The internet has connected more authors and readers than ever before. While self-publishing and online bookstore platforms have greatly benefitted both readers and writers, it can take a lot of work to get your foot in the writing door with such a huge market. Your book’s description is the selling point or virtual handshake to prospective readers. Apart from your title, your book’s description or summary will be the first glimpse of your writing, inspiring them to make the purchase or put the book down. In other words, a great book description can turn into a sale! You’ll want your book blurb to resonate and engage a wide variety of audiences using a few simple techniques and examples.
Target Your Potential Audience
As you’ve likely already planned and written your book, you should already know who your target audience is in terms of age, background, or preferences. Your book’s description should also harness those audiences for maximum effect. Your summary’s language and writing style can change depending on the audience—be certain to cater to those who will most likely want to read your book. Don’t write a summary for businessmen if your target audience is teenage girls. For example, the blurb, “How can seventeen-year-old Maya save the boy she loves?” would resonate with a younger audience, specifically adolescent girls. To cater to older adults, a blurb could be written as “Seventeen-year-old Maya embarks on a journey of resilience as she fights to save her kingdom from a dark curse.”
Focus on the First Sentence
The first sentence or two is all it will take most readers to know if they want to read your book. If your book description isn’t compelling within the first sentence, you may not see much luck with sales. Make sure your first sentence or two has a persuasive line or hook that will set up the entire story. If you could condense your book’s plot or theme into a single sentence, this is what your first few lines should convey. You should focus on creating engagement through the audience; asking a question is one of the classic ways to do this. Think of lines like, “What would you do if your entire world disappeared overnight?” This sentence is exciting and compelling without giving away too much of your plot.
Avoid Spoiling
You don’t want to give away your major plot twists or plot points in your book’s description. If your readers can learn everything from the product listing, why bother reading the full book? Describe the plot in a way that makes readers want to see the full picture. You can even include language to encourage the reader to find out what happens next, but don’t give away your entire story. “You won’t believe what happens next” is a great way to generate excitement without divulging spoilers.
Identify Selling Points
What makes your story special, exciting, or unique? Why should readers pick out your book over the rest of the competition? The answers to these questions are considered to be your selling points. Highlight these selling points in your book’s description in a captivating way. Unique assets include a different take on a classic genre or trope, an unusual viewpoint or voice, or an interesting plot twist. There are many ways your story can be memorable or special, but make sure you incorporate this information into your summary. Blurbs like, “Unlike other heroes, Mira isn’t chosen for her strength or destiny,” can set your book apart from others.
Consider Keywords
If you are selling your book online, consider thinking about digital marketing when crafting your description. If your book description needs to rank on search engines or social media, consider including relevant keywords. These keywords, like “small-town murder mystery” or “horror love story,” can be plugged naturally into a description and help direct readers who are looking for stories with specific keywords. Some authors also include these keywords as hashtags or individual tags provided on the platform. You may need to alter your keyword approach depending on the platform.
Appeal to Emotion
Some of the most compelling story descriptions are short but include bewitching words or sentences that appeal to the readers’ emotions. Consider the theme or genre of your book; what emotions will you want your readers to take away? Certain words can convey certain emotions quite well. For example, some of the best horror book blurb examples often include vivid phrases like “spine-tingling” or “blood-curdling” instead of vague terms such as “interesting” or “compelling.” Play with various vivid synonyms and imagery to craft an emotional response in the reader.
Be Specific
The illustrative language in your description should be specific. Words like “quirky” or “memorable” may describe your character, but they don’t really convey a particular image. What specifically makes your character memorable or quirky? List a character’s specific traits, backgrounds, or occupations that help move the story forward and generate interest to the reader. Including these in your initial description will help readers make a more informed decision about buying your book. In the following example, the character has specific traits to prove they’re quirky: “Aspiring taxidermist Lila, known for her fascination with preserving roadkill and her knack for spotting hidden patterns, discovers a life-changing journal.”
Include a Call to Action
You want to make your readers feel a sense of urgency or need to read your book. Whether your readers will join in on a fictional adventure or discover important life lessons in a nonfictional memoir, make sure your readers know what they’ll take away right in the description. Without being bossy, tell them to read your book! “Join the adventure” or “Discover your journey to healing” are some great examples of persuasive calls to action.
Conclusion
Your book’s description will bridge the gap between your story and new readers. You’ll need to balance marketing and storytelling tactics to persuade readers using as few words as possible. You not only want to capture a reader’s attention, but you also want to drive sales in this ever-expanding market. Write several descriptions using different tactics, perspectives, lengths, and approaches. Test them with friends, family, agents, or editors. They can tell you which ones spark intrigue more for the maximum impact.
