Nonfiction Back cover blurb help please!
Hello!
Can I get some feedback on a couple of blurbs for a book on how to start and actually a novel? I've gotten some help from Thomas's Toolbox tools. The title is Ink and Blood: The craft and war of starting and finishing your novel. Thanks so much!
Option 1:
Sharpen your pen, writer, and take aim at that blank page. It’s time to go to war for your novel.
From new writers to seasoned authors, many of us with a love for words and story struggle to finish our novels (and sometimes to even start them). Perfectionism, fear, or simply not knowing what comes next get us stuck—and we struggle with guilt over that lack of progress and, the longer we struggle, with the additional fear we’re not really writers after all and should quit altogether.
As dramatic as it sounds, writers are in a constant battle for not just our novels but our dreams and talents and calling—with a sense of purpose and fulfillment. That’s serious stuff.
But as in a flesh-and-blood war, we can choose our weapons and train to win the battles.
This is what Ink and Blood does. It offers a practical guide to warring for your calling, to finish your novel by focusing on three tactics: mastering story craft (understanding story craft in order to ask the right questions to guide the story forward), mastering yourself (overcoming procrastination, fear, and negative self-talk), and mastering the fun (reviving your joy in story and making the story fun for your readers). All while building an actual story together and examining beloved classics.
Many manuscripts never make it to "The End"—not because writers lack talent, but because they lack the right tools and mindset. Ink and Blood provides both the tools and strategies to help aspiring novelists finally type "The End" and encourage veteran authors to not give up.
Option 2:
You have a story burning inside you. So why can't you finish it?
Most manuscripts never make it to "The End"—not because writers lack talent, but because they lack the right tools and mindset. Writer's block isn't a mysterious curse. It's a solvable problem with three components: craft issues, motivation challenges, and loss of enjoyment. This book tackles all three.
Ink & Blood is your practical roadmap from blank page to finished novel. E.J. Kitchens draws on her experience completing over a dozen novels to reveal the three keys that separate aspiring writers from published authors: mastering the craft (asking the right questions to guide you forward), mastering yourself (discovering your writing process, building motivation, and defeating perfectionism), and mastering the fun (making writing a joy). You'll discover how to write in layers instead of agonizing over every word, how to use goals and conflict to propel your story forward, and how to enter the motivation cycle that keeps you writing even when inspiration fails.
Through building an actual story together—complete with a boy, a mysterious dog, and a steampunk city—you'll learn by doing, not just reading instruction. Whether you're staring at Chapter One or stuck in the "sagging middle," you'll find specific, actionable guidance to move forward.