When you achieve something extraordinary, like wrestling yourself through all the pages of this book until the boring end, you deserve a reward, an 'extra', a free bonus, a gift from me, the writer, who appreciates your effort.
"42-39-56" (summary of a whole lotta Rosie, according to AC/DC)
Many writers on Wattpad.com ask for help about what they call 'the summary'. A summary is what you have to write for school: "Read Romeo and Juliet and write a 1.000 word summary about it." A summary would include info about how the story ends. This is not about summaries. Others talk about a 'blurb', but to me, that sounds like my goldfish suffers a hangover. What they mean is the 'cover text', the short text that you use to present your story to anyone who's interested.
The most important marketing tools for every novel, the 'trident' to hook the reader, are the title, the cover photo and the cover text. The first thing any reader will see from your novel is the title and the photo of the cover. If that looks appealing, the next step most readers take is to turn the book around and read what's written on the back. That's the cover text. You can leave the cover to a professional, but the title and the cover text are part of your job.
What do you say when you meet someone for the first time? Imagine that you want 'something' from that other person, perhaps a nice chat or perhaps a job, a marriage or a million dollars. First, you want to make a good impression: you flash a smile, reach out your hand and say some form of 'hello', followed by your name. In my case, most people know enough and start running away, but you would probably have the possibility to add some small spoken information. What you say will depend on yourself and on the occasion.
When you enter an office for a job interview, you might say: "Hi, I'm Ronaldo7. I'm the writer you've been looking for. I'm successful, professional and I write great plots."
When you see someone in the local library, and you would like to talk to her about books, you might say: "Hi, I'm Ronaldo7. I like to read Science Fiction and Fantasy and I do a little writing myself."
When you meet a gorgeous girl (stunning boy, if you prefer) in a burning skyscraper, you might say: "Hi, I'm Ronaldo7. I am looking for a hot girl like you to hang out with. Please allow me to rescue you from the flames."
When you meet a serious man, dressed in blue, with a helmet or a cap, holding a notebook and having a deep desire to see your ID and driver's license, you might say: "Hi, I'm Ronaldo7. I wasn't really speeding. I was just testing if this car could break the sound barrier like promised in the commercial."
How you present yourself depends on the occasion and on you, but I'm sure you don't have any problems with it. If you're good, you'll use 'active' verbs, 'positive' words, express 'happy feelings' and give your info right to the point, to inform the other about what (you think) he is interested in.
How you present your book is even simpler. The occasion is always the same: you present your story to a reader who just got curious when she saw the title and the cover of your story, and now wants to know a little more.
Here's the key: a LITTLE more. You should not spoil the fun by telling the whole story. You should not scare your reader off with half a chapter of info. All she wants is the short version, to know what it's about, the introduction. You will not tell the girl in the burning skyscraper the story of your life; you just want her to go with you so you can tell that story later. I personally don't want to know that the writer is from Farfaraway and that he's married with two kids, but if you think that's important info for your reader, you can add it.
How you present yourself is not the same as getting what you want. Don't make the mistake to think that your cover text should convince everyone who picks up your book: you'll get disappointed lots of times. You wrote a story about witches/football/romance so the best you can hope for is that a reader who is interested in witches/football/romance will pick your story between thousands of others. If she doesn't, it doesn't mean that you're a bad writer or a bad person, it doesn't even mean that you wrote a bad cover text.
YOU ARE READING
Stories for in the Campfire
Humor@Ronaldo7Siete is serious about only one thing: he thinks he's the funniest writer at Wattpad. Of course, everybody laughs about that, but... doesn't that mean that he has a point? In 9 tragedies Ronaldo warns us about writing; he tells about his...
