The Problem With "Revealing" Information That's Already in the Cover Copy

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

A novel's beginning is under a lot of pressure to hook readers and pull them into the story. But what happens when that hook is something we reveal on the back cover?

Opening scenes are hard enough to write already, but there's something writers need to be wary about, particularly if they indie publish.

An opening scene that "reveals" information stated in the cover copy as if it's a big secret.

For example, let's say your novel is about a town that's been hit by toxic nerve gas that's killed everyone under the age of twenty. Now the characters have to deal with this problem and the repercussions of it. Your cover copy might say something like...

When a tragic accident poisons a small town a kills everyone under the age of twenty, local doctor Jessica Halloway must find the cause before more fall ill and die. But as she searches for the cure, she uncovers a far more deadly source.

Every single person who reads this cover copy is going to know before they open the book what the problem is. 

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com