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How to write a blurb which sells

4/27/2017

Getting your book ready for publication involves many aspects, but one which can get overlooked until the last minute is the blurb for the back of the book cover design itself, these words are something we can take for granted when picking a book off the shelf and flipping it over, but when it comes to writing your own it can turn into a process which can last days and even weeks.

The thing with the back page of your book is that you need to grab the attention of your reader (and you only have a moment to do it in), you must give them a hook which entices them to read more but at the same time you can’t give too much away either, it’s easy to fill the back page with text but will they read it all or just skim and put the book back down on the shelf? On the other hand, if you put too little text upon the back of the book cover then you miss an opportunity to sell, yes, getting the blurb (and Bio) for your book does require focus.

It is important to realize the point of the back page of your book cover first, now, most people will say that it’s going to tell the reader what the book is about, and whilst that’s correct you need to understand that there is more to it than that. Simply put, your back page is your sales page (a continuation of your books advertising), a great blurb will make the reader want to know more and ultimately buy your book itself (it will overcome the objection of parting with money and investing the time to actually read it).

So, what should you consider when getting your back page text read for publication? Here are some of the most important elements which will go into a great blurb/bio.

Look at the greats – Go to your local book store or online via Amazon or Barnes & Noble and look at the blurbs used upon the best sellers, I would also recommend looking at the authors within your own genre and those you respect as writers. Here you’ll get some great tips as to how it’s professionally done, look at the phrases, words, structure and length.
First impressions – You need to ensure that your first sentence is a great hook, many readers won’t go past this so getting your blurb off to a strong start is vital to keep them reading.
Follow the process – Many fictional books use a formula with blurbs, 1st the situation, 2nd the issue/problem, 3rd the hook/twist, 4th summarize with a final sentence which gives the mood of the book itself.
Characters within the book – Readers need to be intrigued by your characters, giving them dimension within the blurb and making them sound interesting with an idea as to the challenges they’re about to face, it will make that connection for you and increase the likelihood of the reader buying your book.
Cliffhanger – You want the reader of the blurb to be in a position where they must know more, using a cliffhanger within the blurb is a great (and highly recommended) way of enticing the reader to take the book home. A cliffhanger works well within fiction, but for nonfiction you should consider using a statement which promises the reader what they’ll get in return for reading your book (if it’s a book on starting your own business for example, you could tell the reader that this book gives them a clear strategy to start and manage a successful business in 12 weeks etc.)
Time and place – Make your readers aware of the time and location of the book’s setting, drawing them into the world which is set within your book is another way to make a connection with your reader.
Word count – Don’t go crazy and try to fit 400 words upon your book’s back page, the book cover design will be such that your copy will need to fit within certain margins, take into account the barcode and that the text may be printed over an image too. By trying to place too much text into the back page the font will have to be decreased, by doing this you are actively making it harder now for your readers to view your blurb. A blurb of about 250 words works well and enables the font to be at a size which is easy to read.
Sentences – Most potential readers will skim-read through blurbs (we all do it) so write your blurb in short sentences, it breaks up the blurb into easy chunks and will more likely be read than a huge block of text (remember, your blurb is advertising too).
Go back to it – Once you have created your first blurb leave it over night or for a few days, you should then go back to it with a fresh perspective and re-read it, also get others to read it and get some feedback.
Test it – You can post your blurb upon a blog, website or social media and get your followers to review it, if you have written two or more versions of your blurb then you could even get them to vote on which one the prefer (maybe give a copy of the book away as an incentive).
Edit & rewrite – Don’t be afraid to rewrite your blurb, once you have tested it you should get an idea as to what people like and what needs tweaking, don’t get personal about feedback, use it to ensure you have a great blurb which sells your book.
Quotes/Testimonials – Adding genuine quotes to the back page really helps to sell your book (especially if they’re from well-known people), if it’s non-fiction look at getting quotes from experts or people who have benefited from your work, these become a great sales pitch for the book.
Bio – A short bio is more important for non-fiction than it is for fictional books, the reason being that it qualifies you to the reader, if you’ve written a book on investment and you have thirty years of successful experience behind you then shout about it, people need to know why they should trust your advice within the book, your bio ensures them that the information comes from an expert.
Photograph – Along with a bio you may want to consider your profile image (which sits alongside your bio), this helps your reader to make a connection with you. However, you need to remember that adding a photo should be for more than just vanity reasons, it should match the tone of the book and be professionally taken (selfies from the back of your cell-phone are a no go).

With some focus you will be able to construct a blurb which will grab the imagination of your reader and increase the sales rate of your book, don’t forget, the blurb is a very important element of your cover and a key tool in promoting and advertising your book.

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Getting the right font for your book cover design

4/12/2017

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A book cover is more than just the image or illustration which goes into it, the font which is used plays a larger and more integral role than the average person realizes, it lays the foundation for the initial perception of the viewer’s understanding of the book’s concept itself, as such the font used on any book needs to be selected with care.

When designing a book cover the font chosen needs to perform many jobs for the author, it should of course tell the reader what the title, subtitle and author’s name are along with the blurb, bio and (in some cases) quotes/testimonials upon the back page too. This is the basic information that needs to be upon the cover in order that the reader gets the relevant information.

However, this information (especially what’s on the front page) will give the viewer an idea as to the genre and book’s contents quicker and more succinctly when the correct font is used, when you look at the examples below, you can see that the first example uses a font which lends itself well to a book within the fantasy genre whereas the second version uses a sans font that leads to a confusing finish to the cover design.

The use of a sans font lends itself better to non-fiction and children’s book, however, when a sans font is used in uppercase then it can work very well in fiction, as a bold and block sans this type can give a dramatic feel to the copy on the front cover and make a bold impression instantly.

You also have the choice of script and cursive fonts to use upon the book cover, these work very well for use as titles, subtitles and author names but shouldn’t really be used as the font for the book’s blurb and bio, the cursive font when reduced in size and as a body of 200 to 300 words makes it very difficult to read. When you are choosing a font for the blurb and bio, then either a sans or sans serif is a better choice, if you make it easy for your viewer to read the copy you stand a better chance of them doing so.

Once you have a book cover design created then you may be faced with an image which has many aspects to it and so the placement and choice of font needs to take in to account how easy it will be to read, with the example below you can see that the bold font matches the style of cover and at the same time is easy to read, the second design uses a font which indicates its fiction but is so narrow that it gets lost within the background of the book cover design.

The correct selection of font is integral to the book cover design and should always be considered when developing the cover, you can of course add to the font with various tools within Photoshop and InDesign, this means that it becomes even more embedded within the cover (and not simply an afterthought). You should always place as much importance on font selection as you do the actual design, do this and you’ll get a cover which is both balanced and professional.

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creating a book cover design

4/4/2017

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Book cover design and advertising for your novel has never been so important to any author, we all know that ‘Indie’ (or self) publishing has become easier than ever and that getting a book to market can be done in a matter of hours. With this ease to market comes greater competition for every single author and as such taking a business-like approach to the launch of your book is vital.

So, when we look at the book cover design itself we have to understand that it has a very important job to do for you, along with the obvious task of looking nice, telling the reader the author’s name, the book’s title and subtitle of course, your book cover design is the advertising and ‘face’ of your work, get it right and you will catch the eye of your reader (catch their eye and you increase the chances of selling more copies).

The book cover does need to follow some basic rules in its design and layout, now normally we’re all against such things as being sticklers to the rules (as we like to think outside of the box and so on), but with a book cover it does need to follow some basic principles. For example, a book cover design without the title or authors name anywhere upon it will confuse your reader, you will also need to have the layout in a specific format to fit the book itself (this can also require using a certain color profile for eBooks and another for the printed version).

Technically there are elements which must be completed in a certain way in order that your book cover design works out in the real world of publishing, there are also other elements which should be taken in to consideration with your design too, these are basic elements which give your reader an idea as to the book’s content.

Here the rules become a little less rigid and your creativity comes into play, but you still need to consider some basic messages which will stop any confusion, the reader will want to know from the cover design several very basic things at least, these will be the genre and if it’s fiction or nonfiction. From this point you move on to other elements that can help the reader, the era of the book, the location, the time-frame of the book and most importantly the ‘hook’.

The ‘hook’ is an important element from within the manuscript which draws the reader to look closer at your book, it’s what makes someone pick it up in the store to read the back page. This has to draw the reader in but without giving too much of the books conclusion away, it can be symbolic (think of most self-help book covers and you’ll see what I mean) or it can be an element within the story such as the main character or focal point.

When you further break book cover design into genres you can find that your reader ‘expects’ to see certain things upon covers, if you search for books on fantasy then you will find a trend with the types of covers on display, then same goes for crime, thrillers, romance, historical and pretty much anything else available. However, following trends too closely will not ensure that you have a book cover which stands out to the masses, you want your book cover to tell a message (and quickly too) but it needs to both represent your work professionally and be unique.

The guidelines within book cover design and publishing will help to get a cover which technically works, but it’s when you get creative with the ‘art’ within the design, then you appeal to your readers, then your book has a great cover.

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How to write a blurb which sells

Getting the right font for your book cover design

creating a book cover design

JD&J

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