I have been struggling with making a catchy blurb. Tell me, do you hate it or like it? Does it make you want to read it? No, 1, 2 or 3, neither or a mix?
Blurb 1: A confident, sassy consultant, happily married and successful is mystified when an inexplicable, overnight transformation in her husband’s behavior while overseas, forces her to abandon her previous life in an attempt to solve the situation. Taking her across countries and cultures, encountering medical men and monks, she is forced to take an inner and outer journey to analyse her previous life and relationships in a new light.
Blurb 2: A coming of age novel and love-story, this novel will appeal to readers interested in diverse cultures and countries, science and spirituality and human behavior in crisis. It will appeal to people interested in India and travel, in spirituality-the patient, the carer, the guru and the disciple alike. This novel is an uplifting and motivating story that takes an honest look at how a tender marriage bears the unexpected burden of severe illness when the vows taken in every marriage are life-long and ‘to be together always in sickness and in health.’ It deals unflinchingly with the testing of all ties at times of crisis.
Blurb 3: A confident, sassy consultant sets out on a voyage of self-discovery in her bid to save her husband who displays an inexplicable overnight transformation in behavior and character while travelling. The young wife’s effort to resurrect their life together takes her on a journey through different countries and cultures. She receives support from unexpected quarters while perceptions about what brings value to her life are dramatically altered.
Blurbs are a nightmare to write, IMO - they're so genre-dependent.
I tend to agree with Emma that (2) is more synopsis. (1) or (3) would be okay for literary fiction, but I'd say if this is chick-lit (or it's up-to-date equivalent) you need to name the MC
For example (1) might be changed to:
Happily married (NAME) is shocked by an inexplicable transformation in her husband’s behaviour while overseas (on business? holiday?). Abandoning her previous life in an attempt to discover the reason,(Christian name) crosses countries and cultures, encountering medical men and monks until an (unexpected) discovery forces her to question everything she believes in.
Not perfect, but I hope you get the idea. Bear in mind that's only my interpretation and I read a pretty narrow range of fiction so I expect others will disagree with much of it.
One thing I would suggest I writing down as many variations as you can. I found that helpful in that you can pick the best bits out of each. And it's sometimes useful to go through the blurbs written for books of similar genre in the local bookshop. I did that, too ;)
Don't get disheartened if you can't write a standout blurb straight away. Even publishers have problems, so I'm told :)
Blurb 3 for me, although i like elements of all three. The first line in blurb 1 is long and hard to read for my simple mind. Blurb 2 reads a bit more like a synopsis. I'm no expert though. :) Sounds like a very interesting story.