The lost art of the engaging blurb

[cupidsbow]

What the hell has happened to original publishing? I know I kind of gave up on it after that time I went into one bookshop and asked for something without misogyny and they couldn't sell me anything, and then the second bookshop sold me a story about a serial killer whose victims were mommy stand-ins, and another story about a vampire who lusted

Comments

[game_byrd]

I dunno what's going on either.

I've walked through bookstores online and in person, unable to find anything remotely interesting. Then I go home and write fanfic. Or read it.

If I'm reading something other than fanfic, it's non-fiction. Although tomorrow I'm going to start the audiobook for Les Miserables or maybe the Count of Monte Cristo. People tell me it's good. We'll see.

But you're right that there seems to be something profoundly uninteresting in recent book blurbs. I'll expand that to say recent movie trailers don't do anything for me either.

[cupidsbow]

Yep, thank god for fanfic. It's the saving grace at the moment.

If you're interested, there were some recs in the comments over in the DW version of this post. People over there mentioned both how YA tends to be stronger (which I agree with) and that the classics often stand up well (also agree with that).

I quite enjoyed Dumas' books as a twenty-something, although they were sometimes heavy going due to the politics and religion. Interesting though.

[arabia764]

The only think I can say in their defence is writing blurbs is REALLY HARD!

:-)

[cupidsbow]

Yes, they definitely are. And long-form writers aren't necessarily the best people to write blurbs either. They are an art in themselves, I think.