- Strotski
- Dec 29, 2013
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Hey folks,
My wife has been writing various things for more than 2 years now, yet to publish but rapidly approaching that point. She has a few books prepared, so she can publish them one after another.
I want to run a blurb and title for the first one of those by the thread, cause we're pretty worried and inexperienced.
blurb posted:
Tracy
My first case as the new head of the labor union? Yes, probably among the toughest ones so far. But I’m not backing down even after the Union’s demands are straight out rejected by the future CEO of the billion-dollar hotel chain itself.
As if that will stop me from fighting for the people they are trying to screw over.
Watch me.
When an opportunity to attend the fancy CEO succession event Devon Corp is organizing presents itself to me, I grab it with both hands. My plan is simple – go there and get hold of the kind of information I can use to pressure the corporation into agreeing to my demands. A little dirt in play can’t hurt anyone, can it? Except it’s not exactly easy to come across it. And that rear end in a top hat of a future CEO who’s my current number one enemy? It turns out he’s hot as sin, a little dorky, totally my type and seems to be willing to listen to what I have to say.
So, uh, I may or may not have agreed to have a business lunch with him.
Gareth
Inheriting my dad’s hotel empire has been set in stone for me from the moment I was born. It doesn’t mean I’m going to be one of those incompetent rich men who ride on the success of his parents, though.
Devon Corp has been my entire life since I was a kid, but now that I’m about to take over, I’ve made it my goal to really understand how the company operates at every level.
Which is why I’m meeting with the union representative so I can personally present to them the commission’s rejection. The legendary man I’ve prepared myself to face, however, is not who I’m up against as I find myself trying to hold my ground against his formidable daughter. I couldn’t quite wing it, but it’s not like I’ll have to deal with her again.
Until I do, at the event where my dad is to officially announce he’s passing down his business to me. Only, I’m not ready for the snarky, fiery woman I had no idea hid beneath the professional façade. Or the reactions she elicits within me.
Oh, and did I mention I impulsively invited her –technically my enemy – out for a ‘business’ lunch?
This is a steamy 65000-word soft enemies-to-lovers romance novel, with a dorky bad boy billionaire who likes to get what he wants and the stubborn Union Head who’ll give him a run for his money.
Part of billionaires series of standalone
This is supposed to be a romantic lighthearted read. Any feedback is appreciated here.
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May 16, 2023 13:26
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May 14, 2024 03:07
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- Strotski
- Dec 29, 2013
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Not a romance author, just I hang out with authors who do write in that genre.
Imo the blurb is too long but it is great that it's clear on the tropes. Dual POV is standard for romance from what I understand but typically the blurb I usually see is from one of the characters only (if F/M then usually the female MC).
Pick up the Universal Fantasy book which is a blurb primer geared to romance authors:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FGZQV4D
It wasn't very translatable to fantasy for me (I can't wrap my head around the core concept at all, maybe because fantasy is different) but I've heard very good things about it from authors writing in romance.
Will change PoV to one person and shorten it as well.
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May 16, 2023 14:51
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- Strotski
- Dec 29, 2013
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Here's my attempt at cutting down the romance hotel blurb. I don't think you need to talk about how this is happening at the succession event, just focus on the people. I don't know enough about romance to comment on if a two-person blurb for a two-POV book is odd (it wouldn't bother me but what do I know) or what's a good title for that market. This is what I got. :p
———
Tracy
My first case as the new head of the labor union? No problem. I’m not backing down. Not even from the future CEO of the billion-dollar hotel chain who’s screwing my people over.
But then again, he’s hot as sin, a little dorky, totally my type and seems to be willing to listen to what I have to say.
So, uh, I may or may not have agreed to have a business lunch with him.
Gareth
My dad’s hotel empire has been meant for me from the moment I was born. But that doesn’t mean I’m one of those incompetent rich men who rides his parents’ coattails. As I take over I want to understand how the company operates at every level.
Which is why I’m meeting with the union representative to personally reject their demands. But I was expecting an old union man, not his formidable daughter.
She’s snarky and fiery beneath her professional façade… and I may have impulsively invited her out for a ‘business’ lunch…
———
Well folks, I've done another one of my oddball short stories. It's about dealing with death when you haven't actually lived much life yet. It's FREE for Kindle through Sunday May 21, so, have at it!
Mercy wasn’t supposed to die at sixteen, but she did, and it sucks.
The preceding statement represents about as far as Diane has gone in processing the pain. Her not-quite-a-relationship with Mercy never moved beyond idiotic adolescent jokes, which makes sifting her memories for meaning seem, well, meaningless. This also sucks.
Bewildered and numb, Diane doesn’t know how to say goodbye—or say anything, really. Then an unexpected encounter helps her fit Mercy’s death into her life.
Award-winning writer and filmmaker Adam Bertocci has been praised by Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, The New Republic, GQ, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Back Stage, Broadway World, E!, Maxim, IGN, Wired, Film Threat and more. In this strange, sad, sometimes silly short story, he tackles grief, loss and the truly stupid things that make us human in the fumbling narration of a young woman finding her voice.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0C54L42BZ/
I really like your cover, would pick the book up based just on it!
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May 20, 2023 19:06
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- Strotski
- Dec 29, 2013
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Wife is looking for an agent and has no idea how to write queries for them, anyone who has any experience with it and can offer some suggestions please? Even if you don't (have experience), would appreciate some comments.
quote:A fairytale planet and a mysterious but deadly tournament. Four species and four teams. Friends and enemies that you can’t tell apart.
Twenty-year-old Rayne is about to become homeless or worse when a mysterious alien with arcane tattoos, offers her a chance at riches and power. Rayne agrees – after all, anything is better than her current life, including being whisked away from Earth to another planet by a race of purple aliens and thrust into the a deadly Tournament alongside twenty other unsuspecting humans.
The rules are simple – master the mysterious star resonance power the space dragons give to all participants and survive until the end. Only one team can win and keep the stars’ power and Rayne is not about to let some lizard alien walk away with her dreams. Stuck with the infuriatingly attractive Sai’erel as the trainer for the human team, Rayne will embark on a journey full of danger and mysteries which will not only test her resolve and skills, but might well shake the very foundation of who she believes she is.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros meets Squid Games in STARBOUND, an action-packed new adult sci-fi/fantasy romance which follows Rayne as she fights for a place in this new world amidst a perilous game and an attraction she can’t suppress. It’s completed at 115 000 words and stands alone with a potential for series.
I have a BA in Japanese studies and currently work in tech after obtaining a MS in Computer science. Having lived in Japan, Eastern Europe and the UK, I draw inspiration from my past and current experiences to create diverse worlds with high stakes and relatable characters.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my query. I look forward to the opportunity to discuss the potential of this novel further with you.
Sincerely,
For comps: The original comps were Fourth Wing + The Serpent and the Wings of Night (which has the tournament format) rather that Fourth Wing + Squid games, so we're wondering which one is better to use?
Also: Bio seems irrelevant so not sure if we should even bother including (some agents have a field for it anyway, so I guess for those it can go there)
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Oct 15, 2023 15:25
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- Strotski
- Dec 29, 2013
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That's very helpful, thank you for taking the time!
As for how generic it is, yeah that's entirely a (big) problem because this book isn't meant to be representative of her work. Her best work is in m/m but at the moment she's trying to do what's more marketable and generic and she just modeled it after fourth wing which is huge right now. She's still trying to find an agent for it cause why not I guess?
Strotski fucked around with this message at 07:15 on Oct 16, 2023
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Oct 16, 2023 07:13
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- Strotski
- Dec 29, 2013
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Don't pitch it as New Adult - most agents and trad pub houses don't recognise it as a category and it's currently only consistently used in self-publishing (which is where Fourth Wing got its start). The query makes it sound Young Adult, and if you aged Rayne down a little then it'd slot right in.
Squid Game is pretty pointed in its themes - if you're comping it on the basis of 'tournament' and not because your book shares them, The Serpent and the Wings of Night is probably a better bet.
Honestly, if your wife is writing interesting m/m SFF(?) books, then there's a market for that and she'd probably do better pursuing it than trying to sell a lazy Fourth Wing cash in that neither of you seem enthusiastic about.
Both of us know going the rip off way isn't the right thing to do since it shows in the writing and especially us marketing it. The reason she did m/f to begin with is the same reason she plays lottery once every 2 weeks "might as well try", as dumb and illogical that reason may be.
With her finishing editing this ripoff (which honestly has decent plot too, the only thing she was excited about writing) she's gonna pivot from m/f to m/m full time which is what we should've done from the beginning but she wanted to try and get lucky so.
TL;DR just trying to salvage bad decisions and make the best of it, I suppose.
Thanks for the help!
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Oct 16, 2023 11:00
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May 14, 2024 03:07
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- Strotski
- Dec 29, 2013
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I'm biased (agented, write queer SFF), but I think there's a demand and a market that's worth perusing - you're certainly not likely to get a Fourth Wing-esque success there, but then that level of success isn't likely in any area of publishing. The YA bubble of a few years ago has burst.
One thing to be aware of is a good agent is someone who'll want to work with you to build a career, so make sure that when you query you approach agents who also sell in the space you want to write in, not just ones who'd be willing to rep this book.
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Oct 16, 2023 18:34
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May 16, 2023 13:26
