r/selfpublish • u/MKSauthor • 11d ago
Blurb help
I’m running an ARC campaign on BookSirens. The click through rate is fine (1221 impressions, 317 clicks), but I got a note from BookSirens that the expected number of downloads (14) is lower than average.
So my cover is working, but my blurb isn’t. Now, it’s possible that when readers see there’s noncon in the book, they choose not to read, which is absolutely fine and expected. But if that’s not the case, and the blurb isn’t otherwise pulling them in, I’d love your thoughts on how I could fix it. Blurb below:
This meet-cute is a meet-from-hell.
ANDIE
One moment, I was a college student with Broadway dreams. The next, I was kidnapped from Earth, sold to alien traffickers, and stranded on a planet light-years from home.
When a giant, winged alien found me in the wreckage of my captor’s ship, I screamed and ran. Now the entire Ptexari kingdom believes I initiated a mating ritual with Crown Prince Dakleth—a four-armed warrior who chased me down and claimed me.
Dakleth may regret what happened between us, but remorse doesn’t erase trauma. I may never go home again. I may never see another human being. But I will never accept this alien as my mate.
DAKLETH
The moment I saw the tiny human emerge from the crashed vessel, I knew she was mine. I believed she had chosen me, according to the traditions of my people, and instinct overtook reason.
By the time I understood the truth, the damage was already done. I will accept any punishment demanded of me, because no sentence could outweigh the shame I carry, knowing I harmed my mate.
Andie may never forgive me. She may hate me until my dying breath. Still, I will spend the rest of my life protecting her, earning her trust, and proving that I would sooner destroy myself than ever hurt her again.
Because she is my mate… even if I no longer deserve to be hers.
Ahelno is a spicy, emotionally intense dual-POV sci-fi romance featuring cultural collision and a slow-burn path toward healing and redemption. It is the author’s debut novel and first in a new series. Intended for mature audiences only.
No cliffhanger. HEA.
Content warnings:
-Non-consensual sexual encounter between main characters
-Trauma recovery
-Suicidal ideation and attempt
3
u/dragonsandvamps 11d ago
Yeah, I would change the first line.
I think the blurb does an accurate job of describing what the book is. If you are writing something that is very triggering (and you have several strong triggers) it is not surprising that this only going to be something that appeals to a small subset of readers. You have done a good job clearly laying out in the blurb what the book is, and clearly identifying triggers. I would keep all of that. It is better that the book get fewer readers (both in ARC readers and in sales) but the RIGHT readers, than to be vague or misleading and get the WRONG readers, who will be the ones who will 1-star it on every platform they can find.
So I'd change the first line, and keep the rest.