If i stay begins with seventeenyearold cellist mia hall waking to a thin layer of snow on her lawn. The blurb can also be a sentence or two of glowing praise written by a fellow author to help market your book, but for this article well focus on the copy that appears on the back cover of a book. Mia thought the biggest choice she would have to make was to go to juilliard for college but, this choice is bigger. Cello is an abbreviation of the italian word violoncello, an oxymoron meaning little, big viola. From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia if i stay is a 2014 american teen romantic drama film directed by r. It can be tempting to write more and describe your book, characters, and plot in detail. Youd rather clean out the kitty litter for the third time this week. Its her choice, just like the title of the book, if i stay. If i stay is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. Apr 20, 2008 a blurb is a short summation of your nonfiction book or novel to help readers decide if they want to invest the time in reading it. Your book description on amazon has to hook your readers immediately and get them to buy the book before they click away and read something else.
But one day what should have been just another car ride with her family takes a bad turn when her father crashes the car and mias life, as well as the lives of her family, hang in the balance. Mia is a talented musician, with a great boyfriend and family. Lady macduff he has a father, and yet he is fatherless. How to write a blurb for your fiction book self publishing lab.
It was ripe for discussion as to whether or not the right decision to stay or not to stay was made, and why. How to ask people to blurb your book without fainting from. From the very beginning, forman drops subtle hints about the car crash, even starting off the book with, everyone thinks it was because of the snow. Includes exclusive interviews with chloe grace moretz and her costar jamie blackley. Snow days should be less bloody, but mia doesnt have a choice yet. How to write a blurb definition, examples, and more blurb.
Because of the short length, writing a book blurb can be difficult. Anne holman, the kings english bookshop, salt lake city, ut. Top tips on writing a book blurb that really sells. When uploading your pdf, select blurb s free isbn from the dropdown menu of the isbn section. While this book would be enjoyable for a singular reader, the points of view that emerge from discussing this book in a group greatly enrich the experience. After the cover, a book description may be the most important tool in selling a book. Book cover express advises that on print books, there should only be 250300 words. It explores the power of love, family, and romance. Gayle forman summary it was a day like any otherbut in an instant it was not. To ask other readers questions about if i stay, please sign up. She realizes that the choice between life and death is in her hands. Mia was in a terrible car accident with her family, she was the only survivor of her brother, mom, and dad.
If i stay is a young adult novel by gayle forman published in 2009. Yoyo ma as she wrote her novel, gayle forman was inspired by. It should introduce your main characters, give an insight on conflict, depict genre and arouse interest. Ross i am so much a fool, should i stay longer it would be my. A detailed discussion of the writing styles used running throughout if i stay including including point of view, structure, language, and meaning. A blurb is a short description of a book that is written for promotional purposes.
Gayle is also the author of several other bestselling novels, including where she went, i was here, the just one series, i have lost my way, and leave me. Mia hall is just a normal teenage girl about to graduate and trying but to figure out her future. Oct 03, 2020 when making your book with bookwright, pdf to book, or our plugin for adobe indesign, after you add the blurb provided isbn, we create a placeholder barcode and isbn add it to the back cover of your book. Throughout the story, gayle forman uses foreshadowing to help grab the readers attention and hint on future events. May 22, 20 one of the concepts he lit upon, while writing his book. The characters are tangibly real, the plot is fascinating and will cause. Jan 14, 2019 the blurb is a promotional description, found on the back of the book. Jan 10, 2020 a book blurb, or the book jacket description, summarizes the best part of your book in only 150 words yep. Tips on how to write a good book blurb by author tina hogan grant. About the book edit creative noun a person with a neverending, intense desire to produce based on originality of thought, expression, etc. Learn more about if i stay with a detailed plot summary and plot diagram. The book basically alternates between mias outofbody viewpoint and flashbacks of her life, kind of like her life is flashing before her eyes. Mias constantly reflecting on the sequences that have defined her life so far and. Now a major motion picture, starring chloe grace moretz.
The dos and donts of how to write a blurb for your novel. Traditionally, it would be found on the inside back cover of a hardback. While that article used a broad definition that includes skills, a portfolio of work and a network of people loyal to you, newports. While in bookwright, navigate to distribution assign a free isbn. This line immediately hooks the reader into the story and forces them to ask questions. Apr 02, 2009 gayle forman is an awardwinning, internationally bestselling author and journalist. Mia is the seventeenyearold protagonist and narrator of if i stay. A passionate and talented cello player from oregon, mia is likely.
The curious history of book blurbs and why theyre still. How to write a blurb definition, examples, and more. Told from adams point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined if i stay, where she went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance. Writing the book description is a rather daunting task, which is why many authors would rather avoid it. To give explanation about the strengths and the weaknesses of if i stay novel.
Macbeth william shakespeare study guide no fear translation act 4, scene 2 act 4, scene 2, page 3 original text modern text lady macduff fathered he is, and yet hes fatherless. Mia and her family get to enjoy a snow day at the beginning of if i stay. She is the author of eight books, including the sequel to if. Its important to keep in mind that the blurb must hook the reader, while not giving away any spoilers. Googles free service instantly translates words, phrases, and web pages between english and over 100 other languages.
In the books final scene, adam places headphones over mias ears and. Whether you want to see the movie or read the book, i would highly suggest it. Blurbs short testimonials of the book and they are featured on the front and back covers of books. For mia, this brings back all sorts of memories and visions for the future. She is the only one of her family to survive the car accident that begins the book. The story follows 17yearold mia hall as she deals with the aftermath of a catastrophic car accident involving her family. If i stay is a boring story that can be told in few sentences but has been dragged into a 200 page book. How to write a book blurb for fiction that sells not just. If i stay is about mia hall, an up and coming cellist with a charmed life. A passionate and talented cello player from oregon, mia is likely juilliardbound after she read analysis of mia hall. Mia is the only member of her family to survive, and she finds herself in a coma. If i stay is about mia and her brother teddy and her mu. Cutler and based on the 2009 novel of the same name by gayle forman.
He says if she stays, hell do whatever she wants, even move to new york. A horrible car accident that kills almost the entire family instantly. Using the blurb book creator in indesign, you can obtain a free isbn by checking the isbn box. Dec 08, 2016 all in all, the movie adaptation of if i stay positively reflects the book. Students, teachers, parents, and librarians can search in english or spanish using criteria such as atos book level or a lexile measure, interest level, title, author, fictionnonfiction, subject, awardwinners, state lists, ccss exemplars, and more. If i stay study guide contains a biography of gayle forman, literature.
If i stay is a 2014 american teen romantic drama film directed by r. How to write a blurb definition, examples, and more blurb blog. In oregon, this small amount of snow is enough to cause school closures. This book was the most recent choice for our book club. During an outofbody experience, she must decide whether to wake up and live a life far different than. Mia has a heart breaking decision to make after going into a self induced coma, from a horrible car crash. The critically acclaimed, bestselling novel from gayle forman, author of where she went, just one day, and just one year. But when it comes to book marketing, putting in the work to produce a powerful book synopsis or book blurb is the best way to sell more books and make. Oct 11, 2019 the figures speak for themselves a book with a blurb of around 150 words sells better, according to amazon. As paperback publishing developed, readers began seeing the blurb appearing on the back cover. How to write the perfect blurb examples, formula, opening. For example, as a talented cellist, mia has to decide whether to pursue her study of the instrument at juilliard in new york city, or whether she will remain with her. This novel will stay with me for a long, long time.
Mia hall is put into a coma after she and her family get into a car accident. Mia feels that she doesnt quite belong to her family. Where can i find the isbn blurb assigned to my book. If i stay looks at the reasons we keep on breathing. Ive heard many positive things about gayle formans if i stay so i was really. Firstly, a blurb should be a taste of the book, not a description. This all changes when her family gets into a car crash. Nurse ramirez, a young nurse in the hospital, tells mias grandparents that mia is running the show, meaning that it is up to her whether or not. Book blurbs are one of those things that many selfpublishers dont even realize are a thing because they are so fully integrated into the book reading process that we dont notice them until they arent there. If a blurb is part of your marketing and it is try and use it to hit that target market rather than one that wont be interested in your book. After months of sentence reconstruction, scene revisions, and subtle changes in wording, all the hard work is behind youalmost. An interactive data visualization of if i stays plot and themes.
The best study guide to if i stay on the planet, from the creators of sparknotes. The book is based upon mia reflecting over her life and what shes accomplished and achieved and. Top tips on writing a book blurb that really sells nicholas. She is the author of just one day and just one year, and the companion enovella just one night, as well as the new york times bestsellers if i stay and where she went. If i stay is a book that seemed simple when i read the synopsis. If i stay is my first book from the author gayle forman. On a print book, the blurb appears on the back cover. Poignant, sad, affirminga novel well worth reading. Other than the cover, it is the other most important selling feature of a book. She lives in brooklyn, new york, with her husband and daughters. The film stars chloe grace moretz, mireille enos, jamie blackley, joshua leonard, stacy keach, and aisha hinds. If youre wondering how to do that and where to start, it involves penning multiple drafts, lots of cutting, losing your sanity, and planning your blurb with the help of these steps. The critically acclaimed, bestselling novel from gayle forman, author of where she went, just one day, just one year, and i was here. Gayle forman is an awardwinning, internationally bestselling author and journalist.
She summons the strength to decide to stay, and squeezes adams hand, indicating that she has woken up from her coma, and has decided to live. Now, she is trapped between life and death, witnessing everything happening to the her in the coma. The publishers blurb refers to this book as an existential crime novel. If i stay by gayle forman if i stay is about mia hall, an up and coming cellist with a charmed life. She feels a jolt of pain and realizes how painful staying. Home writing the dos and donts of how to write a blurb for your novel. If i stay is a gorgeous book that deals with death, family, love, and grief so as you can tell it is quite a complex novel that deals with complex issues that all happen between a really short time period. Adam comes to see mia, puts headphones on her ears, and plays her the cello music of yoyo ma. Tips on how to write a good book blurb by author tina. The family pile into their rusty buick, planning to go out for a day trip to visit. Jul 05, 2018 if your book is futuristic scifi, you want to orient your blurb to capture that feel rather than writing in the old english style of a high fantasy.
Jul 11, 2017 a blurb also referred to as a synopsis or a glossary is the summary of the story found on the back cover of a book. If this book were any longer, i would have marked it dnf right after reading the first few chapters. Apr 01, 2020 millions of books have been published, and that means making your book stand out among the crowd without a solid book marketing and publishing plan can be more challenging now than ever before. It all gets taken away when the rest of her family is killed in a car crash that leaves her clinging to life. Mias brother teddy and her father, a middleschool english teacher, also have the day off, so her mother takes the day off of work. If i stay contains teen romance, the importance of family, and highlights the way people bond in tragic situations. Creative noun a person with a neverending, intense desire to produce based on originality of thought, expr. The story follows 17yearold mia hall as she deals with the aftermath of a catastrophic car. I had read and heard a lot about the book and therefore picked it up from my long tbr.
Life changes in an instant for young mia hall after a car accident puts her in a coma. While this book would be enjoyable for a singular reader, the points of view that emerge from discussing this book. Original and exciting, it is a novel about relationships, life and the people involved in both. Searching for books with a corresponding renaissance accelerated reader 360 quiz is easy with accelerated reader bookfinder. To ask other readers questions about if i stay, pl. It challenges readers to think about how they choose to be in their lives. The actual isbn and barcode are applied to your book after you upload it. Stay true to her first lovemusiceven if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving. The music brings up emotions and memories for mia, both from the past and the future. Generally, 150200 words are more than enough for a full blurb. I wont tell you how the book ends, but be sure to have some kleenex. Mia hall is the seventeenyearold protagonist of if i stay, and the novel is told from her point of view. It hints that something has already happened, but leaves. Its a testimony to the beauty of family and friendship that moved me as a mother, as a daughter, and as friend.
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