Hey Brian, how about you tell me what your book is about. Instead of thinking your an automatic bestseller. Besides they slap the new york times bestselling on every book in barns and noble it’s kind of meaningless.
Well, I was able to view and read the LITB. Suffice to say, at best,, Mr. Fulton is incredibly optimistic. Incredibly optimistic. What’s worse than starting the book with a description of yourself? The description created through the device of the protag looking in a mirror.
Also–I’m shocked that Nathan actually bypassed the cover. It too, is worthy of LBC.
Amazon says “Brian is also an accomplished sportsman within the realms of Ice Hockey” … does that mean he plays ice hockey? If so, why doesn’t it say “Brian is also an accomplished ice-hockey player”?
Karl
6 years ago
A future bestseller by an author who doesn’t know the difference between “upcoming” and “up and coming”!
E.L. James became a bestselling author and she can’t write. We live in an age when initiative and hard work are viewed as wastes of time and the rewards go to those who take the easiest path. Why shouldn’t he expect to sell lots of books when people can make a good living posting videos of themselves watching movie trailers?
Sentence 1: Personal opinion about an author presented as fact.
Sentence 2: Unconvincing and insupportable notion about contemporary culture presented as fact.
Sentence 3: A defense of unrealistic expectations, “supported” by a demonstrably incorrect statement.
I feel you, B.L. This is why I’ve vacillated between e-publishing and entering contests. While you might get a more immediate response from e-publishing (unless you’re like me – if my sales were a person, they’d be dead ! 🙂 ), With contests at least, someone does read it and I feel that hard work & imagination do have merit. I got close in one contest (short list). The ones I’ve tried are Flash 500 and The Fiction Desk (both are British publications), and The Master’s Review.
Here’s a question for any British folks here – should I switch my story to British spelling or keep it as I wrote it? I feel I’m pandering if I change the spellings, but I’ve heard that I should.
I feel you, B.L. I’m usually writing to enter contests, so I’d like to think the judges appreciate hard work, good writing and imagination in the contest entries.
A couple of those contests I enter are based in England – I’ve heard I should change all my spellings to British when entering, but I feel I’d be fake because that’s not how I write.
Dragote
6 years ago
Is… Is that it? That’s the whole blurb?
I’ll pass. I don’t buy books when I have no idea whatsoever what they’re about when they’re from *known* authors, much less strangers.
True. I sometimes truncate the blurb.However, what we have here is (a) the first part of the blurb (I always start from the beginning), and (b) the first full paragraph. I’m guessing there are a lot of eyeballs that wander elsewhere between the first and second paragraphs.
Naaman_Brown
6 years ago
“You keep using that word.
“I do not think it means what you think it means.”
— Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
A future bestseller by a new and upcoming author …
– blurb for an upcoming book by an up and coming author
I searched a large folder on my harddrive containing several hundred files dealing with book reviews, author bio notes, genre discussions, classic, fandom, indie small press, amateur press, professional press, academic analysis, blogposts on related issues, etc.
I find the word “upcoming” used to describe events or things impending in the near future: upcoming book release, upcoming novel, upcoming meeting, upcoming special day, upcoming nuptials, upcoming project, upcoming inspection, et cetera.
I find the phrase “up and coming” used to describe authors newly emerging in their field, for examples: “This anthology introduces us to many new and/or up and coming authors.”
“I aim to create a place for up and coming writers”
“The e-zine was fronted by an up and coming writer who was washed up after a year …”
” He’s been warned about your treatment of up and coming talented writers.”
I even found the announcement of an upcoming anthology including stories by up and coming new authors.
I am not finding upcoming authors or upcoming writers.
An up and coming author is one who is emerging in their field, not yet out standing in their field, but coming through the rye. Some are in bad need of catchers.
Hey Brian, how about you tell me what your book is about. Instead of thinking your an automatic bestseller. Besides they slap the new york times bestselling on every book in barns and noble it’s kind of meaningless.
He might want to revert to his previous job.
I did a LITB and all I can get is the cover.
Well, I was able to view and read the LITB. Suffice to say, at best,, Mr. Fulton is incredibly optimistic. Incredibly optimistic. What’s worse than starting the book with a description of yourself? The description created through the device of the protag looking in a mirror.
Also–I’m shocked that Nathan actually bypassed the cover. It too, is worthy of LBC.
Sometimes I have to make difficult choices.
Amazon says “Brian is also an accomplished sportsman within the realms of Ice Hockey” … does that mean he plays ice hockey? If so, why doesn’t it say “Brian is also an accomplished ice-hockey player”?
A future bestseller by an author who doesn’t know the difference between “upcoming” and “up and coming”!
E.L. James became a bestselling author and she can’t write. We live in an age when initiative and hard work are viewed as wastes of time and the rewards go to those who take the easiest path. Why shouldn’t he expect to sell lots of books when people can make a good living posting videos of themselves watching movie trailers?
Sentence 1: Personal opinion about an author presented as fact.
Sentence 2: Unconvincing and insupportable notion about contemporary culture presented as fact.
Sentence 3: A defense of unrealistic expectations, “supported” by a demonstrably incorrect statement.
I feel you, B.L. This is why I’ve vacillated between e-publishing and entering contests. While you might get a more immediate response from e-publishing (unless you’re like me – if my sales were a person, they’d be dead ! 🙂 ), With contests at least, someone does read it and I feel that hard work & imagination do have merit. I got close in one contest (short list). The ones I’ve tried are Flash 500 and The Fiction Desk (both are British publications), and The Master’s Review.
Here’s a question for any British folks here – should I switch my story to British spelling or keep it as I wrote it? I feel I’m pandering if I change the spellings, but I’ve heard that I should.
I feel you, B.L. I’m usually writing to enter contests, so I’d like to think the judges appreciate hard work, good writing and imagination in the contest entries.
A couple of those contests I enter are based in England – I’ve heard I should change all my spellings to British when entering, but I feel I’d be fake because that’s not how I write.
Is… Is that it? That’s the whole blurb?
I’ll pass. I don’t buy books when I have no idea whatsoever what they’re about when they’re from *known* authors, much less strangers.
No, actually it’s not. That’s just the part our host chose to critique.
Mr. Fulton is clearly arrogant, but he’s not quite so arrogant that he thinks just his name will sell the book.
True. I sometimes truncate the blurb.However, what we have here is (a) the first part of the blurb (I always start from the beginning), and (b) the first full paragraph. I’m guessing there are a lot of eyeballs that wander elsewhere between the first and second paragraphs.
“You keep using that word.
“I do not think it means what you think it means.”
— Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
A future bestseller by a new and upcoming author …
– blurb for an upcoming book by an up and coming author
I searched a large folder on my harddrive containing several hundred files dealing with book reviews, author bio notes, genre discussions, classic, fandom, indie small press, amateur press, professional press, academic analysis, blogposts on related issues, etc.
I find the word “upcoming” used to describe events or things impending in the near future: upcoming book release, upcoming novel, upcoming meeting, upcoming special day, upcoming nuptials, upcoming project, upcoming inspection, et cetera.
I find the phrase “up and coming” used to describe authors newly emerging in their field, for examples:
“This anthology introduces us to many new and/or up and coming authors.”
“I aim to create a place for up and coming writers”
“The e-zine was fronted by an up and coming writer who was washed up after a year …”
” He’s been warned about your treatment of up and coming talented writers.”
I even found the announcement of an upcoming anthology including stories by up and coming new authors.
I am not finding upcoming authors or upcoming writers.
An up and coming author is one who is emerging in their field, not yet out standing in their field, but coming through the rye. Some are in bad need of catchers.