As the media giant gets bigger and bigger and occupies more of your free time, we are finding books (and authors) are having to adapt and adjust with reader demands. That means you have to get tighter on delivering a book that is ‘on point’ with modern readers. But this comes more into play in the packaging and selling Who writes all those tight, clever blurbs and teasers that make you buy a book – or watch a movie? You do! Yes you, the author, delivers all the copy – teasers, blurbs, loglines, summaries. No big PR team. No clever copywriters. You.
You even do your own author interview for the publisher – I kid you not. Publishers will send you a long author interview questionnaire and you have to fill it in and write your PR copy. So, here’s a test. I want you to take your book and ‘Netflix it.’ Here’s what to do: 1. State your genre 2. Three words that convey the feeling / elements / sub-genre 3. Max 25 words to describe it. I have given you some examples below: The Firm (John Grisham) Crime Legal Slick. Suspenseful. Mastery When a Harvard Law School grad joins a prestigious firm, he ignores the warning of his wife, who fears the lucrative deal may be too good to be true The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) Thriller Suspenseful. Exciting. Mystery Mysterious murder. Iconic artwork. Cryptic clues. And a professor trying to unmask centuries of secrets and deception. Seaspiracy Documentary Controversial. Provocative. Investigative Passionate about ocean life, a filmmaker sets out to document the harm that humans do to marine species – and uncovers alarming global corruption. Eat Pray Love (Elizabeth Gilbert) Memoir Sentimental. Romantic. Drama After deciding to reshape her life after divorce, Liz travels around the world in search of good food, spirituality and true love The Trial of the Chicago 7 Courtroom real life drama Witty. Political. Controversial. An unpopular war. A massive protest. A violent clash. They hit the streets to fight for justice. In court, they’ll make history A Life on our Planet (David Attenborough) Documentary Intimate. Science and Nature. Inspiring. Rainforests cleared. Species lost. Earth imperiled by climate change. But he knows what we must do to save the planet. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks) Swoonworthy. Intimate. Emotional Two young lovers are torn apart by war and class differences in the 1940s Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn) Slow burn. Dark. Psychological. His marriage crumbling, Nick comes home one day to find his wife has vanished. As the police turn up the heat, shocking truths come to light. Yours in writing, Sarah Bullen HOW ELSE CAN YOU WRITE WITH ME? Crossing the Threshold: A 12-Week Creative Writing Journey into Story Starts June 2021 This is a 12-week creative writing journey with writing mentor and author Sarah Bullen, and a call to write. We will follow a pilgrim’s descent through exploration and writing through the 12 weeks. Any genres or writers welcome. Information is here Finish your Book This is a personal mentorship package where you work on an individual basis over four months to get your book polished, ready and submitted to publishers. Info here Six Month Author Mentorship - MEMOIR / NON-FICTION We start the next one in August and you should have a solid book ready by the end of January 2022. We work closely on your book with lots of reading time, feedback and connection. APPLY HERE |
SARAH BULLENSarah Bullen is a writing coach and literary agent. Love and Above is her journey through shamanism, a three week coma and cancer. |