Characters Carry the Story BSB 116

Today on the show, BPF trainer and writer John Phythyon and copywriting guru Abigail Dunard tackle an author-submitted blurb to dissect it and understand how to write killer sales copy. To watch video of this episode, view it on Facebook at Best Page Forward. Here are this episode’s read-along selections: Blurb: R.M.Sackville She’s running towards her future. He’s hiding from days gone by. When their present and past weave together they must learn to trust each other or die at the hands of the greedy. Three Gems. One Destiny. One small town is the epicenter of a battle waged between man and God. And man against man. The victor will save mankind. But are we worthy? Time will tell. Hawk McBride and Randi Ronin could never have expected their chance encounter would be the beginning of the rest of their lives. Neither could they have foretold just how connected they both are in a scheme forged by three men with greed on their minds. However, these men will have a fight on their hands because Randi is no longer a pushover and Hawk is downright determined to protect the one thing he thought he’d never have again–true love.

Targeted Takeaway:

Have you ever really paid attention to a drug commercial? They all approach convincing you to ask your doctor to prescribe the medicine for you the same way: They make an appeal to your emotions. Well, all those commercials approach convincing you to beg your doctor for this wonder drug in the same way. All of them appeal to your emotions. They feature people looking happy. They’re showing up to their kids’ sports games. They attend weddings. They laugh when something silly happens. They’re out in nature and the neighborhood, living their lives. This is a powerful message. It strikes deep in the heart and is designed to create an emotional connection with the viewer. Your blurb works the same way. Telling the reader the details of your plot does not motivate them to buy any more than describing how the drug works would in a pharmaceutical commercial. You need to appeal to their connection to the character in your novel just the way the a drug ad does. The characters have to carry the story. Show us the MC reacting to and emoting as a result of the plot events instead of telling us what happens. It makes a huge difference in your conversion rate. If you let the characters carry the story, you’ll discover the side effect is readers getting hooked on you as an author.