Advice on book publicity?
I am writing a book on linked chemistry-related themes, from the age of the Earth to synthetic fertilisers to the wetness of water.
The publisher wants my suggestions for the blurb. I am wondering if the word "chemistry" would be a turn-off for a lot of people and, if so, how to get my message over.
First, I’d say that since your book is about chemistry, you shouldn’t worry too much about mentioning that. I guess you would need to ask yourself how many people will NOT read this because it mentions chemistry. If you’re worried about the effect, you might actually play it up in the blurb, by saying something like "Did you count the minutes until the bell rang and you could get out of your high school chemistry class? It’s not that chemistry is boring, it’s just that they weren’t teaching you what makes water wet, how we know old the Earth is, or what goes into the fertilizers that make our crops grow…."
I think there is a pretty big market for popular science books, so don’t worry too much about it. Sounds interesting.
Filed under: book publicity
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First, I’d say that since your book is about chemistry, you shouldn’t worry too much about mentioning that. I guess you would need to ask yourself how many people will NOT read this because it mentions chemistry. If you’re worried about the effect, you might actually play it up in the blurb, by saying something like "Did you count the minutes until the bell rang and you could get out of your high school chemistry class? It’s not that chemistry is boring, it’s just that they weren’t teaching you what makes water wet, how we know old the Earth is, or what goes into the fertilizers that make our crops grow…."
I think there is a pretty big market for popular science books, so don’t worry too much about it. Sounds interesting.
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