Bryan Cohen

This wasn't what I'd hoped it would be. The prompts are the sort of thing a teacher would give their high school class to write essays on. The subject matters and wording is all clearly aimed at this age group. It would be a great resource for a teacher (especially if in the US), but as an adult writer I found almost nothing to inspire me. Some prompts would refer to an event, or song/tv show/etc, which would get my interest, but then the prompt to write coming off that would fall flat.
Young writers might find it useful.… (más)

Ready to convert that fizzled book synopsis into a sizzling book sale?

I know. I’ve been there.

You’ve written a great book. You’ve got a crazy cool cover. You want to hit “Publish” but that little voice tells you “Not so fast, my chickadee, you’re not done…yet.”

Yup, you still need to write your book description.

You sigh as the fear and loathing build… After a period of procrastination, desperation kicks in and you…settle. Sure, your tagline is short and snappy but when you hit that dreaded synopsis, you’re just not sure what to include, what to exclude and suddenly you find yourself reverting to synopsis overkill—too much plot, too many characters, subplots, locations, how the protagonist likes his coffee or what he puts on his toast—basically everything you should have reserved for the actual reading experience. The potential buyer reacts like you’ve served him burnt toast and subpar coffee. And he moves on. The result: dismal sales…day after day after day.

Ok, this scenario may be a bit extreme but at the end of the day, condensing your book—the one you’ve sacrificed months of blood, sweat, tears and face time with your family for—into a couple hundred words, is H-A-R-D...

But it doesn’t have to be.

In How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis, Bryan helps you identify the parts of your book’s plot you should include, how to simplify them and yet make them compelling and engaging, all in step-by-step system that is easy to follow and supported by a plethora of concrete examples in a variety of genres you can reference when crafting your own. He also discusses the length of your synopsis (and why it comes down to sound and emotional impact), how it should be formatted, where it should be utilized, and additionally touches on the other components that make up your book’s description, e.g. tagline, selling paragraph and call to action. And, if all of that isn’t enough to convince you, it’s also fantastically easy to digest, with actionable tips that can be immediately implemented into your own synopsis.

So, my author friend, if you’re ready to ditch the fear and loathing you’ve typically associated with writing your book’s blurb and are psyched about converting those casual browsers into buyers—and eventually avid fans—grab a copy of How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis—both your book description and future book sales will thank you.… (más)