Taglines

I've been thinking this week about a tagline for 'Set. The strange thing about taglines (at least, for me) is that my first ideas for one always seem pretty decent. A little later, I realise that actually, they're not great. Sort of the reverse of how I write a first draft. A few days ago, I came up with a few lines, asked a writer friend what she thought and realised as soon as I got her reply that they were all weak. The good news is she gave me an idea which I'm shamelessly riffing on now to come up with a new line.

I've also been looking at other published books to get an idea of the way to go - the sort of flavour I'm looking for. Short and punchy. Enticing. Interesting. Getting a few core concepts from the story into a couple of lines. And most of all, seemingly effortless. Tough one.

It's a similar issue with trying to produce a decent synopsis and blurb. I know another writer who enjoys writing the synopsis which is a completely alien concept to me. I HATE writing the synopsis simply because I'm not a factual writer. I often find writing the synopsis is like trying to write a news report on the book and attempting to sell the book at the same time. I'm not a marketing guy; I'm a writer. In any case, blurbs etc are not something I can avoid, so I'll start thinking about how to sell my book to potential readers in a few short paragraphs just as I need to sell it in a few short words.

BY MA BOOK. ITS REELLY GRATE.

How does that grab you? No? OK. I'll keep trying.