I’ve been struggling with this one, which seems stupid. I mean, isn’t this something that all writers should just know? There was a reason you wrote the book in the first place, wasn’t there? And yet:
- I regularly go through phases of, “Everything I write is terrible.”
- Therefore, why would anyone want to read the book?
- The advice I’ve read about writing summaries/synopses of one’s book is geared toward presenting one’s plot in an entertaining way. Plot. Plot plot plot.
- But nobody gives a damn about the plot, unless it’s some huge twist story, and then–irony of all ironies–you have to convince the reader to read your book without describing the big selling point.
- I feel like shouting, I DON’T KNOW, IF IT’S THE KIND OF THING YOU LIKE, IT’S A GOOD TIME.
- Isn’t that how you tell people about movies and books you like? Tell them the plot? Why isn’t that working as a copywriting technique?
Over the last few days, I posted about atmosphere. I was mostly joking, but I think atmosphere is actually the answer. People want to escape; part of what a fiction copywriter wants to do, I think, is show them where they’ll be escaping to. And one of the easiest ways to do that is to describe the atmosphere.
I’ll be trying that next. Reporting back soon.