by Ruth Harris
You’ve written a book!
Or:
- You’ve started the first draft.
- You’ve finished the first draft.
- You’re waiting for your editor’s comments.
- You’re thinking about writing a book.
- You’ve got a great idea for a book.
- You’re making notes for a book.
- You’re outlining a book.
No matter what stage you’re in, the fact is it’s never too soon to start thinking about your blurb.
Coming up with the perfect headline for your blurb will also give you a head start on honing that all-important elevator pitch.The cover is the first thing that grabs the reader’s attention and tells him/her what kind of book s/he is looking at: romance (sweet or steamy), women’s fiction, mystery, thriller, horror, sci-fi.
But once you have the reader’s attention, then what?
Then you have to make the sale.
We’re talking blurb here, and don’t think you can get away without a killer one. Every book—no exceptions—needs blurbing. These days, even the Bible has one. Don’t believe me? You can look it up.
The blurb is crucial, it’s essential. It’s the message that seals the deal and tells the reader why s/he absolutely, positively, MUST buy the book.
Blurbs are a little bit art, a little bit craft, a little bit commercial poetry. They are (or should be) quick and easy to read but they are time-consuming and challenging to write—certainly for me and, I suspect, for most writers.
In another life, I wrote paperback blurbs, probably thousands of them over several decades. Back in TradPub days, blurbs had to be short (paperbacks only have so much space on those covers) but comparing the reader who’s browsing in a bookstore to the person who’s surfing the net is the difference between a leisurely stroll and NASA rocket flight. As a consequence, my definition of short has radically changed: Now it’s just about as short as humanly possible.
Here are some ideas about getting from here to there:
1) Research.
Read (and study) the blurbs for the bestselling books in your genre so you will start with a solid idea of what you’re aiming for in your own blurb. Make note of the exact words that pique your interest. Pay attention to the headlines, body copy and formatting of blurbs that particularly appeal to you so you can be inspired by them.
2) Keep your reader in mind.
Speak directly to him or her. You wouldn’t speak to a rowdy sports fan in a raucous bar the same way you’d speak to your child’s Sunday school teacher, would you? (At least I hope not.) Blurbs work the same way and keeping a clear picture of your reader in mind will help you find just the right tone for your blurb.
3) Refine, rethink, rewrite.
You are looking for the most potent way to compel your reader’s attention, not a winning time in a track meet. Look at your blurb on your computer, your phone, your tablet. Print it out in a large font size and post it on the fridge or the bathroom mirror. See if viewing your blurb in different way exposes any weaknesses or triggers any ideas for improvement.
4) Every word counts.
As you work on your blurb, cut flabby, wishy-washy words (you know me and my love of the delete button!). Ditch meaningless hype like: the most exciting thriller ever written or the best romance you’ll ever read. Instead use power words such as: beautiful, shocking, exciting, scandalous, terrifying, sexy, hilarious—words that evoke an emotional reaction.
5) Use short sentences and lots of white space.
Don’t confront the reader with a dense block of text. Remember that s/he is probably skimming so make it easy for him or her. I also try to make sure my blurb on Amazon is short enough to be seen in its entirely without the reader having to click read more. Apple is stingy about space for the blurb so be prepared to do even more cutting if you are uploading to iBooks.
6) Use italics and bolding sparingly.
Too much or too many and they just cancel each other out.
7) Don’t marry your blurb.
Especially if you’re e-pubbing. I view my blurbs as WiPs and constantly change, tweak, refresh and revise them. Just remember that if you change your blurb on Kindle via Author Central, you won’t be able to make changes through your KDP bookshelf but will have to go back to Author Central if you want to do further tinkering.
8) Stay true to your genre and your voice.
Contemporary romance, historical romance, and Victorian-era mystery with a female version of Sherlock Holmes each set up different expectations. So do humor, horror, sci-fi, pulpy noir, steamy romance, sizzling coming-of-age stories, and action-adventure.
Make sure your blurb meets your prospective reader’s expectations and write your blurb in the same voice as your book.
More professional advice on blurbing
Bestselling author of romances set in New Zealand and former copywriter, Rosalind James, talks about how she had to re-learn the art and craft of copywriting because all copy is not the same. She has a great piece about her approach to the kickass romance blurb on her blog.
Ace blurb-writer, Amy Wilkins, Assistant Manager of Digital Content and Social Media at Harlequin, is a member of the acquisition team for Carina Press. Amy discusses how much plot to reveal, the importance of conflict, and describes different ways to hook a reader. She offers details about her method of writing romance blurbs at Romance University.
Mark Edwards, a friend of the blog and a superstar #1 Amazon UK author, thinks the power of the blurb can sometimes be under-rated. Mark tells how he doubled the sales of his co-written book, Killing Cupid, by rewriting the blurb in a guest post on our blog, 5 Steps to a Great Product Description.
Joanna Penn, author and book marketer, was voted one of The Guardian UK Top 100 Creative Professionals 2013, and voted one of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers 3 years running. Joanna offers tips about writing an effective blurb (aka sales pitch)in her blogpost, How to Write an Effective Back Blurb.
Marilynn Byerly, who teaches on-line writing courses, breaks down blurb-writing by genre: romance, romantic suspense, sci-fi and fantasy, mystery and suspense. Marilynn also explains how to do the precise cutting required to make a short blurb even shorter.
Sarah Webb author of chick lit and children’s books, shares her recipe for the brilliant blurb here. Sarah also explains the power and importance of the shout line or tag line.
Other resources
Want advice from other writers? Post your blurb on Writers’ Cafe, ask for help, and get input from peers.
Fed up with the whole thing and want to pay someone to do the heavy lifting? If you’re looking for experienced help with your blurb, Ella Blythe, who has a background in corporate copywriting, offers a range of services from a touch-up to an entire blurb. Ella usually charges $25 for a blurb, is willing to negotiate depending on the job, and guarantees satisfaction.
by Ruth Harris (@RuthHarrisBooks) March, 2014
Scriveners, are you as blown away as I am by all these great links? How do you approach blurb writing? Would you think of using a blurb service (At $25 it looks like a good deal to me.) I think it’s fabulous that Writers Cafe has a blurb critique forum. Any other advice to add?…Anne
Next Sunday, we’ll have a guest post from friend of the blog, freelance writer Sarah Allen (no relation.) She’ll be talking about what things a pre-published author can be working on NOW to jumpstart your career.
Meanwhile, on April 6th, Anne will be signing books and giving short talk at the Coalesce Bookstore on Main Street in Morro Bay, along with her fellow members of our local Sisters in Crime chapter. If you’re in the area, come by on April 6th from 1 PM to 3 PM, for wine and goodies and lots of fun book talk.
Ruth, this is sooooo concise and informative. I'm always blown away by how you condense everything to the essentials. And Yikes this is the first comment, or at least it says so above, so I better do it justice. PERFECT POST IN EVERY WAY. I'm sharing with my reader and writer friends right now. Everything they need to know about writing blurbs but were too afraid to ask, is right here. BRAVA!
Paul—You are way too nice! Blurbs should be easy to read which means, of course, that they're (usually) hard/difficult/challenging to write. Not to mention the fact, that each one presents a different problem. All of which goes to prove that a writer's work is never done. 😉
Happy Amateur—You're right: one would assume Bible readers would have some idea of what the book is about. Still, it's interesting that, these days, even the Bible requires a blurb—this time, to hype one translation over another.
This is such a great post, Ruth. Great insight and so many great links.
I need to let everybody know that the Blogger elves seem to have tied one on last night or something. Half the comments that come to me as "published" are not appearing on the blog–even my own responses. Some appear and disappear. A new wrinklet's creepy and weird. I remember a few years ago when that happened with the "Follower" widget. It disappeared and came back at random for about a month. Let's hope they don't take that long to fix the problem.
Anne—Thanks!
I think those elves are still at it. My reply to Kimber Leigh didn't post so I re-replied (is that a word?) and now it seems to be there. Tell those little devils to get off the booze! And the weed, too, in case that's also part of the problem. 😉
Time and again, Ruth, you and Anne hit the ball on the nose. I've written blurbs, of course, and feel very much hit-or-miss with them (even after vetting with co-authors). But all this time, I never thought anyone would come along and blog about it. Nodding like a bobble-head in an aftershock reading this- yep, yep, all that. Thanks! I'm going back to the drawing board with the blurb for my upcoming novel. Maybe just a couple word-changes…
Wm—Thank you for the flattering words. Sometimes changing just a few words can make a huge difference. The blurb is a small canvas so every word (syllable) has to count.
I won't tell you how many times I have rewritten my back cover blurbs. And then my publisher has me write them again a few more times…
Alex–You don't have to tell me! I know. Been there. Still doing that. 😉
I'll join Paul (& I can't think of a nicer guy to be in accordance with), The elusive blurb de-mystified! Thanks.
CS—thanks. Blurbs remind me of the famous writer (it's been attributed to various authors) who wanted to be forgiven for writing such a long letter. "I don't have time to write a short one."
Dept of truer words…
I was very curious and a bit nervous to find out what the blurb for the Bible would be like. I was glad to see the blurb focusing on the work of the translators, it's assumed that the reader would have an idea of what the Bible is about. Certainly interesting times we live in.
Thank you for demystifying blurb writing, Ruth.
Thanks for the great links! Blurb writing is definitely one of the harder things I do. If I wasn't such a control freak I would definitely spend $25 for a blurb, It sounds like a great deal to me — especially considering the amount of time it takes to create one.
KLW—Sorry, don't know why my first reply to you didn't post. Thank you for the kind words. Hope the post—and the links—help. As you say, writing a blurb is time-consuming. Shorter is harder, no two ways about it!
Sorry, haven't clicked the links yet but I'm sure they're useful and insightful, as always. Love the post, though. Especially #4. One point I must argue (okay, I just want to argue) is that writing blurbs isn't a little bit art, it IS art. And the other things you said, too. 🙂
Sarah—Thanks! The point of the blurb is to seduce…flabby, wishy-washy words just won't get the job done. The point is to get just the right words in just the right order: not an easy task but practice helps as does a critical eye and a willingness to persist.
Don't forget about your blurbs document. Mine is about 90 pages and has my 32 books' blurbs, links, ASINs, ISBNs, and all that other miscellaneous stuff that's good to have in one spot. I use that document everyday.
Greg—Great point! Thanks so much! 🙂
Do you have your blurbs doc in a word processing doc? Or in something like Evernote? I keep mine in Scriv so stuff is easy to lay my hands on.
I use Word with lots of bookmarks. Here are screenshots if anyone's interested in doing the same. Trust me, it helps!
http://www.bigskywords.com/1/post/2014/02/your-amazon-blurbs-document.html
Every week when I read this fun and informative blog I learn about something new I hadn't realized I'd need to know before. A writer's work is never done! Thank you for sharing your expertise and demystifying the blurb process.
Can/should writers use the blurb as part of their query letter, or should blurbs and queries remain entirely different?
Thanks! –Natalie Munroe
Natalie—Glad you find us fun and informative. Anne and I try! As to whether or not to use your blurb in a query, I would say that if your blurb kills, then why not use or or at least part of it? If it's meh, then don't use it. Period. Blurbs take time so don't rush it. Wait until the blurb rocks. Then decide.
Truly an informative guide.
tracikrites—Thank you! Hope it helped.
This is good advice.
I finished a first draft of a book and then realized that while the main character was pursuing something, there was no threat or danger if he failed to achieve it. Even something as simple as Kathy Carmichael's "pitch-o-matic" (http://www.kathycarmichael.com/generator.html) can help you focus the elements of your story.
Crowhill—my reply is below. Blogger is still acting up. 🙁
Crowhill—Thanks. Hope the post helped and, yes, whether it's pitch-o-matic or a powerful blurb, the point is to help focus the book—and the writer. That's why I suggest starting to work on the blurb very early in the process.
Thanks Ruth, this is SO useful and full of great links, shall spend the rest of the week on it! I never knew Writer's café had a forum to test your blurbs in, that's absolutely great.
Claude—Hi and thanks! 🙂
I want to clarify that WC doesn't have a separate forum for blurbs. Instead, you'll find blurb threads throughout. They're usually called something like: Need help with blurb. Nuke this blurb.
These threads are very helpful. Sometimes people will just make a suggestion or two to pinpoint a problem. Others will just re-write the d*mn thing.
These are great tips and links. Regarding #4, I'm horrified when I see tradpubs include a line about how thrilling and wonderful the book is – that's a dead giveaway that it isn't. Thanks for all the info! 🙂
Lexa—Thanks for the kind words. You're so right: With blurbs, as with fiction, generic is terrible. Specific is what works. 🙂
Thanks, Ruth, a just-in-time post for me. Helping poet Jerry Douglas (Rattlesnake) Smith with blurbs for his e-chapbooks. One thing I was unclear about: best to make changes to existing blurbs from KDP bookshelf rather than Author Central?
New subject: Thanks to our SinC Sister Anne for giving our next Sunday event at Coalesce Bookstore a shout-out! These soirees (and I use the term lightly) are always fun, and totally unpredictable.
Sue—I find that changes made via Author Central post quickly. Also you can use basic html for some control over how the blurb looks. The one caveat is that when you make subsequent, additional changes, you must do it through AuCe rather than your KDP bookshelf.
Thank you, Ruth and Anne. Again, you give us advice we can really use. I am going immediately to my most recent blurbs and hash them out. I do believe those concise stories about your stories are some of the most important stories you will ever write. If you ever want to get published, that is.
Christine—Thank *you*
Have fun tweaking your blurbs! Writing a blurb requires a much different skill set than writing a book. Approaching the blurb as a puzzle to be solved can help.
Oh, what excellent links! Writing blurbs and pitches does NOT come easily for me. I need all the help I can get.
I once entered a "Twitter pitch" contest, where the pitch had to be 140 characters of less. It was a good exercise to choose the best words in the smallest space. I still try to do that with each pitch. It's tough!
Julie—Thanks! I suspect that writing a good blurb is partly learned (via practice) and partly a developed skill (persistence). Studying good blurbs also helps (imitation). 😉
That's wonderful advice, Ruth. I've just finished a blockbuster and hastily penned a blurb: 'Thrill to this coming-of-age romance between a vampire's kick-ass daughter and her pet dog as they fight CIA assassins at the White House to save the world from terrorists, bad coffee and Starbucks.' Do you think it would sell?
John—Who knows what will—or won't —sell? Pas moi!
I will say that IMO your blurb is too long and needs to be recast into shorter sentences. Also is the romance between the vampire's daughter and her dog or between her and someone else? Cute ending about terrorists, bad coffee and Starbucks.
True, Ruth. But when you're cutting bait for a WalMart book buyer, is syntax – or logic – really advisable?
John, Personally, I'd go for clarity + sizzle. YMMV.
Excellent and informative post, thank you!
Debbie—Thanks for the kind words. I'm happy to hear the post helped. 🙂
Thank you, Ruth. Another useful and informative post. I've bookmarked all the excellent links for bedtime reading.
Jan—Thanks! Bedtime reading? Oy. 😉