Bookish Buzzwords as a Sales Pitch
Bookish Buzzwords & Buzz
Hello Everyone,
This blog post is coming to you tonight from a man who has been staring into Organic Chemistry notes all day, so bare with me as I switch into my creative mindset. Today I saw an add for a book that had a few keywords on the ad that caught my attention so I thought I would discuss what words catch my eye and why these keywords work. The words that caught my eye today were scouting, friends, and ideals. These words were associated with Nickolas Butler's new book The Heart of Men which was released on March 7th 2017.
These words on the ad for The Heart of Men caught my attention for several reasons, I am an Eagle Scout, friendship tales are always fascinating to see the dynamics of people, and ideals told me that this book would focus on society's/and personal ideas of masculinity. This combination has a great potential to blow me away! With blurbs or quotes about a book, publishers need to make an impact in a few lines. This can be done by sharing a shocking scene to grip you, or a condensed synopsis, or they can try to create a nostalgia with their audience. These are a few of their techniques, in this case the line checked off two of these options; forming nostalgia with me, and synopsis. However not everyone will have a connection and nostalgia for Scouting or summer camp they draw literary fiction fans in with the idea of a question regarding morality and multi-generational storylines.
This short and powerful sentence that is on the cover of books or in press releases has the power to attract buyers in a way that nothing else can. Someone can pitch a book to you in a bookshop and you may be inclined to try it, however for myself I will not purchase it unless the quotes or synopsis hook me. Many factors go into designing the quotes for book jackets, and I cannot speak about them all so I will leave this analysis to publishers.
Buzzwords are a similar concept to quotes or press release quotes. Buzzwords are designed to draw a reader in and give them a feeling for the plot and themes dealt with in books. These are more prevalent in the reviewing community instead of on the physical copy of a book, however if certain words are used in review people are either attracted or repelled. For my personal taste there are a few words that peak my interest:
- Family saga
- Quest
- Magic
- Russia
- Scouting
- Loyalty
- Gender Norms.
- Friendship
These words will draw my attention and usually cause me to search deeper about the book mentioned. Further searching allows me to evaluate my interest level in the book, to determine when or if I pick up a book. The magic of words is incredible! With a few simple words a publisher or reviewer can create a sense of intrigue and need for the book at hand which astonishes me each time! I know we have always seen these on books or in reviews, what are your favorite buzzwords or quotes on books/reviews?
Happy Reading!
Check in Friday for more bookish discussions and reading fun!
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