Published: Sept. 24, 2020, 7 a.m.
- Your hero drives the action. In blurbs, you almost never need to mention side characters. Most BPF blurbs mention only the hero (or dual heroes in a romance) and maybe the villain. Sometimes a character\u2019s mentor will be mentioned, etc. But add too many and readers will get confused when they have to remember all the name soup (people skim!). Since your protag drives, every sentence in the blurb should be from that POV.
- When driving the action, verbs and plot points matter. In your blurbs, are your characters doing things like \u201crealizing\u201d and \u201cdeciding\u201d? (unless enlightenment plot). Show us your character affecting the plot. If at some point your character has a serious dilemma (\u201cpoint of no return\u201d or \u201cbest bad choice\u201d), show us that. That\u2019s what keeps readers invested as they progress.
- A blurb should show an arc. Remember, you\u2019re a storyteller. Your blurb should show us a microcosm of your character\u2019s emotional journey through a series of escalating plot points (and don\u2019t worry so much about spoilers!). Maybe in the first sentence, we see a shy-but-plucky teenager who has unexplained powers. Halfway through the blurb, she begins to accept her chosen one-ness during her first battle (or with death of mentor), then by the final cliffhanger, she\u2019s going to war against the evil mega-demon. Look how far she\u2019s come! Readers won\u2019t consciously evaluate this, but showing change in a blurb is a great way to hook readers. It shows them you\u2019re a storyteller.
- Always do your best... revisit your old work after you\u2019ve learned more. Copywriting isn\u2019t like riding a bike... it\u2019s a skill you have to practice to stay sharp.
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