As a copywriter, coming up with a good tagline can be one of the most challenging tasks youll ever encounter. Now, boiling down an entire book into one marketable sentence is tough. Joan stewart is known as the publicity hound and delivers webinars, a twice a week newsletter and has created a variety of tools designed for authors and book publicity. Cook up a tantalizing tagline for your book live write breathe. It doesnt tell you anything specific about the story, but it does give you a feel for it in a way that a logline cant. For those of you who arent sure what a tagline is, its that short phrase or sentence that you often see on the cover of a book, or on a movie poster in space, no one can hear you scream is a classic example. When writing a oneliner, or tagline, you dont want to describe your entire book. Cook up a tantalizing tagline for your book live write. Therefore, an author tagline is vastly different from a logline or book blurball of which summarize a single work. Work to identify the authors thesis, objective, or purpose, evaluate and make a judgment of the book based on the evidence collected from reading and primary sources.
Aug 12, 20 so, yeah, some brands can get away with the whole vague tagline thing. Stepbystep guide to write an effective website tagline. But lets take things from the beginning by looking at what is a tagline, what makes it effective, and how you can write a great small business tagline. Write a blurbwant to pen a blurb that will describe your book and make it enticing to any editor or agent. Potential readers first introduction to your writing occurs when they experience your book description. Writing a tagline can be like writing a headline except the tagline will probably be used in several or many ads, all with different headlines. Take a look at them and see if you think the authors taglines in bold fit the type of writing in italics. Creating an effective tagline is more art than science. Build your brand with an author tagline litreactor. A good tagline will snag readers attention, so they pick up the book and read its blurb or download a sample. Making that short pitch shine is critical to the success of your book, no matter where you market, share, or. Lets jump into some examples of how we would do this.
That about sums up my blog and website at the moment. If i were to try creating a tagline for my fiction and nonfiction books combined, i might use i write what i know and what i love. We come up with a tagline for a book we dont even have. Sometimes you end up with hilariously vague or overly dramatic lines that make you laugh. These remarkable slogans are followed by the greatest bookstore names of alltime and a special post on how to write a catchy slogan that brings in more customers. We have gathered a list of some of the catchiest book slogans and taglines that shine brightly within the industry. What theyre looking for, in hollywoodspeak, is whats called a logline. Dec 27, 2019 therefore, an author tagline is vastly different from a logline or book blurball of which summarize a single work. Where a slogan is usually used for a single campaign or product. These remarkable slogans are followed by the greatest bookstore names of alltime and a special post on how to write a catchy slogan that brings in more customers a. The hidden side of everything also a book, but a great tagline nonetheless 35. We wondered about the effectiveness of such taglines, so we decided to come up with a fun quiz to see if you can match the tagline with its book. The beloved farley and spade comedy has a great tagline. Writing a logline and a tagline for your work in progress is a great exercise.
The logline especially helps you to build a framework for your story. Writing irresistible book descriptions beyond the style manual 1 kindle edition by james, kris. How to write a tagline in 6 steps simple website service. First, a definition of manifesto and tagline for our brand book. This book will give you everything you need to write a catchy tagline for your business, product or service. When youre writing a screenplay or a book, one of the first things that a writer may do is create a tagline. However, titles, covers and blurbs play a much larger role in book marketing, so taglines aka straplines or endlines in the uk are rarely discussed. And then i might add, for my fiction writing, featuring strong women. When he discovers the identity of his fathers killer problem, he must set aside his desire to seek revenge cost or risk in order to forgive solution. This tactic is to put a spin on a wellknown turn of phrase. In this post you will find 150 motivating slogan about reading, reading slogans for children, slogans on reading habits, catchy reading slogans, reading slogans for bookmarks, reading poster slogans, reading slogans for elementary and reading sayings. How to create a great tagline for your business w examples. A lively, fun, and inspiring guide to getting heard, getting remembered, and getting results.
Jeffrey gitomer, author of the little red book of selling filled with practical methods for making your message outstanding. Another way to brand yourself is by writing more than one book about a certain topic or theme. This could happen just in a random conversation between friends, or from writing one of our 10word stories, or it could just drop in our heads seemingly out of nowhere. This is a single line that describes the work, defining it in some way, and is usually used in advertising a film. Writing taglines of a website copywriting freelancer. In addition to hooking their interest, it will stick in their minds. Writing a tagline is not the easiest thing to do so hopefully hearing some other creative lines will spark an idea. Pop create the perfect pitch, title, and tagline for. Its a one or twosentence description of the overall idea of the story.
As you said, it is actually a simple yet much neglected part in many blogs. One way to write a great tagline is to read others. Were more likely to associate them with the subtitles on movie posters or trailers, and most of us would be hardpressed to quote the. Use your tagline as a teaser on letterheads, email signatures, press releases, and all your marketing literature, including flyers, posters, bookmarks, postcards, etc. Mar 22, 2020 the beloved farley and spade comedy has a great tagline. In just 8 seconds, you need to grab attention, explain what you do and generate enough interest that the potential client may wish to know more. So why am i telling you to not follow any of the famous tagline examples we all know and love. They communicate the crux of your brand to your internal and external audiences, and when included correctly in the brand book, they will help bring your brand to life. You want to make sure you have the brain space and clarity you need to do it well.
A great tagline can help sell books and give readers an idea of what kind of story theyre picking up. A logline tells you what a movie or book will be aboutthe main conflict, the main character, and the stakes. The best movie taglines 75 examples and why they work. Writing the perfect tagline is a fun, creative challenge. Slogan about reading today a reader, tomorrow a leader read to succeed take a lookread a book. A logline gives the gist of your book in a sentence. It is the bridge that gaps the distance between your brand name and your brief motto.
Aug 10, 2015 6 focus on the main thrust of the book, whether its romance, action, mystery, etc. How to create a rocksolid tagline that truly works copyblogger. Writing irresistible book descriptions beyond the style manual 1. How to write a tagline for your book and why you need to. I have the same image on facebook, youtube, as an email header, etc. Writers have a split second to catch readers attention. As a test, i entered the word copywriting, and it come up with 1,076 slogans, including. Writing a killer logline using the killogator logline formula. Crafting a book tagline brief dont go longer than a sentence. A good tagline is the cornerstone of any great marketing campaign. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading hook, tagline, and sinker. In a broad sense, a tagline is a memorable phrase that represents what your company does or what it stands for. The killogator formula works best if you write the setting, protagonist, problem, antagonist, conflict and goal down separately first, before trying to combine them into a sentence. Oct 15, 2015 great attentiongrabbing lines on author websites by karinabilich october 15, 2015 october 15, 2015 so often, i recommend that an author write a tagline or attentiongrabbing intro sentence for their homepage.
The brand manifesto and brand tagline are critical elements of both your brand and brand book. Jul 16, 2014 6 branding tips for writers and authors by nina amir explains how to create your brand by determining how you want to be known, deciding what youll write, how to build your author platform and use your brand on social media and more. And yes, indeed, it should convey a product benefit. True to your story dont promise what you dont deliver. It identifies to a perfect stranger what they can expect from your books think of it as the five ws and the h about you.
Im here to help you create the writing life of your dreams. Sep 06, 2016 now, boiling down an entire book into one marketable sentence is tough. Caveat superlative how to write a good tagline the best taglines convey a brands essence, ring true with audiences, and dont make you a laughing stock. May 05, 2015 in case youre wondering, a tagline is a brief description of you, the writer, just as a logline is a brief description of your book. To illustrate the difference between a logline and a tagline, consider examples of each for back to the future. Now i was hooked, but i may never have gotten as far as the backcover blurb if the tagline hadnt intrigued me first. An author tagline is about defining what you offer as a writer. Create the perfect pitch, title, and tagline for anything, whats holding you back. A tagline works in alliance with your brand name and your brand motto. How and why to write a logline and a tagline for your book. Think of a great author tagline as a motto or a professional objective that flourishes as your bibliography grows.
These remarkable slogans are followed by the greatest bookstore names of alltime and a special post on how to write a catchy slogan that. So, yeah, some brands can get away with the whole vague tagline thing. But there are a few things to keep in mind before you dive in. Writing a tagline can be like writing a headline except the tagline will probably be used in. If you can nail down a great tagline, then you have one more expression of your authentic self and vision to reach readers and allow them to see into your world. How to write a book subtitle or tagline that grabs readers by the throat. I came up with the tagline writing our journey to joy, as joyful empowerment is the unifying thread that lies within everything i do. If your story is set in the modernday in a normal town or city then theres no need to include setting as the reader will assume it.
Sep 12, 20 its not and we need both because the tagline is what goes on your book cover. Every year, agents, studio executives and producers receive hundreds of scripts, books. Writing an effective blog tagline is a tough job no doubt. It tells something about the main character, the conflict, and the stakes. Your tagline needs to convey precisely what you do. Because that type of tagline wouldnt work well for a small business. Sep 20, 2016 a great tagline can help sell books and give readers an idea of what kind of story theyre picking up.
Shopify has created a tool to create a tagline for any business. Newspapers do it with headlines and arresting images, but novelists have three tools at their disposalthe book cover, title, and taglines. Its the main goal of the story that you want to convey to your audience. At best, writing a tagline is a great creative exercise at worst, its a frustrating case of writers block waiting to happen. If your taglines memorable enough, they will tell their friends, too. How to write taglines for novels the write flourish posts. At this site youll define your writing life, learn to write with skill and artistry, and manage that most precious of commodities. In this arena the tagline is not usually a branding element so much as an ad payoff. Its not and we need both because the tagline is what goes on your book cover. Alongside her own writing, marcy works as a freelance editor and teaches classes on craft and social media through wana international. Why your blog needs a tagline and how to create the perfect. The tagline for cinder by marissa meyer is even in the future, the. You dont necessarily need to even talk about your specific.
Why your blog needs a tagline and how to create the. This process is like trying to cram a large thought into a single tweet. A tagline, meanwhile, is a witty slogan or dramatic statement, used to advertise a finished film to moviegoers. Thats something best left to the blurb or logline, which usually mentions the main character, the conflict, and what. If your story is set in the modernday in a normal town or city then theres no. Its often publishers that write these promotional elements, so the below examples werent necessarily written by the authors. My aim at live write breathe is to inspire you as an author to live a meaningful. Better a lessclever tagline that resonates with your writing than a word gem that doesnt really mean anything. The tagline for dean koontzs odd thomas is simply, every gift has a price. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The title of this post is a little too violent, but it exemplifies the purpose of this post. Sep 05, 2011 the brand manifesto and brand tagline are critical elements of both your brand and brand book. Her writing has appeared in various publications such as businessweek, forbes, and the huffington post.
If someone chances upon your site, sees a mysterious tagline and cant quite figure out what youre all about, theyre gone. You can use a shorter quote from the blurb if the one an author sends you is a little long. In other words, loglines are descriptive, while taglines are provocative. Learn how towrite a taglinechapter one includes exercises to help you create an eye catching tagline that will sum up your book in just one sentence. Aug 26, 2019 a logline gives the gist of your book in a sentence. To write an effective tagline for your company, its important to understand what a tagline is supposed to doand, specifically, what you want it to accomplish for your company. While you dont usually mention the genre in your tagline, readers should be given some idea of what it is or isnt. Jun 25, 2019 to write an effective tagline for your company, its important to understand what a tagline is supposed to doand, specifically, what you want it to accomplish for your company. A teenage boy whose father was murdered wants to make sense out of his fathers death desire. Hook, tagline, and sinker is a guide for anyone who wants to learn how to write concise, targeted, catchy book descriptions. Writing the winning blurb, tagline and synopsis by susan. There may be a few things that the name of your brand name might not convey about its purpose, but a tagline never fails at doing so. In case youre wondering, a tagline is a brief description of you, the writer, just as a logline is a brief description of your book. Write the perfect synopsishave you written a story but somehow your synopsis doesnt seem to do it justice.