How to Write Blurbs that Sell Books

I’m glad for the help, because as I’ve said here before, a good product description is one of the most vital elements of newpub success.

Newpub is always changing. That means your knowledge of the field has to keep growing if you want to succeed.

Conferring and collaborating with brilliant and successful writers has expanded my newpub knowledge over the years. And one element that’ evolved most is my approach to book descriptions.

Here’s my current book blurb philosophy:

Effective blurbs multitask.
A book’s product description should accomplish multiple tasks, including:

• Introduce and briefly describe the main protagonist, his primary goal, the major obstacle in his way, and the stakes/consequences of failure.
• Clearly convey the book’s mood and genre.
• Ask a compelling question that entices prospective readers to pull the trigger on the sale.

1. Using short paragraphs (2 lines max).
2. Start with a hook that includes the first bullet point above phrased as “To get X, [protagonist] must accomplish Y.”
3. Write 2-3 paragraphs presenting the problems the hero faces and laying out the stakes.
4. Give a 1-paragraph recap of the initial hook that expands on the obstacles the hero must overcome to reach his goal.
5. Close with a compelling question like “Will [protag’s positive quality] win the day?” (You can also add a counterpoint question that reiterates the stakes, e.g., “Or will [villain/obstacle/problem] thwart him?”)
6. Bonus: If you’ve done your market research – and you should – this is the place to include a pitch phrased as a favorable comparison between your book and one or more other titles popular with your target audience.

And there it is; your go-to book blurb template.

“But I don’t want to just paint by numbers!” I hear some of you saying. “I want to craft my own original blurbs that are unique to my author voice!”

And my reply is …

No worries. I’ve got you covered.

Need ideas? Get inspired by proven winners.
If you’re at a loss for how to start writing a blurb for your book, here’s a fun and easy exercise that’ll get your creative juices flowing.

Go to your bookcase or Kindle library and choose at least five titles that appeal to your book’s intended readership.

I’s important to pick out books that:

• Share a genre and mood with yours
• You’ve read and liked  (books that influenced yours work best).
• Were successful with your target audience.

If you haven’t read at least five books that meet these criteria, stop reading this post, put all writing projects on hold, and come back when you’ve read at least 200 novels in your genre.

Got your (at minimum) five books? Good. Turn to each volume’s back cover and read the jacket copy/synopsis. Read critically, paying attention to the elements of character, conflict, and stakes mentioned above.

When you’re done perusing the back jacket copy, open up your word processor and transcribe each book’s synopsis. That’s right. Type all of them out. Doing so will drum the pertinent content into your brain. Don’t worry. We’ll wait till you get back.

Now that you’ve copied down all of those book descriptions, examine them again and find the recurring patterns that emerge. Once you’ve identified the paragraph structures, word choices, and hooks that successful authors use, you can create your own product description template.

Fill in this template with characters and situations from your book to create a prototype blurb.