Exercises in style blurb

On a crowded bus at midday, raymond queneau observes one man accusing another of jostling him deliberately. A blurb is defined as a short description of your book, written for promotional purposes and appearing on the back cover. Thats why we have partnered with blurb to help you print and distribute physical copies of your book to a world of readers. Exercises in style by raymond queneau fractious fiction. 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. A simple style exercise to define your personal style. Exercises in style was a revolution, a book that proclaimed its powerful ideas simply by pursuing their iron logic. Blurbs are brief summaries of what a reader will find on the other end of a hyperlink. This book is a fascinating exploration of the interaction of format and content, and anyone interested in the comic medium should own a copy. Since you are acting as your own publisher, you need to do the marketing too. An easytofollow, practical guide to writing the best blurb to sell your selfpublished book, provided by ya author sarah juckes of completelynovel. A book blurb should be a fair representation of the style of the book. How to write a book blurb in 4 steps the opening of your blurb has to be incredibly precise and dynamic, says editor rebecca heyman for a lot of firsttime authors, i think theres an. You want to try to attract the attention of your future employer.

In this book, the author investigates the worlds of the wellknown. It also precedes the formation of the oulipo group of which queneau was a co. The washington post its a testament to queneaus ability as a writer, and just as interestingly, it sort of blows apart the idea of how many ways a story can be toldand how style can be more important than content. Dont worry, in this article, well walk you through the important points to keep. Every blurb should be active, evocative, and avoid cliche. Writing a book blurb is a little like online dating, i suppose. Many authors write the book blurb as an afterthought. Your blurb will be an important part of your marketing. Click icon in the main toolbar to access your layout tools.

Theres a richness to these variations, and a surprising depth, that makes this much more than a mere curiosity. Scratch out written for promotional purposes and substitute written to seize the prospective readers attention and imbed an irresistible desire to. It makes my shopping very efficient plus i stay out of style ruts. Sometimes coming up with the right words for a book blurb can be more stressful than writing the ebook itself.

The story is told as an official letter, as a blurb for a novel, as a sonnet, and in opera english. You must make your selfdescription blurb as interesting as possible. This article gives you simple steps to follow to write a book blurb, and gives examples of both fiction and. Johanna draper carlson, comics worth reading 99 ways to. The person who came up with the word blurb called it a flamboyant advertisement.

To write a good blurb, you have to make it short and exciting, yet relevant. A simple outline for writing a killer book blurb september 25, 2016 september 25, 2016 kaitlin hillerich in my last post, i mentioned that ive been working on a novella and shared some. The author follows the example of raymond queneaus exercises in style. While the amazon book description wont affect traffic i. Exercises in style by raymond queneau the millions. Remember, your story blurb should fit the genre and tone of the story, and it should be short enough to be memorable but detailed enough to capture interest. A simple outline for writing a killer book blurb ink and quills. Some of them were a perfect example of the impact of style, while others seemed odd to me. Before distributing your book with blurb, you will need to format your manuscript into a printready book interior pdf and a book cover pdf file.

The two exercises entitled the subjective sideand another subjectivity are an example of sermocinatio in which the speaker appears to quote another person, adopting his style of expression this figure. A blurb is a brief summary of your life and work experience. Since style evolves, im always curious about how my personal style has evolved over the last year. Sep 20, 2011 exercises in style was first published in french in 1947, and so it slightly predates the nouveau roman. Before distributing your book with blurb, you will.

The definition of a blurb is a short advertisement, announcement or description. The key to being an effective leader is to have a broad repertoire of styles and to use them. Mar, 2019 sometimes coming up with the right words for a book blurb can be more stressful than writing the ebook itself. Every blurb writer needs to know their audience and what the reader is looking to buy. Then there are 5 different poetry styles, and 8 exercises which are character. The book is based on a simple onepage anecdote which i. Whether readers buy books online or in a bookstore, they look at the cover first and the blurb second. Her acclaimed writers craft series has 22 titles so far. Its a testament to queneaus ability as a writer, and. How to write a blurb definition, examples, and more blurb. Here are some of the reasons you might need to write a book blurb. Sep 12, 2018 how to write a book blurb in 4 steps the opening of your blurb has to be incredibly precise and dynamic, says editor rebecca heyman.

The washington post what makes the book compelling is seeing this same, banal tale told through a huge variety of literary styles, from science fiction to rhyme, haiku to official letter. The two exercises entitled the subjective sideand another subjectivity are an example of sermocinatio in which the speaker appears to quote another person, adopting his style of expression this figure also applies to numerous other exercises. Youve snagged a prospective date by your alluring cover, so now youve got to show theres more than just surface appeal. Rayne hall is the author of over sixty books and has been both traditionally and indie published. Keep tweaking your story blurb until its intriguing again, by using a question or exclamation to end the blurb, or by ending it with ellipses. 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. The book industry study group defines hundreds of major categories for books. Writing fight scenes, writing scary scenes, writing about villains,writing deep point of view, writing vivid plots, writing vivid settings, writing vivid characters, writing vivid settings, why does my book not sell. These are a combination of tweets and paragraphs, based on the episode content that well use to drive. The most appropriate style will depend on the people their experience, values, motives and the situation stablechanging. In addition to these core exercises, master chen also sheds light on other fundamental taiji practices, including zhan zhuang, stepping, reeling silk, fajin, and his short form chen style taiji harmony form, and guides the reader through some historical and theoretical aspects of taijiquan. Fifthly there is a large group which experiments with different grammatical and rhetorical forms. As writing teachers and crime scene investigators know, a hundred different people could witness the same incident and describe it differently. Exercises in style by raymond queneau is a collection of the same story, written 99 different ways some of the stories are fascinating.

Sep 08, 2015 this is the 4th of 3 posts on show notes hear the previous entries here part 1, part 2, part 3 our show notes creation also includes social media blurbs thats what we call them anyway. How to write a killer blurb that convinces readers to buy your book the book blurb is your sales pitch. Exercises in style by raymond queneau, paperback barnes. Your book blurb must be wellwritten to get a readers attention. Then there are 5 different poetry styles, and 8 exercises which are character sketches through languagereactionary, biased, abusive, etc. Queneaus exercises in style is a thrilling masterpiece and, in fact, one of the greatest stories in french literature. Style is both how one does something and how one communicates what was done.

Exercises in style is a true classic, and as essential as any twentieth century text. In his exercises, raymond queneau demonstrates not how to build a style but how to dismantle one. Read this article closely, follow its advice, and watch your career reap the rewards. Writing a book blurb is harder than you think, and is an excellent way of getting yourself noticed. Think of the book blurb not as an annoying step between you and selfpublishing, but instead as an opportunity. It also precedes the formation of the oulipo group of which queneau was a cofounder and which numbered georges perec and italo calvino among its members even though, with its linguistic games and its creative restrictions, it is. The recent reissue of exercises in style, published in december by new directions, provides more hows than ever before. How to write an amazon book description that sells selling books is a result of two factors. Blurb definition is a short publicity notice as on a book jacket. A simple outline for writing a killer book blurb ink and. In this post, we tell you how to write a book blurb in five easy steps. Apr 20, 2018 how to write an amazon book description that sells selling books is a result of two factors. Then there are 5 different poetry styles, and 8 exercises which are character sketches through languagereactionary.

Foundations of chen family taijiquan by chen bing blurb. In addition to these core exercises, master chen also sheds light on other fundamental taiji practices, including zhan zhuang, stepping, reeling silk, fajin, and his short form chen style taiji harmony. In addition to barbara wrights original english translation of the 99 exercises, the book includes a slew of outtakes. Originally published in 1947 in french, these terse variations on a theme are a wry. The longer it is, the less likely it is to be read. Blurbs are short descriptions that promote things such as movies, books, or other projects. That definition sucks all the life out of the word, though. Writing a short book blurb is not only fun, but great practice for writing promotional copy of any kind. However, this anecdote is told ninetynine more times, each in a radically different style, as a sonnet, an opera, in slang, and with many more permutations. It was inspired by the french author raymond queneaus 1947 book exercises in style fr eng, itself inspired by bachs art of the fugue. The intention is the same as a book blurb to pique the potential bossclients attention. Conduct an online search for relevant category codes to see.

A twentysomething bus rider with a long, skinny neck and a goofy hat accuses another passenger of trampling his feet. The 5 core elements of a book blurb and why you should. Sep 25, 2016 a simple outline for writing a killer book blurb september 25, 2016 september 25, 2016 kaitlin hillerich in my last post, i mentioned that ive been working on a novella and shared some reasons why you should write one of your own. Movies do this incredibly well in their trailers and descriptions, so it may be an idea to look at some popular movies and see how they do it. Please type your blurb in ms or open office word, print it, and bring it to class on thursday.

For a lot of firsttime authors, i think theres an instinct to make sure readers understand everything that happened in the books universe before the beginning of the actual story. Exercises in style was first published in french in 1947, and so it slightly predates the nouveau roman. The blurb should be in the same style as the rest of the book, for example. The most appropriate style will depend on the people their experience, values, motives and the situation stablechanging, newseasonal team, shortlong term focus. Exercises in style by raymond queneau rebecca reads. Blurbs sell shows with concise, compelling, and practical.

Nov 15, 2019 blurbs are short descriptions that promote things such as movies, books, or other projects. However, this anecdote is told ninetynine more times, each in a radically different style, as a. Wordbuilding is an example of motsvalise or portmanteau words. Dont worry, in this article, well walk you through the important points to keep in mind while writing your books blurb, as well as give you a simple blurb template that sells and some bestseller examples for different genres. Originally published in 1947 in french, these terse variations on a theme are a wry lesson in creativity. Vladimir nabokov exercises in style was a revolution, a book that proclaimed its powerful. Exercises in style 2005 is a seriously playful exploration of the possibilities and potential of comics and storytelling. Foundations of chen family taijiquan by chen bing blurb books. Indie authors often say that writing the blurb for the back cover of their selfpublished book is the most difficult part of the whole process, so were glad to bring you this simple and. It is a fascinating exercise that demonstrates clearly that there is no best style.

This is the 4th of 3 posts on show notes hear the previous entries here part 1, part 2, part 3 our show notes creation also includes social media blurbs thats what we call them. How to write an effective blurb for a selfpublished book. In raymond queneaus exercises in style, this determinedly pointless scenario unfolds 99 times in twice as many pages. By day, clumsy panda po works faithfully in his familys noodle shop, but by night he dreams of becoming a true master of the martial arts. Once i do my style exercises, i feel more comfortable coming up with a shopping list of items to add to my wardrobe. Think of the book blurb not as an annoying step between you and self. Snobbish needless to say, i am reading the original french edition. You have one shot at introducing your story to your reader make it count. How to write a blurb definition, examples, and more. Once your title and cover have drawn the reader in, the blurb is what is going to make the difference. Once i do my style exercises, i feel more comfortable coming up with a. Translated and with notes for the 1981 american paperback edition and a preface by barbara wright. Remember, your story blurb should fit the genre and tone of. Jerz writing etextblurbs are brief summaries of what a reader will find on the other end of a hyperlink.