Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dustjacket of a book, and are now found on web portals and news websites. Many authors write the book blurb as an afterthought. Proper usage and audio pronunciation plus ipa phonetic transcription of the word blurb. I wanted to print a photo book with blurb for a long time, and finally ordered my first blurb photo book in june 2014. Information about blurb in the dictionary, synonyms and antonyms. A book without blurbs can look fishy did nobody read it. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Chose from several free tools or use adobe indesign or adobe lightroom. Export your word document to a pdf to print with blurb help. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Kevin is perfectly normal aside from the fact that he kept the name kevin 3. The short summary of a book, usually on the inside cover or back, that most people read so they can say they read the book we had to read a book for school, but i just read the blurb by oh just someone january 24, 2016.
Definition and synonyms of blurb from the online english dictionary from macmillan education. These steps will only change the information displayed on our site, not what is printed on the book cover itself. This description, which is always full of praise for both author and the book, is called a blurb. Mar 18, 2012 how to write an interesting bio blurb. When writing a novel, there are few selling tools as important as a solidly written book blurb. Blurb definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Change book title, subtitle, author name, or description. Forestry service and semiregular television gameshow host, stephen was inspired to write adventures based loosely on imaginary people and events.
A blurb is the back cover teaser that lures a reader or an agenteditor into wanting to buyread your book. From the moment i picked up your book until i put it down, i was convulsed with laughter. Blurb definition, a brief advertisement or announcement, especially a laudatory one. Once upon a time, a soul called racing song was taken over by its host body. Groucho marx was once asked to write a blurb for a book written by a friend.
Touted as sciencefiction for those who dont do science fiction, the host is another love story. Good characters, great plot, nice world building ladaladalada. You have one shot at introducing your story to your reader make it count. On the jacket of our 1961 unabridged dictionary, websters third new international, youll find printed since 1847 the ultimate word authority for schools, libraries, courts, homes, offices and the great library of the english language.
Writing the blurb for your selfpublished book is one of the privileges of being an indie author. Once your title and cover have drawn the reader in, the blurb is what is going to make the difference between a missed opportunity and a sale. Nov 15, 2019 when you need to write a blurb for a movie, book, or other project, start by writing a clever and catchy hook that introduces some of the characters and setting of the topic. The alien invasion is over, and, uh, we kind of lost. A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. Information and translations of blurb in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions. Oct 16, 2014 writing the blurb for your selfpublished book is one of the privileges of being an indie author. The blurb about a new book, film, or exhibition is information about it that is written. Copywriting is a completely different skillset to creating fiction, and im here to help you get that blurb in tiptop shape. Find fairytalegatherings by the wondersmith at blurb books. It turns out that the film is fairly true to the books plot. Jul 19, 20 the blurb of your book is the second thing a potential reader will look at after the coverso take the time to get it right.
Your book blurb aka online description, like your dating profile, has to be engaging and alluring to attract passersby. The story opens with an alien parasite being implanted into a human body. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that the. Her first book, poems, was published in 1944, with a blurb from eliot. The host is a science fiction romance novel by stephenie meyer. When we pick up any book, the first thing we normally look at is the back cover. The practice of covering a books jacket with expressions of praise and enticing descriptions of whats inside is an old one. Blurb definition is a short publicity notice as on a book jacket. How to write an irresistible book blurb in 5 easy steps. However, this task typically comes just when youre at your least able.
Sell your book in the blurb bookstore, through amazon, or in the global retail network of over 38,000 retailers, libraries, and schools. The blurb on the book is very misleading in this respect. Create, print, and sell professionalquality photo books, magazines, trade books, and ebooks with blurb. The host is stephenie meyers first nontwilight saga publication. The host by stephenie meyer book club discussion questions.
Your blurb will be an important part of your marketing. Blurb create, print, and sell professionalquality photo. Most run several paragraphs, but some publishers want them shorter or in a special format so be sure to check with your publishers guidelines before you begin work. Check out these tips and discover how to promote your book successfully. Publishers summary and recommendation of a book, printed usually on the front flap of the book s dust jacket, or in an advertisement or catalog. A cultural history of humanitys search for meaning is published by prometheus books, with a foreword by fritjof capra. Save your word document as a pdf using the steps below, then upload the pdf using our pdf to book workflow for printing create a pdf from your word document. The host book is fantastic and a great book to read. Change your default dictionary to american english. Fairytalegatherings by the wondersmith blurb books. Usually its in reference to a newspaper article that briefly mentions a barely newsworthy item.
It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. When you need to write a blurb for a movie, book, or other project, start by writing a clever and catchy hook that introduces some of the characters and setting of the topic. How to write a killer blurb that convinces readers to buy your book the book blurb is your sales pitch. Buy the host by stephenie meyer from amazons fiction books store. Blurb blurb is a creative platform and community that enables and encourages people to make books of the things they love. Basically, its the story of melanie, her boyfriend jared, and the alien that inhabits melanies body, wanderer. Forestry service and semiregular television gameshow host.
Actually, rippin originally published this book in 2002, but at the time, she was worried about some of the themes in the book and admits she selfcensored the story. Then, write 12 additional sentences that explain the. Referring to the word blurb on the wrapper of his book he said. Dictionary term of the day articles subjects businessdictionary business dictionary. Then, write 12 additional sentences that explain the plot of the story in a general way. The short summary of a book, usually on the inside cover or back, that most people read so they can say they read the book.
Shteyngart sat down with the daily beast to discuss the book, the art of the blurb, and, yes, teaching james franco. Munsey when he wrote on the front of his magazine in red ink i consider this number of munseys the hottest pie that ever came out of my bakery. This blurb from travel tv show host samantha brown boosts the credibility to grubbs message. The practice of covering a book s jacket with expressions of praise and enticing descriptions of whats inside is an old one. Publishers summary and recommendation of a book, printed usually on the front flap of the books dust jacket, or in an advertisement or catalog. In 1405, admiral zheng set off from china with the greatest armada in history, leading three hundred magnificent ships on a thirty year odyssey to distant lands as far. The host is a science fictionromance novel by stephenie meyer which she. See this stephenie meyer has said that she might write two sequels to the host. The story plays out the tensions of their threeway realtionship. The book took a long time to get a stride, but there were some very interesting parts from the middle to the end.
Her latest, chenxi and the foreigner, was published this year. The 5 core elements of a book blurb and why you should know. I found the host to be several hundred pages too long. The key with fiction is to excite and engage your reader.
Blurbs are short descriptions that promote things such as movies, books, or other projects. A book blurb should be a fair representation of the style of the book. There are things that need to be grabbed up before uploading your print ready pdf to make you competing with i will explain, when i was with i had uploaded. That first connection over a love of words convinced goldstein to have her editor ask pinker to blurb her next book. Share read this book and over 1 million others with a kindle unlimited membership. It started when racing song took on the bodys host name, kevin. From cambridge english corpus paratextual traces the blurb, back cover, inside cover, notes and title are part of the marketing process. In this post, we tell you how to write a book blurb in five easy steps. Author sally rippin has written a range of books for kids and teen. Information and translations of blurb in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web.
The book is about earth, in a post apocalyptic time, being invaded by a parasitic alien race, known as souls, and follows one souls predicament when the consciousness of her human host refuses to give up her body. How to create a back book cover blurb that sells i just published a guest post which goes into this with some examples. Change book title, subtitle, author name, or description on. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Have you ever wanted to host a gathering that could have walked right out of the pages of your favori. Some of the character conversations were more for a younger audience yet this book was written for adult readers. Blurb noun definition and synonyms macmillan dictionary. Its the perennial question of whether the blurbs on book covers are still meaningful or have become just background noise. Create, print, and sell professionalquality photo books blurb. The host tells the story of a pretty complicated love triangle or is it a quadrangle. Your blurb can usually be used as your pitch in your query letter or when you are doing an actual facetoface pitch session with an agenteditor.
This book would have been so much better with much less. Blurb definition in the cambridge english dictionary. Either way, what i wanted to say is that even if you disliked twilight, dont give up on the host. The blurb on the back of the book says that it will touch your heart. The story was cleverly told, weaving multiple plot lines together seamlessly. It uses twilight as an example, but dont hold that against me. How to write the perfect blurb examples, formula, opening. I hate to sound so mean, but ill believe it when i read it. How to write a blurb definition, examples, and more blurb blog. Sell one copy at a time and let blurb fulfill the orders or place a large order and sell inperson. It ended when the host tried to cut the soul from its body. Change book title, subtitle, author name, or description on to change the information listed about your book in the blurb bookstore, please follow the steps below.