Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

Hello all! I'm almost done with my historical fiction DESTINY BY DESIGN- LEAH'S JOURNEY. This is a stand-alone novel, but written as a sequel to my historical/fantasy BECOMING MALKA. Please read and let me know if it floats your boat, rings your bell, gets you through the night.... :-)

Leah Abramovitz is a cosseted member of the upper echelons of Odessan society. The Abramovitz Manufacturing Company is heralded throughout Mother Russia and although they are not in quite the same society as the Brodskys or the Gintsburgs, Leah has every reason to hope for a brilliant future. When faced with alarming changes in political practices and societal mores, the family chart a course across land and sea to start a new life in Argentina. Will her dreams be washed away on the shores of Buenos Aires or will Leah finally achieve the freedom to design her own destiny?

If you're trying to build back-cover copy -- as the title of your post says -- then neither of these are it.

Remember what the back-cover copy is: it's a sales tool to get a potential reader to become a buyer. You have only a small amount of time to do that. Long, drawn-out excerpts from the text, full of people the potential reader doesn't know or care about, will turn into a "pass" almost instantly.

The best guidelines for building this sales tool come from writing queries, which are also sales tools and use what (if you do it right) becomes the back-cover copy for your book. You need to include three things:

1) Who is your protagonist, and what does s/he want?
2) Who/what is keeping her from getting what s/he wants?
3) What happens if the protag doesn't get what s/he wants?

You get ~200 words max to do this.

I suggest you spend a large amount of time simply reading the back-cover copy for several dozen legacy-published books in your genre. (For as many things as the Big 5 get wrong, they're really good at sales pitches.) I'd also recommend Query Shark; it's run by a well-known agent and aimed at improving queries, but since the story pitch is the bulk of a query, you'll get good advice from an industry veteran.

Good luck.

Lance wrote: "If you're trying to build back-cover copy -- as the title of your post says -- then neither of these are it.

Remember what the back-cover copy is: it's a sales tool to get a potential reader to be..."
Excellent advice! Thank you for taking the time!

Lance wrote: "If you're trying to build back-cover copy -- as the title of your post says -- then neither of these are it.

Remember what the back-cover copy is: it's a sales tool to get a potential reader to be..."
Great advice.

Here's my back cover blurb for "My Undead Mother-in-law". I was told 250 words max, but this is less. I cover antagonist, protagonist, and conflict. Plus humor.

My mother-in-law's a zombie. And she has anger-management issues.

My mother-in-law, Diane Newby, zombified by accident. She still volunteers at her church bake sales and cooks pot roast for her daughter and son-in-law, Ron Yardley. What ticks her off is when people don't treat her like a normal human being—with glowing red eyes and super strength and speed. And if she doesn't get her own way, look out. She explodes and leaves broken plaster and body parts in her wake. Nothing stops her: not brick walls, the federal government, or middle-aged spread.

But the world's most powerful criminal plans to control zombies. His only problem with zombies is that they have way too much free will. He has a solution for that. But will it work with Diane Newby?

The world divides into pro-zombie and anti-zombie factions. Battles break out everywhere. Which side will you take? Who will live and who will die?

You might not survive this book. But at least you'll die laughing.