Taming the Back Cover Blurb

Earlier in February, I facilitated a workshop about writing blurbs. It was a collaborative event with everyone researching and commenting on blurbs as well as sharing their own blurbs for critique.

Here are the key points we discussed.

• Start writing your blurb when you start writing your book!  Yep, you heard me. You already know what your book is going to be about—even if it is just a general, amorphous cloud of an idea––and you know how you want your audience to react to the book. That is exactly what your blurb should communicate and exactly how you want readers to react to your blurb. So get words on paper (or screen) as early in the process as you can.

• Remember that your blurb has one job—and one job only—to snag a reader’s interest. It is not about the author’s career. It is not a synopsis of the entire book. It is not the place for backstory. It does not give away the ending or any spoilers at all.

• The blurb must create suspense by presenting a situation or asking a question that can only be resolved or answered BY READING THE BOOK.

• I made a nifty infographic with many of the tips and tricks we discussed. If you’d like to look at that and/or download your own FREE copy, click HERE!  (or paste this in your browser: https://www.sorchiadubois.com/mystery-flesh-eating-blurb/)The password is Sorchia.

• We also developed a quick checklist to use as you battle the blurb.

1.      Is the length less than 180 (or close) words?

2.      Do the first 1-2 sentences catch attention? Use a killer tagline in bold. Separate it from the rest by a blank line.

3.      Is the main character mentioned above the line? (in the first 200 characters.) Did you manage to use SEO keywords in those 200 characters?

4.      Are conflict and stakes succinctly summarized in 1-2 sentences?

5.      Are clichés and unnecessary world-building/backstory avoided? Don’t begin with “In a world where…” or similar standard openings. Don’t spend any time explaining the landscape in flowery terms. Just include the info the blurb reader needs to know to understand the blurb.

6.      Do the tone and voice and pov match the book?

7.       Are any spoilers revealed? This is the only question you want to answer no or Hell, no.

8.      Does the blurb end with a cliffhanger—a compelling situation, question, problem which can only be resolved by reading the book?

9.      Are the sentences in the blurb short and punchy? Use Active voice and limit sentence length.

10.   Are genre and central theme of the book clear?

Before you go--tell us one or two things you MUST see in a blurb before you click BUY.

And here are even more resources you can check out.

·        http://www.blurb.com/blog/writing-blurbs-for-novels/

o   Do’s and Don’t’s and a discussion of blurb writing in general.

·        http://authorsociety.com/17-tips-how-write-blurb-sells

o   Seventeen tips!

·        https://authorunlimited.com/back-cover-blurb/

o   Provides another formula—“The standout, the meat, and the emotional payoff.”

·        https://blog.reedsy.com/write-blurb-novel/

o   Very helpful article with do’s and don’ts as well as advice for optimizing a blurb on Amazon.

·        https://kindlepreneur.com/back-book-cover-blurb/

o   Very thorough discussion with a template and examples for both fiction and nonfiction.

·        https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2010/11/16/how-to-write-back-blurb-for-your-book/

o   More discussion plus a 5 minute video that I found interesting

·        https://blurbbabe.wordpress.com/category/examples-of-blurbs/

o   Examples and analysis of blurbs.

·        https://www.tckpublishing.com/how-to-write-a-fiction-book-blurb/

o   A list of questions to think about as you prepare to write/revise your blurb.