How to use this guide-

Things you need-

  • Notepad
  • Pen/Pencil
  • Computer or your Mobile Phone with working internet
  • Comfy place to write


Once you have the said items, the best way to make this process easy is to write down your book’s blurb as you read the steps below carefully. Feel free to write more than one blurb and pick the one you like best.


What is a Blurb?

Blurbs are a brief, promotional description of a book typically found on the back of a book and your book’s online sales page on various eCommerce sites, along with the book cover and price. The book blurb’s main purpose is to lure readers in and captivate them enough to buy the book. The blurb is often referred to as a synopsis or simply book description.


How to write a really good blurb?


1: Know your book’s genre

Find out what genre your book falls under and write your book’s blurb accordingly. Using techniques that are typical of one category for another category, will only confuse shoppers. Bullet points that work well in business book descriptions won’t compel readers to read a romantic novel. Likewise, the intrigue and suspense and hints at plot twists used in fiction book blurbs will not assure shoppers looking for self-help books that your book holds the solutions to their problems. Children’s book descriptions and poetry book descriptions are whole other fields.


Before you begin, start a collection of what you consider the best book blurbs for your category.


Pro Tip: The best way to find out how you should write your book’s blurb is by searching for books similar to yours that are listed as bestsellers on Amazon to see how others have written. 


2: Give readers what they want

People don’t go in search of a book with no purpose in mind. Whether it’s for entertainment’s value or to learn more about a specific topic, there’s always a reason.


Your job is to figure out what said reasons or motivations are and highlight how your book will fulfill their needs. If you have already done the research before you started writing the book use it again or you can write down those points and use that as the foundation for your book’s blurb.


3: Write in third person

It’s an industry standard and quite easy to implement. Even if you are writing an autobiography, or a memoir or a travelogue, write the blurb in the third person.


4: Start with a hook

Hook them into the blurb. If your first sentence is dull or of no interest, they won’t read the rest of the blurb, and they probably won’t buy the book either.

Start with something dramatic, or something that establishes your expertise. You want to pick your book description words to make people want to read the rest of the blurb.


5: Don’t summarize, entice.

The blurb is not meant to be a summary of the book. That can be both boring and a spoiler. Remember that the main purpose of the blurb is to highlight the reasons why your readers should be reading your book right now rather than all that they can find inside the book.


You want to tell readers enough about your plot for fiction, or lessons for nonfiction, such that they’ll want to know more. But don’t give up your secrets and all the fun stuff.


6: Use the same voice

If your book is serious, don’t be funny in the blurb. Make sure the style and tone are consistent so that the blurb maintains an accurate reflection of the literary content of your book.


7: Keep it short

Readers don’t have the time to read lengthy book descriptions as attention spans are really short. So, stick to a 150-200 word limit.


8: Make use of reviews/testimonials

If you happen to know a famous personality who can influence your book’s target audience take a snippet of their review of your book and use it in the blurb. Don’t include the entire review unless it is very short. Remember the blurb only has to have a 150-200 word limit.


Examples of good blurbs

Check out the blurbs of some of the bestselling books here to get an idea for your book’s blurb - https://www.amazon.in/b?node=976389031