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As has been noted before in relation to several questions on genre, a genre is a promise to the reader of a certain kind of literary pleasure. A blurb is essentially an expansion on that promise. I...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2020-01-03T20:41:57Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/34412 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T08:20:48Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/34412 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
by
System
·
2019-12-08T08:20:48Z (about 5 years ago)
As has been noted before in relation to several questions on genre, a genre is a promise to the reader of a certain kind of literary pleasure. A blurb is essentially an expansion on that promise. It indicates a little more of the particular flavor of the work within its genre. Because a blurb is an elaboration on a literary promise, there is no one formula for all blurbs. Each has to be shaped to promise the particular kind of pleasure that the book provides. In a hard sc fi book, that might be a problematic technology. In a teenage angst novel, it is some particular mental, physical, or social affliction that the protagonist (and, we presume, the reader) is suffering from. In a fantasy quest novel it is a the protagonist, the antagonist, and the McGuffin. If it is about complex grownup problems, suggest what those problems might be. Remember that your aim is neither to surprise the reader nor deceive the reader but to delight the reader with the promise of more to come. A book is an experience, not a puzzle, and the blurb should provide a hint or a taste of the kind of experience that is to come.
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2018-03-19T17:26:10Z (almost 7 years ago)
Original score: 15