, and we’ll see how it goes.
Awesome Book
I also just wanted to share with you… I am reading this really awesome book called “The Dark Citadel” by Jane Dougherty. I don’t have time to be reading, but I am snatching bits of this book whenever I can. It’s a super-dark dystopian story. I’m not going to say anything else, except it’s really good, and if you liked my book, you will probably like this one. I am seriously loving it. Go check it out on Goodreads. I’ll be reviewing this book on Rock the Book soon.
Scrapbook Page
Last thing for today…. I have added a “Scrapbook” page to my site. I thought it would be fun to keep an online scrapbook of my editorial reviews, artist spotlights, and things like that. I have already posted a number of reviews on the page: My Scrapbook. As more reviews, articles, and so on come in, I’ll be asking my fabulous reviewers and authors for permission to include them, and I’ll post as many as I can to the page. Links to the reviewer sites are built in, so you can go visit them and see what they’re up to.
OK, I think that’s it for today. I have a ton to do, and never enough time to do it in, so off I go!
Read the first 2 1/2 chapters of E below:
Say something!!! :)