According to merriam-webster, the word blurb was coined by American humorist Gelett Burgess, as attested by American scholar Brander Matthews in September 24, 1922, New York Times article about blurbs: “Now and again in these columns,” he writes, “I have had occasion to employ the word ‘blurb,’ a colourful and illuminating neologism which we owe to the verbal inventiveness of Mr. Gelett Burgess.” The time was 1907, and the place was an annual dinner of the American Booksellers’ Association, at which Burgess was one of the honoured guests. It was a custom at these dinners for the guest authors to present to … Read More
Tag: Book Writing
Congratulations on getting to the end of your book writing. If your readers are in the conclusion chapter, it also means they read the whole book, they liked it, and now they want you to wrap it up. So don’t do rash it. Give them what they want. … Read More
foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. … Read More
A book dedication is a way for you, the author to bestow a high honor on a person (or a group of people) you wish to praise or otherwise spotlight. … Read More
An elevator pitch is a term given to any sales pitch that could, in theory, be delivered in the space of a short elevator ride. It is a fantasy scenario as you are never likely to be called to pitch your book in this way.  However, the idea is that you might find yourself in the elevator with a Person of Interest who can’t, for those twenty or thirty seconds, escape or deflect your attention – so you can use that time to deliver a sales pitch so utterly compelling that that Person of Interest is drawn in and … Read More
The marathon is a long-distance race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometers (approximately 26 miles 385 yards), usually run as a road race. The first-ever marathon that was officially organized was held during the Athens Olympics in 1896. However, the original race is surrounded by legend that dates all the way back to 490 BC. According to legend, the Greek messenger Pheidippides had to run from the battlefield in Marathon all the way to Athens to announce the defeat of the Persians.  The distance of this epic run was 25 miles and according to legend, as soon as … Read More
Having an appropriate bio as an author sends the right message to your readers and potential readers. The bio is the first introduction a reader has on you. People are looking for reasons why they should spend their time reading what you have written. You need to instill confidence in your readers that you are knowledgeable on the subject matter.  1. The first step is for you to identify your purpose and audience. This is important because it shapes the ‘how to’ write the bio. This includes your tone, language, and levels of formality. A bio can be funny, … Read More
Books often start with an introduction before getting into the detailed chapters of the book. This introductory chapter is usually between one to three pages long, and is meant to provide information on what the book is going to be about. It gives background information, talks about why the book is important and gives an overview of the contents. … Read More