Sarah pinneo is a novelist, food writer and book publicity specialist. Daphne uvillers to ask for a blurb is to feel like a turd. Oct 04, 20 an easytofollow, practical guide to writing the best blurb to sell your selfpublished book, provided by ya author sarah juckes of completelynovel. School friends david and tucky are evacuated, along with their school friends, from bombtorn london to. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dustjacket of a book, and are now found on web portals and news websites. Friend or foe evacuated from london, david and tucky feel like the war is a long way away from their new life in the countryside. Blurbs return policy is a mustread for some very helpful tips, but essentially, damaged books may be returned for replacement or refund. Nov 19, 2015 early blurbs can be key, but you need to remember that its a numbers game. If you do not receive a response from the seller for your return request within two business. However, this task typically comes just when youre at your least able. When i was looking to get blurbs for my first book, i had asked, lets say, twenty people, ten agreed, and out of those ten, only about five of them were able to actually deliver the blurbs in a timely mannerthat could be though because we were on a time crunch and i didnt start soon enough. Oct 16, 2014 writing the blurb for your selfpublished book is one of the privileges of being an indie author. Singlevolume histories of nations are both illuminating and distressing, accumulating so much hindsight.
This book implicitly requests a commitment from the reader to understand and think about the context behind why people cooperate or compete. I have been a long time user but they are unable to print photo books true to the original images. His first picture book, friend or foe illustrated by dasha tolstikova, was described in brain pickings as a charming modernday fable. A place to converse about all things print related. Private peaceful won the 2005 red house childrens book award and. Its perfectly rational to find the prospect more stressful than, say, oral surgery. Unlike almost anything else that might be called upon to do for a book, blurbs are essentially free.
Friend request was eerie, particularly in the latter part of the book. Its safe to say that a wellwritten blurb is absolutely essential to your poetry books overall success and reputation. Your blurb will be an important part of your marketing. I still managed to read sixtytwo books last year, by the skin of my teeth, but some of the books had to be for enjoyment onlyotherwise, id have gone mad. An easytofollow, practical guide to writing the best blurb to sell your selfpublished book, provided by ya author sarah juckes of completelynovel. Blurb is a bookmaking platform and creative community that enables individuals to create, publish, share, and sell highquality photo books, trade books, magazines, and ebooks. The author, earl swift, is a former newspaper colleague and an old friend, and he had written earlier to say he was hoping i would give his new book a blurb. The following is a prayer for difficult situations. 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. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
This specificity is important, because you wont just be writing a fan letter when you ask for a blurb. How to write an effective blurb for a selfpublished book. The mouse wants to know if the cat is friend or foe. Read the books you know or want your book to be compared to. Blurb s return policy is a mustread for some very helpful tips, but essentially, damaged books may be returned for replacement or refund. Friend or foe evacuated from london, david and tucky feel as if the war is a long way away from their new life in the countryside. Discover why we compare ourselves to our facebook friends, many gender differences. He won the 1995 whitbread childrens book award for the wreck of the zanzibar, the 1996 nestle smarties book prize for the butterfly lion, and the 2000 childrens book award for kensukes kingdom. This book allows the reader to develop their knowledge and understanding of the second world war, through the description in the book. This is probably a prohibitively expensive option unless you are already a licensed adobe user, but its worth recording that the indesign plugin. Oct 08, 2012 for further reading about blurb requests, see. At the time i didnt even consider saying no because, as a blurb virgin, i thought i was simply being asked to do a friend a small favor. This item can be requested from the shops shown below.
Friend request is a chilling psychological thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Then one night the skyline of the moor is lit up with gun flashes, and the distant crump of bombing miles away brings the war back to them and shatters their newfound peace. Evacuated from london, david and tucky feel like the war is a long way away from their new life in the countryside. For a large landscape format book with 240 pages with 880 images supplemented by over 73000 words, i used the blurb plugin for adobe indesign, which has much more capability in managing text. Print as you go sell one copy at a time and let blurb fulfill the orders or place a large order and sell inperson.
Amy cuddy, author of presence friend and foe is a fascinating voyage through the science of cooperation and competition. Writing the blurb for your selfpublished book is one of the privileges of being an indie author. There are just a few final steps in this book building process that youll want to take. You have one shot at introducing your story to your reader make it count. Brooks posted on march 19, 20 december 6, 2014 categories staff articles tags bios for authors, example of a bad biography, good bio, how to write a bio blurb, how to write a biography, how to write a good bio blurb, tips for authors, tools for authors, writing a biography 30 comments on lets talk about me.
Asking for a friend book about herpes, theravax, herpes. In fact, even a oneword prayer such as, help is a perfectly acceptable prayer to our heavenly father. But one night the skyline of the moor is lit up with gun flashes, and the distant crump of bombing shatters their newfound peace. All you have to do is provide me with some information and i will write one undeniably catchy blurb. When to cooperate, when to compete, and how to succeed at both book online at best prices in india on. Friend or foe by michael morpurgo meet your next favorite book. See what blurb has planned for the future of book making.
Friend or foe by alistair horne books the guardian. If you send out a book and dont get a blurb, it still looks as though youve been busy. These are available in paperback only and in limited quantities. How to ask for a book blurb bittersweet book launch. School friends david and tucky are evacuated, along with their school friends, from bombtorn london to a peaceful rural devon. As ive said, ive reduced the flood of galley to a trickle. A sample letter for writers requesting a book endorsement. See also carolyn roybornsteins when the blurb is on the other foot.
This transcript of a spontaneous talk in answer to the question, what of the ego. Private peaceful won the 2005 red house childrens book award and the blue peter book of the year award. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. It lacks the definitive hard line of more simplistic manuals of. It definitely left me with a vague feeling of dread even after i had finished the book. In this post, we tell you how to write a book blurb in five easy steps. Up until just a few years ago, that meant almost exclusively books, magazines, newspapers, and other small items such as brochures and business cards. Friend or foe mercury theatre, colchester michael morpurgo. An anglosaxon history of france by alistair horne 428pp, weidenfeld. Singlevolume histories of nations are both illuminating and distressing, accumulating so. Stephen king, novelist the idea that a writer can bring his core audience into the tent with a blurb.
The email arrives in my inbox like an unexploded bomb. Six writers tell all about covers and blurbs the awl. I wanted to print a photo book with blurb for a long time, and finally ordered my first blurb photo book in june 2014. We all found the social media aspect of this novel quite clever and it added a scary and spine tingly feeling for us as we read this story. Laura lives in kent with her husband and two children. John sobol is an author, musician and poet who has performed at festivals and clubs in a dozen countries. Friend and foe provides the best roadmap ive ever seen for doing soby a mile. He didnt use my blurb, which was a good blurb, damn it. Either the author doesnt want to or simply cant blurb your book, or the author didnt get your email.
It uses twilight as an example, but dont hold that against me. The book aims high and largely fulfils its promise of handing the reader tools to be a better friend and a more formidable foe. Cialdini, bestselling author of influence galinsky and schweitzer are star researchers and teachers. Friend or foe is a historical fiction novel about world war ii, that grips the reader from the start. Sep 06, 20 read the books you know or want your book to be compared to. By coincidence, or careful planning, press night for friend or foe falls seventyfive years to the day since britain went to war with germany. Jan 02, 2019 but the more i write, the less time i have for reading. Suggestions and feature requests ideas and requests for new features at. Company overview blurb is a company and a community that believes passionately in the power of books. This question kept occurring to your columnist while reading a new book, friend and foe, by adam galinsky and maurice schweitzer. If you do this, what it will do is it will create a pdf document which you couldthen print on your own desktop printer. Then one night the skyline of the moor is lit up with gun flashes, and the distant crump of bombing miles away brings the war back to them and shatters their new. For 10 animals, from rats and roaches to sharks and wolves, kaner presents in turn a selection of destructive or disgusting habits, then beneficial behaviors.
Mar 09, 2017 friend or foe is a gripping world war ii story from war horse author and former childrens laureate michael morpurgo. How to create a back book cover blurb that sells i just published a guest post which goes into this with some examples. Write down what, specifically, you loved about the book, what spoke to you, and, if you know your own project well, how your book and theirs intersect. Its safe to say that a wellwritten blurb is absolutely essential to your poetry book s overall success and reputation. When you ask for a blurb, youre asking another person to shine a little of his or her credibility down on you. To write a good blurb, you have to make it short and exciting, yet relevant. This site has some simple prayers and some that are. Sep 30, 2015 the book aims high and largely fulfils its promise of handing the reader tools to be a better friend and a more formidable foe. Your book blurb must be wellwritten to get a readers attention. This poetic story invites conversation with your kid or reading group. An album of scary, dangerous, or revolting creaturesall of which have better sides.
Early blurbs can be key, but you need to remember that its a numbers game. A book blurb should be a fair representation of the style of the book. By definition, youll most often ask writers who are at least for now more wellknown than you are. Make sure you supply me with a general synopsis as well. If you wish it to be personalized, you will need to send an email request with correct spelling of your name. I once was asked to write a blurb for a friend so i diligently reread his novel i had read earlier drafts. Buy friend or foe by michael morpurgo from waterstones today. From master storyteller michael morpurgo comes friend or foe. Friend or foe is a gripping world war ii story from war horse author and former childrens laureate michael morpurgo. Louise is a single mom to a wonderful little boy, henry. Follow up on your book blurb request via email if you dont hear back from an author that you contact about a book jacketquote request, there are two possibilities.
Blurb offers multiple shipping options to most destinations, including the ability to track your package. But the more i write, the less time i have for reading. Their technical staff is obtuse and they use a biased color profile. If you send out a book and get a blurb, it looks as though youve accomplished something. Sell your book in the blurb bookstore, through amazon, or in the global retail network of over 38,000 retailers, libraries, and schools.
Evacuated from london, david and tucky feel like the war is a long way away. Friend or foe is a gripping world war ii story from war. I would have understood if my blurb had been knocked off the jacket by blurbs from philip roth and salman rushdie and annie proulx, but no. Friend or foe is a heartwarming novel from a master storyteller michael morpurgo, one of the most prominent representatives of contemporary childrens literature of england.
Many authors write the book blurb as an afterthought. Blurb is a basic service useable for basic book printing. Friend request by laura marshall tuesday, july 25, 2017 permalink getting facebook friend requests from old school frenemies or even those you only vaguely knew many years earlier is a weird thing. The internet has changed all that in more ways than one.
A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. Friend request by laura marshall is a creepy, gripping, shocking, suspenseful, and a clever psychological thriller novel that kept us on the edge of our seat throughout this whole book. After many requests for a signed copy of the book, i decided i would make them available. Writing a book blurb is harder than you think, and is an excellent way of getting yourself noticed.
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