Not Feeling the Blurb

The only reason I undertook this anthology project was that I got to thinking about the fact that there is no physical representation of my almost-decade of writing. When a writer reaches a certain stage in her career, she starts to think about what I'll call "legacy".  

I tooled around with writing almost continuously since I wrote my first novel. I published my works as ebooks, then moved on. It never occurred to me to create physical copies of those books, because why? I was in selling mode, and lots of people read ebooks. I know I do. Plus, I only have three full novels to my name, the rest being novellas. Who tries to sell a physical copy of a novella? I get free coupon books in the mail that are heftier. If I'd turned those eight novellas into paperbacks, I'd essentially have a bookshelf of pamphlets.

Naturally, I purchased my novellas for myself, to store on my Kindle. That was my only proof of actually having written anything. But an ebook is not the same as a real book I could hold in my hands.

Now I'm retired from writing. I won't ever do it again. And what do I have to show for it? I have a paperback of Running From Herself, because it's my ultimate work. That novel is the culmination of my nine or ten years of trying. So, I should just wipe the rest of my books from my mind? Those novellas aren't nothing; they're something. I worked as hard on them as I did my novels; only the length of time I worked on them was shorter.

Tangent: There's a perception that a novella is somehow a lesser work. "Well, it's short!" And? You mean, it's not a complete story? That's definitely not true. I could have turned any one of them into a full novel; it was my choice not to. Sometimes the story is what it is, without unnecessary filler. Add that unnecessary filler back in, and voila! You got yourself a novel!

Back to physical copies...

Now that I'm in legacy mode, I want to be able to see my work, not by flicking on my Kindle, but by gazing across the room and seeing it. That's why I'm creating this two-book anthology. No longer will my stories be pamphlet-size, but book size. Sadly, this project has turned out to be way more work than my starry-eyed optimism envisioned.

Now, though, I think I'm in the home stretch. I received the second book's cover from GetCovers yesterday, and I actually like this one (not crazy about the first book's cover). I completely redid my paperback formatting for both books. I reviewed the second book's Kindle version. All that's missing is the second book's blurb.

I got nothin'. 

I took a stab at writing it yesterday, but geez...I recognize that I'm easily bored with repetitive tasks, especially boring ones (but I repeat myself). I really did strive to write a good blurb for Book 1, but now I have to do it again? What the hell is there to say?

"Leaving Home". Okay. 

And that title is even a bit of a cheat. In one of the four stories, the main character doesn't leave home, unless you count her home burning down; in which case, yes, I guess she'd have to leave it. Nevertheless, that's the tie-together theme I landed on. I'm endeavoring to follow Jessie Cunniffe's blurb format, which means the blurb needs to start with either an intriguing question or an intriguing statement; optimally, a "yin-yang" sort of thing, such as "new identity, old terror" (which I came up with for Whispers in the Dark).

Well, that's not going to work this time. I found that there's really nothing intriguing to say about leaving home, although I came up with several cringeworthy possibilities. As I tend to do, I searched online for relevant quotes, but found none that weren't sappy. Truthfully, I could copy Book 1's blurb almost line for line and it would fit. Obviously, I won't do that.

I'm not inspired; I'm burned out. 

I think I took on too much at once. Now I just want to be done with the whole thing, but my brain is blocking my exit.  

If lightning doesn't strike soon, I'll end up going with a sub-par blurb, and I really don't want to do that. It's going to be printed on my paperback's back cover, after all, so it'll haunt me forever. 

I've decided that today is the deadline. This project has to be fini and soon. 

I've still got two novels that haven't been turned into physical copies, but the thought of that makes me nauseous. The last week or so has been a horror show. 

Would this work as a blurb opening?  

Be careful what you wish for.