NEVER WRITE YOUR OWN BOOK TEASER

I've been spending a lot of time on the CreateSpace boards. From reading the book descriptions, it's clear that many of these authors are writing their own copy.

Why is it inadvisable for you as the author of an 80,000+ word book to write the synopsis for it yourself?

You know too much.

Also, being a conscientious editor you've pared the book down to its most essential elements. There's nothing left that doesn't serve the story or the characters. You're attached to every remaining word, and that's why you will try to put too much information on the back cover.

Ever watched a trailer that tells the whole story of the film? Afterward, you turn to your mate and say, "Well, I guess we don't have to pay to see that one."

Or a trailer that gives away all the best jokes? (The shame is that out of context, they're not as funny as they should be.)

This kind of overkill betrays a lack of confidence in the material. You've heard people talk about the "elevator pitch," right? The idea is that you should be able to pitch your story to someone in the time it takes to get from one floor to another.

Notice I didn't say "in the time it takes for the firemen to rescue you after you've gotten stuck between floors."

You have someone's attention for ten seconds. Use it wisely.

Short, sweet, to the point.

Hook, complication, question.

A phobic blind woman has inadvertently picked up a doll at the airport containing heroin. When the bad guy comes looking for his contraband, he breaks into her apartment and lies in wait until her husband goes to work. She's left alone in the apartment with a killer she can't see...

The question is implied: Will she get out alive?

She's Audrey Hepburn*, so it's a good bet she will. But the point is we know we're in for one hell of a thrill ride from the opening to the final scene.

Image by drinksmachine via Flickr

A book description will be longer than the elevator pitch, but not by much.

If you must write your own copy, cut, cut, cut those extra words. Pare the description down to the main characters and the most gripping plot points. Don't try to sell the book based on tangential complications and secondary characters. Sell it on the spine of the story.

Again, I don't recommend it. (If you were a doctor, would you operate on yourself?)

Let someone else write your book copy, someone who'll be ruthless with the backspace key. You owe it to the rest of the 80,000 words to present them in the very best light.


*Wait Until Dark – still a great movie after all these years!

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