The 50 in 52 Journey

1 Single Mom

50 States

52 Weeks

A journey to find the people moving America forward.

Imagine if you could be inspired every day for a whole year. What if instead of reading or watching bad news, each day you could read about or watch something uplifting, positive, inspiring? What if these were ordinary, everyday people, doing extraordinary things. People just like you, in communities all over the country.

In 2008, then a single mother of two, Dafna Michaelson had a ‘crazy’ idea.

She wanted to quit her job and travel to all 50 United States within the 52 weeks of one year to find the stories of those ‘ordinary people doing extraordinary things’.

She started a non-profit (501c3), formed a board of directors, and wrote a business plan.

Remember 2008? That was the year the bank collapse happened; the year the recession hit. In fact, the first bank collapse began on the very day that Dafna Michaelson left her job. Her friends and family pleaded with her to beg for her job back. Her answer was simple:

“If I thought this was important before the collapse of the economy, how much more important is it now?”

With potential donors now focused on helping those in need from the collapsing economy Dafna Michaelson liquidated her 401K account. Beginning January 7^th 2009, she travelled each week to one state (plus Washington DC) searching for problem solvers and idea generators. She interviewed and captured their stories on video, posting them to her website for everyone to see. An antidote to bad news, if you will.

Now, it may seem foolish in a less than stellar economic period for someone to purposefully quit their job and set out on such a ‘crazy’ journey. Or, perhaps this is just what we needed in this country. Great ideas are often scoffed at before they become great. What better time to take everyone’s focus off all the negatives that they heard about each day and instead re-focus on the positives. Every day, in every city, in every community, there are people doing amazing things. People who identify a problem and find a solution. People who are making a real difference in the lives of those in their communities, and even in some cases, the whole country. Dafna Michaelson wanted to find them and share their stories to inspire others.

This was more than just a crazy idea. It was a journey about helping people, about giving something back, about shining the spotlight on what truly makes this country great. The people. It was about meeting the people who don’t do what everyone expects. The people of this great nation who buck the trends, fly in the face of adversity, and move this country forward.

It wasn’t easy. She travelled only on the days her children were with her ex-husband, flying out at dawn on Wednesday mornings, driving on average 800 miles in each state from dawn until midnight; only to catch a few hours’ sleep (often on someone’s couch), then get up and do it again the next day.

She would fly home late Friday evening and become “mommy” for the next four days. Then the cycle would repeat itself.

It was worth it though. She met roughly 500 people across this country. Captured 375+ videos of them. She blogged almost every day she travelled. What she found was a plethora of races, creeds, religions, and ethnicities. People who look like you, sound like you, and have the same socio-economic background as you. Ordinary people, doing extraordinary things.

Dafna wrote a book about her Journey; what she learned, what she lost, and the amazing people she met along the way. It’s called, appropriately enough, “It takes a little crazy to make a difference”.

Dafna’s mission is “To change the mirror we use to reflect who we are as a society”.

We hope these video stories will help you see that who we are as a society has little to do with what you hear in the media or read in the news. It has little to do with movies and rock stars. It has to do with ordinary people who make up the society we all live in. They live in your community. They share the same challenges and have similar dreams as you do. They are the ones who raise their hands and say, ‘I have this problem and so do other people. I’m going to solve it for myself and for them.’

Watch. Be inspired. Take action.

Together we can change the mirror.
Together we can make a difference.

Watch Videos

The back cover copy you write for your book is among the most important marketing messages you’ll craft. It’s the essence of your book’s most exciting features, distilled into a few hundred words. It typically serves as the foundation for your online book descriptions, as well as any press releases or pitches you make to the media. It will get re-used and re-fashioned for dozens of purposes. Whatever labor you expend on perfecting it will reward you in the long run.

Here are the key principles that publishers and authors alike use to create what should become a masterpiece of your book marketing and an essential piece of your book metadata.

Back Cover Copy for Nonfiction (Non-Narratives)

The most important question you must answer in your back cover copy is: Why and how will the reader benefit from this book? If you know your audience well, then you know the problems they face; your back cover copy should tell how your book addresses these problems head on and helps readers overcome a challenge or succeed.

Two of the most common mistakes that nonfiction authors make in crafting their back cover is:

Focusing too much on a description of the book’s content, rather than how the content will help, inform, or entertain the reader
Focusing too much on the author’s background, rather than how the author’s credentials or experience helps them expertly address the subject matter

Rather than crafting copy that’s a long, solid block of text, you can help ensure the copy is read by including (in this order):

A headline at the top of the cover that succinctly sums up the key benefit or selling point of the book—or consider a convincing quote (blurb) from a recognizable authority who recommends the book
About a 100-200 word summary that expands upon the headline and demonstrates the value of the book
A bullet list of features and benefits the book provides to readers
A final sentence or two to close the message, with a mention of the author’s credentials if not earlier described
(optional) Praise (blurbs) for the book from recognizable authorities
(optional) A brief author bio and author photo at the bottom of the cover

A professional designer can work wonders in arranging this information in a way that helps it get read, especially if you have a range of elements you’re trying to assemble (description, blurbs, bio, photo, awards, and so on).

Back Cover Copy for Fiction (and Nonfiction Narratives)

It’s not uncommon for traditional publishers to put nothing but blurbs or book reviews on a novel’s back cover, especially if it’s by an author who is already well-known. But that’s rarely the best strategy for authors who don’t already have an established audience. Potential readers will want to know what the story is about before committing, and the hook you provide may determine whether they start reading the first page or chapter. (The same is true of memoir and other true-to-life stories.)

The hook for the back cover isn’t so different from the hook you’d put in a query letter to a literary agent. The hook needs to convey:

Who is the main character(s)?
What do they most deeply desire?
What stands in the way?
What is the setting or context for the story?

If you can’t identify what the main character deeply desires, then ask: What challenge do they face? What sets their story in motion?

Ultimately, what you’re trying to get across is an intriguing story premise. For example, My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult tells the story of 13-year-old Anna, who was born as a “savior sister” specifically so she can save her older sister’s life. When Anna turns 13, she is told that she will have to donate one of her kidneys, and she sues her parents for medical emancipation.

That length of description is all you need to sell the story to potential readers. To improve your own story description, read the book marketing copy for dozens (even hundreds) of books in your genre, and pay attention to length, point of view or voice, as well as how much of the story is described. For example, it’s very popular for contemporary romance novel descriptions to be written from the point-of-view of the heroine. Here’s how the book marketing copy for Baller by Vi Keeland starts:

The first time I met Brody Easton was in the men’s locker room.
It was my first interview as a professional sportscaster.
The famed quarterback decided to bare all.
And by all, I don’t mean he told me any of his secrets.
No. The arrogant ass decided to drop his towel, just as I asked the first question. On camera.

In those 60 words, we know who the main character is, a good idea of what she desires (or will desire!), and what her challenge will be. We also know the setting or context.

No matter what category or genre your book falls into, you have to pack a lot of punch into a couple hundred words, sometimes less. Don’t just write one version and consider it done. Write multiple versions, test and gather feedback, and improve it until you feel it’s the best possible sales piece for your book.

The 50 in 52 Journey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 23, 2021

Back Cover Copy for Nonfiction (Non-Narratives)

Back Cover Copy for Fiction (and Nonfiction Narratives)