5 Tips for Writing a Blurb

By georgelthomas on 12 Jul 2022 • ( 0 )

Hi everyone. I hope you’re all well! Today I’m talking blurbs.

Writing a blurb is one of the most challenging aspects of the writing process (at least for this writer). As if the actual writing wasn’t hard enough, you then have to take the piece you’ve spent months, or maybe years working on, and condense it down into a short passage for the back of your book, and If you don’t get it right, it could mean a loss in sales.

So with that in mind, here are:

5 Tips for Writing a Blurb

1 Do a Bit of Research
One of the first things you should do before writing your blurb is to take a look at what some of the more recent bestsellers have in theirs. This can help you see which information you should include to give yourself the best chance of enticing a reader.

2 Keep your Blurb Short
A blurb is not an essay, though it is easy to over-expound when you’re trying to tell potential readers what your book is about. After all, it’s hard to compress the whole thing into just a few sentences. Like I said above, it’s always best to see what works in the market, but it’s a good idea to aim for two or three short paragraphs of two or three sentences each.

3 Don’t Give Away your Plot
The blurb isn’t a short story, nor is it a bullet list of plot events within the book. The idea is to pique curiosity by giving hints about the story without giving away the whole plot. It’s helpful to include a hint as to the main character and conflict of the story, the genre of the story and even the theme.

4 Keep your Blurb Simple
Try to keep your blurb simple by using shorter sentences and plain language. People have short attention spans these days and long complicated sentences can be off-putting. Your book is more likely to appeal to a reader if they can get the gist of what you’re trying to sell them pretty quickly.

5 Hook Readers
Because our attention spans can be short, it’s a good idea to begin with an attention-grabbing first sentence. You want potential readers to read to the end of your blurb with interest and then, hopefully, buy the book. So the first thing they should read on your back cover ought to be exciting, or at the very least, compelling.

As always, thanks for spending a few moments of your time with me today, I really do appreciate it!

Until next time,

George