Casperian Books Blog

Was that dramatic enough? Constance, copywriter par excellence, will be contributing an occasional column here, and this is her introduction:

Copywriting

Lily has asked me to address potential authors regarding what I am reading for when I write a blurb. Hm. I’ve been on vacation for over a week, so I’m out of practice. Thinking. Canada, pretty; fire, bad. Bear with me, please.

Oh, and I apologize in advance. I’ve made perfectly nice, competent writers cry (I’m told), which is why I don’t edit anymore. Just remember, I say this with love and respect in my heart.

When I’m writing a blurb, I don’t care if your novel is good, bad, ugly, or indifferent. That’s not my job. I’m looking for a hook and sell-points. That is all I care about. I will have read your darling three or four times before I wrote the two to three paragraphs that make up the blurb, and during those reads, I will have sucked all the juice right out of your beautiful butterfly words. I look for who-what-when-where-why-how. Then I boil it down to be as spoiler-free as humanly possible, sprinkle in appropriate superlatives, and send it off to the publisher.

Is your novel a masterwork of prose, destined for immortality? Great. I’m so happy for you, but please clarify which war you’re talking about. Do your themes resound with human drama? Fabu. What is your protagonist’s name? Don’t make me go back 15 pages to find out. Are four adjectives strung out in every sentence? I’ll cut them. That’s my job, not yours.

I read three to eight books a week, half novels, half non-fiction. I’ve been reading for decades. I’m very, very good at reading. And what I’ve learned, other than what not to write, is how to drill down to the meat of a story. I’m not as attached as you are to your particular vision. This is not a bad thing. Every potential reader is me. I’m the aisle-blocking chick in the bookstore, skimming the back cover of the book in my right hand, with five books tucked under my left. I know what makes me buy, and Casperian is betting that I can use that understanding to make others buy.

I am Jane Doe, Joe Average, potential paycheck. I am your audience. Give me something to love.

After very much enjoying the writing sample submitted together with this query letter, we requested the entire manuscript to review and placed it in our work queue. When we followed up a few weeks later with a status update, we received this follow-up letter from the author:

Lily,

Thanks for the update. I’m glad you wrote because it gives me the opportunity to reply and pass on some information.

First of all, I really liked your book and think you did an amazing job of getting inside the head of a male and having the voice sound male. You also did a good job making the younger brother sympathetic even though many of his actions were not likable. That’s a hard thing to pull off and a risky thing to do because it can potentially alienate the reader, but not in your case. And finally, I liked the structure of the book which oddly enough is pretty much the same structure of [author’s novel]. That too is another risk because readers sometimes don’t like the jumpiness or get confused, but you succeeded for sure.

As for your read of [author’s novel], I hope you find it to be a match for Casperian. You should know that I am very open to suggestions or editorial changes and honestly believe that two minds are better than one. So, if after your read you like it but only if some things were revised in all likelihood I would be willing to change it.

As for a marketing plan, here are a few things I would like to do:

1. Relaunch my website and set up a profile on myspace and facebook.
2. Send a copy to all the people who reviewed my first book to try and get a second review.
3. I could send you somewhere between 50 and 100 copies of my first book which you could package with [novel] as some kind of special only at your website, like buy [novel] and get a copy of [first novel] free.
4. I know some authors and will definitely try and get a blurb from them. The first person I would ask is [very well-known author], unless you objected given his whole story, etc. After him I’ve got a list of other authors and I will ask my agent (who is not involved with [novel]) if he could help. He’s with [large agency] and they have an incredible roster of authors and he might be willing to do me a favor.
5. Use every connection I have at magazines to try and get some exposure.
6. I am definitely going to consult with a publicist/ pr person to see what if any options there could be for promotion.
7. Make sure all my friends and family buy multiple copies.
8. Take any suggestions from you about what else I can do.

Okay, you sent me a short simple considerate email and I am blasting you with this. Sorry, but wanted to pass on the info. I hope you like the book and that your travel goes smoothly.

Take care,
[Author]

We’re getting a lot of queries at the moment, and the most important rule about querying anyone obviously is to follow that party’s submission guidelines/requirements, but I also figure it might be helpful for the authors out there to see some samples of successful query and follow-up letters we’ve received (whether they’d be successful with any other publisher is anyone’s guess, of course).

Today and tomorrow, I’ll be posting the query and follow-up letters from an author we’re currently negotiating a contract with.

The following is the initial query letter. It’s not perfect, but we tend to skim past the grammatical and punctuation imperfections when the information supplied is exactly what we’re looking for.

Lily,

Below please find my bio and summary for my short novel (191 pages) [title], as well as the first 5,500 words. Sorry to go over the 5,000 limit, but I wanted to get the final two pages of the chapter included. There is a lot of information below about me, my credits, etc, and if it is too much info forgive me, but I figure I only have your attention once, I may as well try and give you as much material as I have.

The audience for [title] are people who like smart writing that is readable, artistic writing that is not pompous, compelling stories, a strong narrator, and quirkiness. My writing has always been just a little offbeat which will hopefully become evident to you by the end of the 5,000 words below.

As for marketing, I learned my lesson about the importance of marketing and publicity when Scribner and NAL published my first book. I did nothing, I left it up to them, and they did nothing so essentially I had a book out that no one had ever heard of by an author that no one had ever heard of. If I get a second chance that won’t happen again. If [title] finds a home I will use my own resources to figure out how to get the word out to as many people as possible as well as all the opportunities on the web.

Anyway, I think what you are doing is not only very cool but important, too. I hope you enjoy the submission and regardless, I wish you luck and all the encouragement in the world. If you have any questions please feel free to write or call.

[Name]
[Phone Number]

[4-paragraph synopsis of novel]

Author Bio

[Name] is the author of [title], which was published by Scribner in 2002 and New American Library in 2003. The book was also published by Piatkus Books in the United Kingdom and was translated into Dutch and published in Holland by Ambos Anthos.

[Name] received his MFA from the Naropa Institute in 1999. His fiction and non-fiction have been published by several journals, including Damaged Goods, The Sun, The Lullwater Review, and 2wice magazine. On the web his work has been published at several zines including Eclectica, La Petit Zine and The Rose and Thorn.

In 2006/2007 [name] was the writer and producer of the film [title], which was produced by [company name] and Executive Produced by [name], who directed [well-known film] and [well-known film] amongst other films. [Title] stars [list of five main actors]. The film is currently in post production.

More information on [author] can be found at [author’s website]. Information about the movie, [title], can be found at [IMDB URL].

Praise for [title of first novel]:

“[A] heartfelt, genial comedy….[name] isn’t content merely to show us the game. Rather he homes in on the players’ strategies and bluffs and doubts: the relentless and, in [name]’s views, ultimately necessary gamesmanship of love, class, and self.” –Los Angeles Times
“This debut novel is a humorous take on love and relationships today.” –Chicago Tribune
“Out-loud laughs on just about every page….[name] spits out dry one-liners like a verbal Gatling gun….But this novel isn’t all chuckles. [name] makes astute, serious observations about his characters and, by extension, human nature.”—The Boulder Daily Camera
“[name]’s cheeky debut starts off as an ironic romantic comedy about a tentative twenty-something couple as they edge toward commitment, but the author displays a stunning gift for black humor when the hidden motives for their partnership suddenly emerge…a great comic ending…a witty engaging narrator.”—Publishers Weekly
“[name], in fact, achieved a rare balance in his debut novel, with equal parts commercial appeal and masterful prose technique.” —Colorado Daily
“[A] lively story of dysfunctional youth and irresponsible behavior with a promise of mature redemption” –The Sunday Mirror
“[An] hilarious and angst-ridden roller-coaster ride…you’ll struggle to turn a page without laughing outloud.” –Peterborough Evening Telegraph
“[A] story filled with the tragicomedy of personal relationships and the fragility of the psyche, [name]’s characters search for meaning and substance in the sometimes painful process of learning to live.”–Booklist

[5,000 word sample of new novel]