April 19, 2021
Let’s talk about book descriptions. Do you write yours before or after you write the story?
I’m what is known in the writing world as a pantser. That means I write my stories by the seat of my pants. I may have a beginning and an end in mind. but everything in between is up for grabs. My characters determine what happens – and sometimes they change everything!
As a result, book descriptions have to wait until I’m done writing the story. Then they go through any number of revisions. I’ve never gotten it right on the first try. Truth is, I made a revision to the tagline of my newest book, The Ranger’s Dog Tags, less than a week before I started uploading files to the various ebook stores.
Here’s how it ended up:
Tagline: It isn’t the first time Eli Hennessey has disappeared. Is it the last?
Eli Hennessey has vanished.
His house in Oak Grove is in flames, his cell phone is out of commission, and friends in Florida can’t find him. It’s up to Harmony Duprie to track down her missing lover before her life shatters and his ends.
Harmony’s first discovery: Eli tricked her into signing paperwork putting her in charge of his company. Had he planned his disappearance?
The answers won’t be found in Oak Grove. Harmony hightails it to Florida in search of Eli and the truth.
The Ranger’s Dog Tags, Book 6 of the Harmony Duprie Mysteries, is the final book of the series.
It seems so simple now, but I lost sleep over it. (That’s only a slight exaggeration.) There were several nights I brooded over the wording before falling asleep. Once I was mostly satisfied with it, I shared it with fellow writers who told me what I’d done wrong and helped me revise it again. And again. And then a different bunch of people switched it up yet again. It’s a lot of work.
It’s a good thing I didn’t write the description before I wrote the book. I had plans for Harmony that never made it into the story. Plus, I knew at least one person was going to die. I just didn’t know who. Or how many.
I know other authors who are plotters. They have their entire book outlined before they ever start writing. They could do the descriptions first. I don’t envy them – it’s more fun to ‘discover’ the story along the way, in my humble opinion.
Let’s find out if anyone on this hop writes their descriptions before they write their books. It’s easy. Just follow the links below.
Until next time, please stay safe!
April 19, 2021
Let’s talk about book descriptions. Do you write yours before or after you write the story?
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Yes, as a fellow pantster, I’m with you there. The process of writing is enough, without trying to condense the product at the end of it. And I envy the plotters!!
I guess the difference is that they sweat the description out before they start writing, and we wait until the story is finished.