Blog of Gracie O'Neil Author Paranormal Romantic Suspense

13 April, 2010

Your Novel--In Four Paragraphs Or Less (Aspect 2)

If you've followed my last two blogs, you should now have:

the fifty word "High Concept" heart of your novel
the first part of your back-of-the-book blurb, covering the aspects a reader would expect to be there: hero, heroine, external situation, and a hint of the major conflicts the main characters are going to have to resolve

Today we're going to go on to the second part of writing your teaser; analyzing your work from the perspective of a buyer.

Your back-of-the-book blurb is a filter, an advertisement, a need generator. It filters out the people who won't read your genre or sub-genre. If it mentions dragons, werewolves or time-travel then someone who only reads contemporary cozy mysteries probably won't read any further. On the other hand she might, if you make it interesting enough.

When a buyer picks up your book you have about five seconds before she decides to put it down again. Five seconds to make her want to read the next paragraph, never mind open the book itself. She's looking for excitement, emotion, and mystery.

Both buyers and readers are much like cats. They are intensely curious. They're also discerning, have distinct tastes that they won't compromise, and they like a good time--by their own definition.

So how do you capitalize on these traits?

You present your four paragraphs in such a way as to:

stimulate her curiosity about the story
stir her emotions towards the plight of the heroine and hero
arouse her excitement by the hints you give as to their journey

You also present the blurb in a way that assures her you're catering to her tastes, and offers her an opportunity to enjoy herself in a secure and familiar environment.

In other words, if you're writing paranormal romantic suspense then the hero, heroine, external situation, and hint of major conflicts have to be presented in the light of all three elements of the sub-genre : the paranormal, the romantic, and the suspense.

If you're writing Historical romance, then your presentation of the hero, heroine, external situation, and hint of major conflicts must be slanted to reflect the world a buyer of Regency / Victorian / Medieval romances would expect.

You do this in the same way you wrote your novel...by your choice of words, by the tone of your "voice", by your use of literary props (swords, dragons, magnesium bombs, Prinny, etc) to place your work in a buyer's mental bookshelf.

So, my blurb for my paranormal romantic suspense at the Part 2 stage would look something like this:

While she doesn't expect winning to be easy, high profile lawyer ALEXIS BRADFORD does expect to win--both in the courtroom and in her personal life. But when a serial killer calling himself "The Sphinx" begins to send her cryptic messages about her buried past, and taunts her to either solve a riddle before midnight on her birthday, or die, winning might just take second place to survival.

In the eyes of the world, PHILIP KNIGHT is an amusing enigma; an attractive, wealthy eccentric who would rather spend his nights studying dead languages than dating beautiful women. But when a killer calling himself "The Sphinx" appears, Philip's investigations into the past may be the only thing that will prevent a bloodbath.

It's a good start, but I haven't completed it yet, because I've only put in the suspense aspect.

I'll continue with the romance and paranormal aspects next time, along with Part 3 'accentuating your book's point of difference in the market".

Your turn.

Look at your four paragraphs from a buyer's perspective. How can you fashion them into something that stimulates curiosity, stirs emotion, and arouses excitement? You won't get it perfect first time. Choose somewhere--hero, heroine, wherever--and start.

Comment:

Hi Gracie,

Your four paragraphs exercise is fantastic. I have just finished my first try and once I've copied it out on word, minus crossings out etc. I think it will be a good start. But the best thing is that I've found my hero's need and was able to put it in writing, which I wasn't able to do before.

Again, my thanks

Best regards

Hilary

Gracie:

That's excellent news, Hilary! I believe boiling everything down to basics is the key to finding those elusive essentials. It also takes both time and a lack of pressure / stress to think them through. Well done for sticking with it. :-)