Writing Your Book Blurb (or Description)

Inevitably, you are going to be called upon to write a book description for the manuscript you just finished. Either the publishing house will require it of you, or you will need it when you self-publish. If you’re not familiar with how to write one, it can be a torturous task. It, too, takes skill, but it can be learned.

To train yourself to write book cover copy, you need to be familiar with the market for which you are writing. Go to the nearest bookstore and spend some time reading the back covers of books. However, don’t just focus on one genre. Venture into horror, sci-fi, mystery, and romance because you’re looking for examples that really stand out. Pay attention to each word used. Jot down some notes. Ask yourself questions such as: how would I have written this differently? Do the words the writer used evoke imagery? Is my attention sufficiently captured?

Pull a couple of books off your shelf at home and practice changing the copy into something uniquely yours. The more practice you can get with this, the better. So take the back cover copy of some of your favorite books and rewrite it. Ask some of your friends to read the copy and see if it holds their attention. Better yet, ask them if they could tell you the name of the book, especially if you use some of the great works like Jane Eyre or Catcher in the Rye.

Only you know your story the best so you should be the one to make those words work for you.  Don’t just tell a reader what the book is about. Show them. Take them inside the mind of the characters or give them chills just by reading the short description. Even if you haven’t finished writing your book yet, you should practice this step. Boring book cover copy won’t sell books no matter how good the inside of the book is. You have to catch the readers with the book description and the cover (see my interview with award-winning cover artist, Elaina Lee, next) or you could easily lose a sale.