It’s one of those copy jobs you can’t imagine anyone actually has.
You not only get to read loads of books…
But your writing appears on every one you do read.
Pretty cool.
I’m talking, in case you haven’t guessed, about writing the ‘blurb’ on the back of a book.
You know…that 200-or-so-word synopsis designed to convert the casual bookshop browser into a buyer.
Well, it was my great pleasure this week to interview someone whose actual job it is to write those blurbs.
In fact, she’s written blurbs for the likes of Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton and many more celebrated children’s authors.
And she doesn’t just write blurbs…
Having worked with some seriously high-profile clients, as a freelancer she now writes for many more, including Pottermore by JK Rowling.
Of course, as I’m known to greatly dislike all things ‘Barry Snotter’, I embarrassingly didn’t have a clue what Pottermore is, but as Sarah rightly points out…it’s a big deal for a lot of people.
All of this made for a very interesting conversation, which I thoroughly enjoyed and hope you will do to.
The copywriter in question is a woman called Sarah Topping and as well as quizzing her about how you go about writing blurbs, we got to talking about tone of voice, the challenges of working freelance and whether her young son (who makes a brief appearance) will become a copywriter.
You can listen to the interview here:
As ever, please be sure to share with your fellow copywriters if you find it useful – if you don’t already, you can follow me on twitter here, where I post these interviews too.