How to write a book blurb that sells

After the cover, the description is the most important piece of marketing your book has. It appears on the retailer page, on the back cover and in almost every promotion you run. It does not need to summarise the book. It needs to make the right reader want to read it.

What a blurb has to do

In a few short paragraphs, a good blurb:

1. Hooks the reader with one strong line.
2. Shows who the book is for and what it is about.
3. Raises a question or a stake they want answered.
4. Ends with a reason to buy.

A structure for fiction

• The hook. One line that captures the premise or the main character's problem.
• The setup. Who the character is, what they want and what stands in the way, in a few lines.
• The stakes. What they stand to lose, and what choice they face.
• The close. A last line that leaves the reader wanting more, without giving away the ending.

Keep to the beginning of the story. A blurb should never reveal the ending, and rarely needs to mention anything past the first third of the book.

A structure for non-fiction and memoir

• The problem or the question. Open with something the reader already feels or wants to know.
• The promise. What they will gain from reading: understanding, a skill, a change, or a story that will move them.
• The proof. Why you are the person to say it. A line about your experience is enough.
• What is inside. A short list of what the book covers can help readers who scan.
• The invitation. A closing line that tells them to buy or to start reading.

Practical tips

• Be specific. "A gripping tale of love and loss" could describe a thousand books. A concrete detail about yours will stand out.
• Write for one reader. Picture the person who would love your book and speak to them.
• Keep it short. Many readers decide from the first couple of lines, so put the best material first.
• Leave white space. Short paragraphs are easier to read on a phone. Most retailers allow simple formatting such as bold and italics, so check what is supported.
• Use the words readers use. The words in your description also help your book to be found, so include the terms a reader of your genre would search for.
• Read it out loud. If it stumbles, rewrite it.

Common mistakes

• Summarising the whole plot
• Starting with a long description of the author
• Using clichés and empty superlatives
• Cramming in too many characters or ideas
• Writing the blurb last, in a hurry

The first-line test

Read only the first line of your blurb to a friend who reads your genre. Do they want to hear the second line? If not, rewrite the first. Retailer pages often show only the first few lines before a reader has to click, so those lines carry the most weight.

Length and layout

Keep the blurb short enough to read on a phone without scrolling forever. A few short paragraphs, a clear hook and one closing line are usually plenty. Avoid long blocks of text, and check the formatting on each retailer page after you publish, because platforms display it differently.

Your blurb works hand in hand with your metadata, and a shorter version often becomes the text on your back cover.

Three ways to open a blurb

• A question the reader already has. "What if the person you trusted most had been lying to you for years?"
• A bold statement. "Most diets fail in the first month. Here is why, and what to do instead."
• A character in trouble. "Marta has one week to save the bakery she inherited, and no idea who is sabotaging it."

These are made-up examples to show the shape. Each one puts the reader inside a situation in a single line. Choose the opening that suits your genre, and test two or three on friends who read it.

Test and revise

A description is not fixed. You can change it on most retailer pages, so read it again after launch, and refine it when you learn what readers respond to.

Writing descriptions and metadata, so that readers searching for books like yours find yours, is part of our book marketing and promotion service.