From Shallow to Deep

Now, this is going to be a very general bit of advice, if only because there are some methods I've learned along the way work rather well in many ways, but we're not always conscious of how simple it can be to access it.

Blurbs, hooks, basic ideas-- they all have one particular common thread and that's the fact that are deeper than you think as long as you chain them right.

Ideally, we would all hook readers with as little telling information as possible, but sometimes, we just have to dangle a juicy spoiler to stand any chance of doing so. It's always been this way, but there might have been a time where you didn't set out to be an author where you probably selected at least a book or two based on some curiosity sparked with a back-cover blurb.

Maybe you've wanted to be an author for so long that you overlooked how much of a draw that is for some readers. I certainly follow the sentiment that a blind read can be the best experience, but this is also a time where fiction is so full of choice that we can't ignore that people will often skip over our work based on what we don't do to market it, so it may be worth it to cover all the bases.

The first time I wrote a blurb, I didn't even want to give away names. Or plots. It felt like everything was taking away from the grand ideas I'd protected for some big reveal. Yet over time, I would look at that blurb and think, well, there was nothing about it that made me care so why should anyone else? 

If anything, you need to mention at least one character by name or occupation (I have to make an exception here because UnNamed had no named characters at first). Tell the reader what the character wants (or think they want) more than anything. The way your readers may connect can come from many directions-- maybe they relate or don't and want to learn, maybe it enhances the kind of mood they're in, maybe it's just well-written enough that they're willing to take a chance. While you might be able to get away with it, there's often no connection with a vague or generic reference to the 'hero' nor their catch-all purpose of saving the world. Don't be afraid to mention those, but still give it a spin that lets the reader know there's depth. For example, the reader should at least know that the billionaire playboy Tidus is thrust into a world where his charms are useless and those idle fencing lessons in prep school are no match for a full-armored knight with a great sword who is in no mood for his crap.

I get that you probably want any evolution of this 'annoying' character to be a total surprise, but if you ever gain any popularity, people are going to happily spoil everything on social media the minute they read it anyway. Instead, you have to understand that no matter how specific you are with the frame of your story, the part of your skills that make them want to read will only be satisfied in the meat of your story. You can still hide your juiciest twists and plots, but give away some of those early bits in order to entice them into a sense of something different.

Really, how many times in life did you simply trust someone that something works or it's good, only to feel cheated when it's anything but? You may think that someone can take a few dollar gamble, but there are plenty of readers that frequent libraries or borrow from friends because what little they can spend is something they want to reserve for some guarantee that it won't be a wasted investment. Some people would just rather fill their shelves with hard cover masterpieces or their digital libraries with quality choices, so simply insisting it will be worth it and guarding it too carefully will probably not work in your favor.

Start always by answering the simplest questions with any idea. Who is the main character? What do they want? What stands in their way of getting it? What are they going to do about it? Those may not be the exact questions that drive your blurb, but don't get too complex at first. My own best ideas often came from shallow and deep passes, alternating them alike. 

With the Tidus example, I gave you who he is in the beginning, the problem he faces (his own useless skills in another situation), and the antagonist that stands in his way. However, it can grow from there.

Really, since you are the expert, this is where playing can be fun. As the writer, you already know that the mysterious beauty that sends Tidus up against a world he doesn't fit in that the so-called woman is actually the sword-wielding knight and not a woman at all. From there, you can even make it more interesting by asserting for the knight why he's moonlighting as a woman. Perhaps he is undercover, looking for his sister, and it's an extreme annoyance that he has a lovesick man bungling things for him. This is also the best place to assert a niche that may draw an audience or repel the ones who wouldn't like it. The protagonist and antagonist, drawn together time and again, develop romantic feelings for each other. Perhaps in this case, Tidus's feelings don't change when he discovers the woman in biologically male and seeing him masculine might only at first be a point of contention. Not everyone is going to enjoy a story where men are lovers and that's fine. Thinking you can write enough up to that point to make them forgive it just isn't realistic.

Sexuality is a place where people have preferences. Pansexual utopias are... eh, sorry, guys, doesn't sound very open-minded, just boring. There's great debate as to whether people should disclose their sex/sexuality when courting someone they're attracted to (and to weigh in-- yes, you should disclose that because deceiving or withholding a preference that may be important to their identity shouldn't be denied so the pursuer can protect only their own interests. You can't assume love will conquer all. It's fucking absurd). In books, well, it's your call. You may want that to be left to discovery. Ultimately, free speech is something I protect and that includes the right to decide whether or not to use trigger warnings. Although if written words can trigger someone that much, I'm also of a mind to say that reading isn't a risk they should take. In my own experience, facing my fears is an important part of life and hiding from them never did me any good. Guarantees are just not literature's friend either. It's one of those products where even if it doesn't work for me, it's due to taste not malfunction. I can't be mad if I take the risk and it doesn't pan out. Heh, pan...

lol Super late trigger warning: I do tackle homosexuality at least briefly in my second trilogy. True to life, I just happen to have characters that go there. In all honesty, I hadn't planned it that way, but I ran with it. I do try not to 'sneak' that sort of thing into later books. Sometimes you just don't want people homing in on it like it's a prevalent focus, other times, you want it to be a selling point. Some people want to skip past all sexual scenes, some people won't touch a book that even has them. To each their own, but I never wanted to place emphasis on the short sexual encounters in my fantasy stories. They served their purpose which was never central to the plot, just the character development.

Yeah, yeah, I'm swerving off the track but what separates shallow and deep isn't really measurable. I made plenty of mistakes with it because I was unsure and I never wanted the answer to be easy. I became a writer to fill a personal need, but I became an author to learn how to share it. It's not the end of the world if you fumble a bit. Just try not to end up seeming vapid or coy or too protective by being too vague. If you've ever queried, you're close to what it takes to write a decent blurb. For a query, the agent wants to know your story beginning to end in as few words as possible. Take that spoiler filled beauty and reduce it to a general concept. It's going to look... vague. Take the vague words like 'hero' or 'a kingdom' and pop in the names. Usually, the first two sentences of your query contain a great introduction. You may want to delve into later events and even pose them as a question to entice the reader. When the ground shakes and the Black Serpents arise, will Tidus be able to face the one who betrayed him among their ranks?

Maybe said Black Serpents were supposed to be a surprise. Maybe they still are, to someone who isn't you. Throw out their aim in some form even. Maybe they're a secret society of orphans who hate people who have parents. There's probably a lot more to it than that, but it's curious enough that a reader might wonder why.

Giving something of value for free is often where the author starts to draw people in. Though this advice usually applies to things like bookmarks or giveaways, giving someone enough details to make the work irresistible can be just as important.

One of these days, I'm taking that advice for myself. The sad fact is that just accomplishing hard work isn't immediately useful. As an author, I may have to gamble and pay out a lot of money for the mere hope of a return. I knew what I signed up for. I also know where I'm at, so I'm at peace with my situation. Either way, it might be worth it to wait to publish until you're ready to plug into marketing and spending. If you're a lone ranger who just wants to write, well... you can't expect a miracle. DO what you can and enjoy it for what it's worth!