Fresh Eyes and Blurb do-overs ...

When I edit, I often advise my clients to get someone who has NEVER looked at their book to read through it to catch all those little glitches that escape those of us who have read the book several times. You know, the corrections you THOUGHT you made, that your brain puts in there when you’re proofing, but are never actually made?

Fresh eyes save us from a lot of embarrassing mistakes.

I got a squirm-worthy lesson on how very different my own words sound when someone else reads them. And how fresh eyes, getting some input before hitting the Send button could have saved me some embarrassment.

I took advantage of the opportunity for Patrons to have a book promoted on the Novel Marketing Podcast. My new cozy, Dancing on My Grave, was one of the first read. UGH. I didn’t realize what a clunker of a blurb I had written until Thomas read it.

Then last week, at the end of the podcast, he announced the patron, and I heard my name. I was already cringing.

Someone rewrote the blurb. (Gee, maybe they even read the book, despite the awful first blurb?) It was wonderful. I even wanted to read the book!

Thanks, Thomas, for a second chance, and teaching me a very valuable lesson on how different my own words sound in someone else’s mouth. Could I hire you to write my blurbs from now on???