Blurbs. Those short book descriptions on the back covers of books or on the sales pages of Amazon or Apple Books. Authors hate writing them. Readers hang on every word of them.
Why?
Emotion. Gut-wrenching, will she save the world, will he get the girl, will they find the killer before he kills again emotion. After all, that It what sells a book.
And selling a book is what a blurb is all about.
Keep it Short
That’s right, a book blurb is not a summary of a story, it is a sales vehicle. It’s a chance to capture a reader’s attention and hold it in about 250-350 words or less—fast. And do it in a sea of millions of books.
No wonder authors hate writing blurbs. That’s a lot of pressure.
And yet great blurb writers can create book descriptions that sell and teach others how to write them, too. How? By following a proven formula. I know, because I write blurbs for others and I teach them how to create better blurbs for themselves.
My secrets? A structure I know works, something akin to a 3-act play, complete with an opening act, raising the stakes and something I avoid in my own books like the plaque—a cliffhanger. Then, I help authors to avoid a few known pitfalls, like regurgitating their plot.
And I pound the concept of brevity into their brains. Never say in two words what you can say in one. But that one word must engage, compel, captivate.
What? How Can One Word Do all That?
Oh puh-lease. You are an author, for heaven’s sake. You know the power of words. And in a blurb, everything is about words with power—the power of emotion.
Making readers care if the boy gets the girl, if the world gets saved, if the killer gets caught is what entices them to keep reading, that “need to know just a little bit more.” How will it end? Even if they know, as in a romance, that the ending will be happy, how on earth will our heroine overcome the horrible obstacle you have described is facing her?
To paraphrase a famous sales pitch: “Inquiring readers want to know.”
Painting Pictures with Words
And here, more than even in your novel, showing not telling, is your friend. You must set the tone, the mood, convey the genre and ooze all that emotion in three short paragraphs, give or take.
You do that by having your protagonist ‘desperate for change’, not ‘needing a break’, or “staring down his worst enemy, backed to a wall” and not “scared.”
Take these examples from current bestsellers.
The Holiday by John NichollIt was meant to be the perfect getaway…
As I board the plane, all I can feel is hope and excitement. One whole week away. Just me and the man I have promised to be with forever.
Time to repair what has been broken. Maybe even try for another baby, and pray that this time it doesn’t end heartbreakingly.
I just need to not think about what George has done. He’s my husband. And this is the holiday where we make things right.
But then I realise he can’t take his eyes off the beautiful woman who’s just boarded the plane in front of me…
In that moment, everything changes. And nobody is safe.
I selected this because most blurbs are written in third person, but this is an excellent use of first person. The first line tells you immediately that it will not be a perfect getaway as it was meant to be, setting the mood for a thriller and capturing your interest immediately. Boom! You are off on a ride with the author…right up until the cliffhanger. All in 114 words.
Desert Heat (Joanna Brady Mysteries Book 1) by J.A. Jance
A cop lies dying beneath the blistering Arizona sun—a local lawman who may well have become the next sheriff of Cochise County. The police brass claim that Andy Brady was dirty, and that his shooting was a suicide attempt. Joanna Brady, his devoted wife and mother of their nine-year-old daughter, knows a cover-up when she hears one . . . and murder when she sees it. But her determined efforts to hunt down an assassin and clear her husband’s name are placing Joanna and her surviving family in harm’s way—because in the desert, the one thing more lethal than a rattler’s bite . . . is the truth.
This blurb launched the first book in what is now a 20-book series! It sets the scene fast with phrasing like “blistering Arizona sun” and using rough words like police ‘brass’ and her husband a ‘dirty’ cop. You also know that Joanna is a wife and mother prepared to face a lethal rattler’s bite. I picture a smart woman facing a tough, environment perfect for a Clint Eastwood western, don’t you? Can Joanna Brady take on an assassin and clear her husband’s name? The right readers would certainly be buying the book right now to find out. The reader knows everything they need to in one paragraph.
Let’s look at one more.
The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
The Echo of Old Books meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets.
‘The thing about books,’ she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.’
On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found…
For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.
But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder… where nothing is as it seems.
Here Ms. Woods has relied on other works of fiction to help convey the mood and genre but also written a short blurb and does so without her earlier reference. “A vanishing bookshop that casts its spell” tells us to expect fantasy, as does her choice of the words like dream, extraordinary and transported. Then she confirms it is ‘a world of wonder’ that awaits the reader. For a fantasy reader, what could be more alluring? I don’t usually read fantasy, but this blurb enticed me, and I bought this book. After all, I am a book lover too.
So, what do these blurbs have in common?
All three of these blurbs use verbs that are powerful because they are emotional, and because they impact the protagonist. Readers want to relate to stories, but they want the experience of the novel to exceed their real life too, to be bigger than their average day. Anyone can wander into a bookshop, but not everyone can be transported into a world of wonder once they do.
I can relate to defending my boyfriend against someone who falsely accuses him of something but being brave enough to face “a lethal rattler bite?” I want to believe I’d be brave enough. I could relate, and I’d want to read every page about a woman who was.
So where do we get those powerful emoting words? We borrow them, we buy them and then we build them.
Borrow Emoting Words
The best way to write great blurbs is to read great blurbs, tons of them, in and out of your genre. Warning, It may lead to the purchase of many new books.
Seriously. Blurb trends change. The third person/first person example I cited earlier is an excellent example. Most blurbs are still written in third person, but more are moving in the direction of first person, especially for romance novels.
Study blurbs for trends in tone, keyword use and length. And steal those emoting words you love best and begin a list for yourself that you can refer back to regularly when you are stuck and need help.
A good blurb will be rewritten well over a dozen times. That is a lot of opportunities to change argue to compete, compete to fight, and fight to wrestle. You like the feel of the word wrestle? Add it to your list.
At first, you will have a random list, but over time the list will grow long enough to categorize to your liking.
Keep a thesaurus handy too. You never stop relying on it.
Buy Emoting Words
If your list isn’t growing fast enough, or it’s too disorganized, there are some fabulous books that will add to your list overnight.
My favorites are a trio by Valerie Howard: “1000 Character Reactions,” “1000 Helpful Adjectives” and especially “1000 Strong Verbs.” Once you crack the binder on these books, they will be your friends for life.
“Master Lists for Writers” by Bryn Donovan is more general and contains more than you need for your blurb writing but it’s a terrific investment for any author. Also providing more than just emoting words, I am fond of blurb writing courses like Stacy Juba’s “Book Blurbs Made Simple” that include lists of emoting words for you to build upon.
Build Emoting Words
Whether you’re finding your favorite words in blurbs, courses or books, keep them close by and refer to them regularly as you write and rewrite your blurb. Try to up the ante each time in terms of reducing the number of words and increasing the amount of drama and emotion. Go just to the brink of overkill. Leave the reader fearful that the world will end, nothing short of it, or the romantic equivalent. Make the stakes high, then add to the tension until it’s unbearable.
Then ask for the sale. After all, that is the whole reason for the blurb.
Want to take the sting out of building your blurbs?
- Sign up for “Building Blurbs that Sell,” a one-hour workshop on writing your best book descriptions. The class offered this Tuesday, May 28th will include a bonus beta copy of the companion class workbook as soon as it is available.
- Or learn more. From me at www.madisonmichael.net/services or from any of the other wonderful blurb resources and experts I reference in this post.