SCREAMWRITER! - 0.5 How To Write A Book Blurb

how to write a book blurb - for beginners

WAYS TO MAKE YOUR BOOK BLURB A PUBLISHERS DREAM
WRITTEN BY JOSH STODDARD
4/06/2020

how to write a book blurb 1o1

What’s the first thing you do when you pick a book you’ve never read before? After rifling through the pages and sniffing them like a crack fiend, of course. You turn it over and read the blurb.

You’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover but let’s be honest, we all do. And technically, the blurb is part of the cover. A lot of the time, people decide to buy a book based on them. Those few words are vital - so how do you write one?

what is a blurb?

Other than being a funny word that sounds like it’s straight out of a sci-fi parody, a blurb is simply a description of your book (AKA a book description if it’s online) usually found on the inside back cover of a hardback or the back of a paperback. They’re like a mix between a synopsis and promotional material.

What they are not, as Writers and Artists points out, is a manifesto. In your blurb, don’t talk about why you’ve written the book, why you think it’s important, why you think people should buy it. The themes will be evident in reading it. Don’t boast about yourself. Keep yourself out of it and let the book stand on its own two legs.

Alternatively, let others shout about it for you by quoting praise from newspapers, notable critics, celebrities, other writers etc.

In fact, most blurbs nowadays seem to be taken up by quotes. They’re like movie posters with one-liners that are superlative, don’t mean anything and tell you nothing about the book, but they make it look good and I can’t deny it doesn’t work. If I see a quote from someone I like on a book, I’m probably more inclined to pick it up because I align with/trust their opinion. It’s like word of mouth but in print.

How to get a quote

But how do you get these quotes? Well, people need to read your book, preferably before it’s published so you have time to chuck it in. That means sending advance copies to...

beta readers

bloggers

book reviewers etc.

If you have contacts, use them. If you want to reach out beyond your sphere, be reasonable. Don’t just send it out to anyone and everyone, target those you think will respond, who will want to read your book.

At the time of writing this article, I’m in the process of contacting influencers and local media. People who inspired my book in some way or might be interested because of its setting.

When you’re contacting people, give them a reason to get back to you. Don’t give them a sales pitch because you’ll just be ignored. Be personal. Explain why you want them specifically to read it, appeal to them. But don’t brown-nose.

And who knows, if the person likes your book, not only will you get a quote to attract readers but they might recommend it to their audience.

Now, let’s get back to how to write the actual blurb itself.

How to write a blurb

Reedsy breaks it down into 4 steps:

1. Introduce Your Main Character(s)

Simple enough, who’s the book about? We don’t need their life story - their age, occupation or even their full name (unless it’s relevant) - just the bare minimum and how they figure into the story.

2.Set Up Your Primary Conflict

What’s your protagonist going up against? And I mean, literally. There’s no space for the internal conflict here, the reader will learn the character arc once they read the book. But they’re only going to do that if you entice them with what’s going to happen in it.

3.Establish The Stakes

Basically, what’s the worst case scenario if the protagonist doesn’t succeed? Will their relationship end? Will they die? Will the world end? You get it.

4.Show The Reader Why The Book Is For Them

You’re trying to sell to fans of a genre, so what’s your book similar to? Is it like A meets B? Make comparisons but don’t make it sound the same. And definitely don’t say yours is the next *insert bestseller franchise here* because unless you’ve got similar claims from reputable sources and you’re self-publishing your first book, all the potential buyer has to do is check you out and they’ll smell bullshit. “I’ve never heard of them, they sound big-headed” *puts down book/closes tab*

Step 4 also refers to keyword optimisation. There’s plenty of articles and websites about this but in short, this means using words in your description associated with a specific genre that will ensure your book shows up in search results and readers can identify it. But don’t overdo it because you risk making your book look generic.

Now, does Reedy’s formula work in action? Let’s break down some blurbs - including mine to see if it needs improving (the answer is yes) - and find out.

Blurb breakdown

My best advice when it comes to writing your blurb is to read the blurbs of your favourite books and figure out why you picked them up in the first place. Or popular books in the same genre as yours and pick out the key words.

Here’s some of mine:

Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone

I’m not sure if the newest editions need or even have blurbs, but the original book (tucked away under my bed, ageing nicely to be sold for a fortune in the future) had the simplest yet succinct description that obviously worked its magic.

BLURB:

Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy - until he is rescued by a beetle-eye giant of a man, enrols at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch and does battle in a deadly duel.

The Reason…

HARRY POTTER IS A WIZARD!

Main character: Harry Potter, wizard

Primary conflict: Coming to terms with being a wizard, a duel

Stakes: Death

Genre keywords: Wizard

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda By Becky Albertalli

One of my favourite books and my main reference point when writing my own blurb.

BLURB:

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly-gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: If he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing with, will be jeopardised.

As his email correspondence with Blue grows more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out - without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s ever met.

Main character: Simon Spier, sixteen, closeted gay

Primary conflict: Blackmailed by his classmate

Stakes: Being outed, losing his penpal, pushing away his friends

Genre keywords: Gay, sexual identity, school, junior year, flirtatious

Opposite of Always By Justin A. Reynolds

Spot the quote from the previous author, Becky Albertalli. It’s on the front but it caught my eye and why I’m reading it. You get the idea.

BLURB:

When Jack meets Kate at a party, he knows he’s falling - hard. It is almost happily ever after, until six months later Kate dies. And this love story should end there. But Kate’s death sends Jack back in time to the moment they first met, giving him the chance to try to save her this time. When a choice he makes turns deadly for someone else, Jack has to work out what he’s willing to do - and let go - to save the people he loves.

Main character(s): Jack (and Kate)

Primary conflict: Stuck in a time loop

Stakes: Losing the people he loves

Genre keywords: Happily ever after, love story, back in time

Smalltown Boy By (Me!) Josh Stoddard

BLURB:

It's 1985 in Thatcher’s Britain. Wham! and Madonna are Top of the Pops, the AIDs crisis is at its height, and Finn Thompson has a secret...he's bisexual.

Nobody knows and he wants to keep it that way. But when you live in a small town like his, everyone knows everyone, and secrets don’t stay secret for long.

Recently dumped, Finn meets Kat, a punk with her own baggage. After a couple of chance encounters, they quickly fall in love. But when Kat learns Finn's secret, she worries she's not enough for him and their paranoia and secrets from each other lead to reckless choices with irrevocable consequences.

If Finn wants the best of both worlds, he's gotta face the music.

Main character: Finn and Kat, both dumped and live in a small town

Primary conflict: Finn trying to keep his sexuality secret but Kat knows

Stakes: AIDS, being outed, losing Kat and everyone he loves

Genre keywords: Bisexual, secret, love

Now, I’ve hit those points in my blurb but I’ve probably spaced it out a bit too much. You don’t need to know Finn’s surname or what music was popular in 1985 - even if it provides context and I like it being there! Also, that second to last paragraph makes it sound more like a thriller than a coming out/coming of age/relationship drama, so I guess I’ll work on that.

I’ve been happy with this blurb for a while but reading it now after researching for this article and releasing the book to limited pre-orders, I’m realising it might need to change. And that’s just part of the process. Don’t settle for the first draft of your blurb, keep working on it until you get results!

Alessandra Torre changed hers and over night, her sales went from a handful to hundreds, then thousands. Her advice? Keep it short. According to Reedsy, ideally 150-250 words, 2-3 paragraphs.

“Bear in mind that such blurbs are often read in crowded places particularly beloved of pickpockets, with shoppers jostling round you whilst your other purchases dangle from your other hand, and that books are often heavy and thus difficult to hold for a long time. It follows that there isn’t time to take in lengthy copy” - Alison Baverstock.

So that means be concise. Remember, if you’re self-publishing, only the first few lines appear in the Amazon description so don’t waste it on extraneous detail e.g. full names, places. Get to the point, fast.

You’ve got limited words and limited time for them to make an impact, so make sure your blurb is the best it can be.