Did Virginia Woolf have this trouble?

What's in a blurb?

I've pondered on this question for a while now, and the importance of this almost afterthought to the writing process is probably one of the most important things you can provide your book if you want someone to pick it up and read it.

You've done the hard yards, the thoughts, the insights, the pouring out of your characters - thousands and thousands of words that you've carefully crafted into a story that you want others to read and enjoy. So, then, how do you sum that up into something less than 200 words, which still captures and retains the essence of your story, without giving too much away?

You don't want to spoil the story. You don't want to tell the reader something that's going to interrupt their enjoyment or ruin the surprise. But you also don't want to hold too much back, so that the blurb offers them no tasty Hors d'oeuvre of reading appetite.

People who can effortlessly write good blurbs make me envious. I'm sure large publishing companies hire people specifically for this purpose so that the author doesn't even have to think about it and that the book has the best, objective marketing tool it possibly can.

I think that's the key. Objective. As a writer, it's hard to take that step back after months of personal investment in a story, which to a writer, is more than a story. It's a part of their life. These characters are real, we lived with them for months and know them intimately. And now we're asked to sum up this life in 200 words that will entice a reader in to our world.

I think Miranda Richardson, who played Virginia Woolf's sister in the movie 'The Hours', hit the nail on the head with her line: "Your aunt is a very lucky woman, Angelica. She has two lives. The life she is living, and the book she is writing."

It's so true. I know I 'wear' my characters and carry them with me day to day as I'm writing their story. Even when their stories are told, it's hard to just take them off and leave them behind. They live with us. They are a part of us. They are real people. We know so much more about our characters than what makes it to the page. So much so, for me, that when someone asks me what my book is about, I struggle to answer. What do you mean, what's it about? It's about Cassie, and Nick, and this is their story. Simple. To me anyway. That doesn't make someone want to read the book. It tells them nothing :)

That, I think, is my main problem. My books aren't fancy, detailed stories with major plot twists or fantastical tales of worlds that don't exist in reality. They're not medical mysteries, crime busters or tales of the macabre.  They're down to earth tales of the human condition. Real women that you might meet on the street or see at the mall. How do you make that sound interesting?