7 na libro ko ang published in the Philippines by Summit. Lahat ng iyon, yung back cover description, hindi ako ang nagsulat. Bakit? Kasi dapat, expert sa marketing ang magsusulat nito.
Ang back cover description ng isang book, o kaya ang book description o summary sa online, ay "marketing" device ng isang libro. Ito ang kukuha sa attention ng reader at buyer, kung sakaling hindi nila kilala yung author mismo, at ito ang madalas na basis nila sa pagdecide kung bibilhin ang libro. Have you ever picked up a book and read the back cover, only to decide na "Ay ayoko...mukhang sad ito at ayoko ng sad story ngayon." or "Oh this is interesting! Mahilig ako sa mga best-friends-falling-in-love stories."
The author is usually not in the best position to write this, and in general to market the book. Usually wala tayong marketing at business background. Hindi natin alam kung ano ang keywords na dapat ilagay sa book description para ma-attract ang reader.
Napansin ko dito sa Wattpad may mga nagme-message sa akin at sa ibang reader, nagpo-promote ng story at humihingi ng review. However, their request does not answer the fundamental question of marketing your story: WHY SHOULD WE READ IT? WHAT IS IT IN THIS STORY THAT I WILL LIKE?
Dapat ang book description mo, o ang iyong request for a review, must contain the answer to these questions.
Pansinin na ang mga published book covers, may mga ganito:
'From the bestselling author of..." - Attracting readers to the author's name. If the reader has read your other book, baka magustuhan din niya ito.
"From the publisher of..." - Baka hindi mo kilala yung author na ito, pero chances are you know the other famous book that they also published.
"Winner of _________ award" - Kung hindi mo kilala ang author o ang publisher, you might be impressed that this story or author won an award.
A GOOD DESCRIPTION WOULD INCLUDE:
1. The TROPE. Since lahat ng kwento ay based sa isang trope (mahilig banggitin sa Wattpad ito as "cliche" but you actually mean TROPE), dapat naka-describe sa summary kung anong TROPE ang kwentong ito. Is it FRIENDS TO LOVERS? OPPOSITES ATTRACT? RICH BOY POOR GIRL? FORBIDDEN LOVE? Hindi mo kailangang sabihin directly na "ito ay Friends to Lovers story!" pero dapat ma-gets namin that it is, from your summary. Many readers choose stories they like based on the tropes they like to read. Dapat malinaw kung anong trope ng kwento mo sa book description.
2. The AGE of the characters. Are they teens? High school? College? Twenty-something? Readers usually have an ideal age for the characters they want to read in books. Magandang sa description pa lang, nakalagay na kung ano ang age group ng characters so readers know what to expect, and hindi sila ma-disappoint.
3. A HINT of the conflict. Wag i-give away ang ending. Pero wag ding sadyang misleading ang book description, para lang magulat ang reader sa surprise ending. Readers should know what the main conflict of the book will be about.
When you ask someone to read and review your book, even just here on Wattpad, you have to MARKET it properly. You have to tell us WHY we should read it.
If your description has all this info and we still don't want to read it, then maybe the story just isn't for us. Marketing is also about finding the RIGHT readers for your story.
BINABASA MO ANG
Publishing and Self-publishing: Advice for Writers
Non-Fiction[FILIPINO/ENGLISH] Advice for writers based on my experience self-publishing (more than 20 novels as of now) and traditional publishing (more than 10 novels with a traditional publisher, and consulting for other fellow authors). Read and learn, but...
