HOW TO WRITE
a blurb for your book
One of the most important parts of your book’s cover is found upon the back page and is of course the blurb, this is something so fundamental to the selling of your book that most authors will spend days and in some cases even weeks in perfecting it.
So what should you be considering whilst approaching these critical 250 – 300 words for your cover? Well this truly is the million dollar question, a blurb can be very tricky for any author to complete (regardless of experience) and has the daunting expectation of having to appeal to everyone in a very quick time scale.
So what should you be considering whilst approaching these critical 250 – 300 words for your cover? Well this truly is the million dollar question, a blurb can be very tricky for any author to complete (regardless of experience) and has the daunting expectation of having to appeal to everyone in a very quick time scale.
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The blurb needs to give reference to the theme and genre within the book along with creating intrigue to your potential reader, it should introduce the main characters whilst at the same time not giving anything away and remaining concise, when read it should make the viewer want to buy the book to find out more.
As you can see, your blurb needs to do a lot and in a very short space, but don’t fear, getting a great blurb for your book can be achieved (after all, you’ve just written a great book in the first place!). The first thing that you should consider is looking at some examples of besting selling authors, you may have some of these in your own bookshelf (depending upon your own literary tastes), or you can always look them up on line. |
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Whilst reading their blurbs ask yourself some questions, what makes you want to read their book? Does the blurb effectively tell you what the story is about? Does it hook you? Is there anything or any techniques used that could work well with your own book?
Reading other blurbs should give inspiration when it comes to writing your own, once you’ve studied several books it’s then time to get on with the writing!
You should look to include a brief outline of the plot (not giving anything away of course!!), be creative with the language you use and ensure you incorporate words which capture the imagination (without being too cliché). Ensure that your characters have a prominence within your blurb, they will be key to the plot and can really draw the reader into buying your work. Along with the characters ensure you hint at the main conflicts within the story and also give indication as to why your book is different.
Take your time, research, remember why you’re writing the blurb and above all keep in mind the passion you used to create your manuscript in the first place, use this same passion for the blurb and you'll have the blurb your book deserves!!
Reading other blurbs should give inspiration when it comes to writing your own, once you’ve studied several books it’s then time to get on with the writing!
You should look to include a brief outline of the plot (not giving anything away of course!!), be creative with the language you use and ensure you incorporate words which capture the imagination (without being too cliché). Ensure that your characters have a prominence within your blurb, they will be key to the plot and can really draw the reader into buying your work. Along with the characters ensure you hint at the main conflicts within the story and also give indication as to why your book is different.
Take your time, research, remember why you’re writing the blurb and above all keep in mind the passion you used to create your manuscript in the first place, use this same passion for the blurb and you'll have the blurb your book deserves!!
