...thateverything that you had said to me was just...
...a lie until you left.
I'm not really sure I'm ready to begin sharing pieces of my story yet, but I am trying to put together a decent synopsis of it. Mostly I want to know if this uber short description of what the story is about (like what would be on the back of the book or the inside cover) would intrigue you to read the story itself.
Quote:
Biographer Amelia Harrison has spent her career researching history's greatest serial killers. So when a suspect in her hometown is arrested for multiple gruesome murders, she considers interviewing the killer the chance of a lifetime. But 18 year old Wendy Burke is not your average murderer. She will challenge everything Amelia knows about good, evil, and what "humanity" really means.
EDIT: The working title at this moment is "Born This Way: The Biography of Wendy Burke".
I love the vibe to it, it reminds me a lot of Death Note. :3 I think you should go for it, should be interesting. I'll be ready to subscribe when the first chapter is up
...thateverything that you had said to me was just...
...a lie until you left.
Crazy Coyote Girl
This sounds like an awesome book
Nefret. I would so read it. If you
ever finish it tell me where I can buy
it.
Thanks! I have it up on Google docs right now and I may be persuaded to give the link (although I'd rather not too many people see it, otherwise who would buy it?) given the right incentive. XD
Misaki_Ai_Enma
I love the vibe to it, it reminds me a lot of Death Note. :3 I think you should go for it, should be interesting. I'll be ready to subscribe when the first chapter is up
I've heard of Death Note, but I've never read/seen it, so I wouldn't know the comparison. But I'm going to assume that's a good thing for you, so thank you. XD
Starting off with 'biographer' is already a turn off to me. She can be a biographer, but it serves no purpose for you to include that tidbit in the synopsis.
Also, it is unnecessary for you to include their entire names. Its not something I need to know. Maybe instead of 'Biographer Amelia Harrison' you could say 'Dr. Harrison'. Same thing with Wendy. Whether or not her last name is important in the story doesn't necessarily mean its important for the synopsis. I'm much more interested in who these two characters are and what they do than I am with their names.
As for whether or not this would catch my attention in a bookstore, the answer is no. It follows too closely to the 'Synopsis Formula'. The kind of blurb you provided would only capture the attention of someone who was already looking for that kind of book. In other words, you are preaching to the choir. An effective synopsis would rope in readers who wouldn't normally go for that kind of genre. You need a hook; something to capture anyone's interest right away.
For example, here is the WIP synopsis for my current story:
Magic, lies, manipulation and betrayal.
The balance of nature was unhinged with the mysterious disappearance of the Fleurans, the ancient race charged with the health of the Holy Forest and preserving equilibrium between Magic and Life. Now, 400 years later, the land of Eldeyr is dying, but its people have their eyes on far more immediate disasters.
Now this is just an example, by no means the rule. I'm not claiming that mine is perfect, like I said its still a WIP.
My point in showing it to you is that blurbs don't have to follow the formula and you are allowed to deviate away from it.
Starting off with 'biographer' is already a turn off to me. She can be a biographer, but it serves no purpose for you to include that tidbit in the synopsis.
Also, it is unnecessary for you to include their entire names. Its not something I need to know. Maybe instead of 'Biographer Amelia Harrison' you could say 'Dr. Harrison'. Same thing with Wendy. Whether or not her last name is important in the story doesn't necessarily mean its important for the synopsis. I'm much more interested in who these two characters are and what they do than I am with their names.
As for whether or not this would catch my attention in a bookstore, the answer is no. It follows too closely to the 'Synopsis Formula'. The kind of blurb you provided would only capture the attention of someone who was already looking for that kind of book. In other words, you are preaching to the choir. An effective synopsis would rope in readers who wouldn't normally go for that kind of genre. You need a hook; something to capture anyone's interest right away.
For example, here is the WIP synopsis for my current story:
Magic, lies, manipulation and betrayal.
The balance of nature was unhinged with the mysterious disappearance of the Fleurans, the ancient race charged with the health of the Holy Forest and preserving equilibrium between Magic and Life. Now, 400 years later, the land of Eldeyr is dying, but its people have their eyes on far more immediate disasters.
Now this is just an example, by no means the rule. I'm not claiming that mine is perfect, like I said its still a WIP.
My point in showing it to you is that blurbs don't have to follow the formula and you are allowed to deviate away from it.
I'll have you know I'm scared to
death...
...thateverything that you had said to me was just...
...a lie until you left.
I guess I see what you mean, although I've seen the same formula used for multiple different genres of books for multiple age groups, so I'm not certain exactly what choir I would be preaching to. I've also found there are other standard formulas, including just taking out one of the most dramatic moments in the book and putting it on the back to intrigue possible readers.
I used this formula to give as much info as possible, while leaving enough unsaid so people don't feel like they've just read a summary of the entire thing. For my part, I like to know the basics of the story I'm getting into, including the main character's name. If I don't connect with the main characters, I can't get in to the book. Plus, using the title "Dr." implies a formality the character does not possess. In this case, the word "biographer" was used to give the reason behind why she was coming across a serial killer in the first place.
In all honesty, I'm not that interested in trying to entice people that don't like murder/crime into reading it. If they don't like reading about murder, then they're not going to like the entire idea of the book no matter how I word the synopsis. I would expect them to put it down the minute they see the phrase "serial killer", just like I would expect anyone who doesn't like fantasy/supernatural to put yours down the minute they saw the word "magic".
However, I think you are right about a hook. Most of the time, my hooks involve asking a question that relates to the theme, as I want it to be something the reader asks themselves while they're reading. In this case it would be something along the lines of "What does evil look like?" That could be added as the attention-grabber at the beginning of it.