How to Create a Great Blurb

It's a sad statement that books are sold by their covers, and that definitely applies to the back cover. The blurb can help or harm the book's chances of being sold; this makes it a vital part of the book's marketing. The problem is that most writers simply don't write marketing copy very well; it just takes a different sort of mentality to write copy for marketing than it does for the book itself. Thus, writers need some instruction on how to write the blurb for their work.

What The Blurb Isn't

• Let's be very clear about what a blurb is NOT: 
•  It is not a summary of the book. While it will describe what is inside the book, this does not make it a summary in the strictest sense of the word. 
•  It is not for SEO purposes. While there's no question that a good blurb will help others find it, a good blurb will ignore a lot of the rules for good SEO practices. 
•  It is not a collection of keywords and/or buzzwords. More than just ignoring good SEO practices, you're trying to make this as clear as possible for readers to read. 
•  It is not a story of the book. The blurb needs to be as short as possible while getting the attention of the reader; this means that while you want to tell the story of the book in terms of its origins, the blurb is not the place to tell it.

The point here is that you have less than 200 words to get the reader interested in your book. If you waste time worrying about the summary, SEO, buzzwords, or even the story of the book itself (as opposed to the tale inside), then your blurb will invariably exceed that word count. This just means that you need to be very concise about what goes inside the blurb.

Start Off with The Hook

For simplicity's sake, the three parts of the blurb are the hook, the body, and the stinger; you have 150–200 words to get all of these parts into your blurb. The hook needs to sum up the basic premise of the book; this is the basic question of the book expressed in under 20 words. This isn't quite the logline familiar to screenwriters, which is a one-sentence summary of the story, but more the central statement of the book; that is, this is what your story is asking and what you hope to answer. It's what hooks the reader, making them curious about the book.

You want to do something short that will get readers a little intrigued about the book, piquing their interest and getting them interested enough to read the rest of the blurb. This is why you use the slogan of the main character. Or ask questions. Or the logline of the book. Or the basic premise, what got you interested in writing the book. Some of my hooks would include:

• Why do we love our monsters so much?
• Captain Ahab must choose between the chance to complete the quest of a lifetime or save a planet.
• Writers have many worries. Wouldn't it be nice to know how to deal with those worries ahead of time?
• Serial killers are bad enough. But this one has something bigger in mind.
•  What chaos would happen if superhero secrets were to get out?

Then There's The Body

The body is the biggest part at about 100–200 words but is probably the easiest part to write. The goal here is to give readers a taste of what the book is like; you need to establish the genre of the book, preferably without stating it explicitly, while at the same time giving a good summary of the book. The key here is to set up the story in as few words as possible, introduce the main characters and biggest conflicts, and keep it as coherent as possible.

Sounds easy, right? Especially for that 250,000-word behemoth you've been working on.

It's really not hard: Just describe the first act of the book. Describe the basic setting and how the main characters interact with the setting, then set up the beginning conflict. Mention the inciting incident, if possible, and then one or two plot complications, with a focus on inner conflicts. If you're writing a biography, then treat the biography as fiction. For anthologies, highlight some of the stories while trying to establish the theme of the book. If it's a how-to, then address what the person will be learning. For pure non-fiction, such as a recipe book or different car models, address the overall theme of the book or why the recipes or cars were chosen.

This should take one or two paragraphs. Remember that you are not using the body of the blurb to sell the book; you're just describing the content of the book as quickly as possible. You have roughly 150 words to summarize your book; you don't have time to sell the book. You'll have just barely enough space to describe the book and what's inside it, and you're going to feel it, especially if your story is really complicated. Just keep to the main points; don't need to include every little subplot and mention anything important (such as fan-favorite characters) and you should do okay.

End With The Stinger

The stinger is the part of the blurb where you send the reader into the book. It's either a statement or questions that cement the reader's interest in the story and get them into the story. The idea here is that you've set the stage for the book (the hook, given them a taste (the body), and then give them a final reason to read it (the stinger). This should be no more than 30 or so words and should create some interest in the book. There are three basic approaches:

1. The Call to Action: You have promised that the book will give the reader valuable information or that their questions about a specific topic will be answered. This is great for how-to and non-fiction books."You can get the promised result by reading this book."
2. Curiosity-Raising Issues: Your synopsis has set up an interesting conflict and now you state that conflict explicitly. For stories where the conflict is central to the story, this is the best approach. "Will the hero get the princess? Or will he find something even more important?"
3. The Summary Statement: You summarize the synopsis and try to echo the hook. When there is no strong conflict or you're dealing with a variety of different stories (such as an anthology), this may be the best way to go. "This book explores everything dealing with screws, from their history to their taxonomy, making it the perfect gift for your mechanic and DIY friends, or those interested in the history of small things."

Your Blurb and Your Book

You need to look at your blurb as more than just a synopsis of your book and part of your marketing campaign. You need to take a look at what your blurb says about your book and make sure that the blurb helps sell your book. It may look a little intimidating, but follow these tips and you'll be writing the perfect blurb for your book in no time. Just remember that:

•  The hook needs to set up interest in the book so tell readers why the book is important. 
•  The body will give them a taste of the book but don't oversell it. 
•  The stinger sells the book and tells the reader why they need to read it.

Keep those tips in mind and the blurb will not be as scary as you think it may be.