How to Create an Outstanding Book Description?
In order of significance for book marketing, the book title comes first, followed by the cover and then the book description. If you want to market your book, you must master the art of book description in writing.
While your title and cover may entice a reader, your book description does the majority of the job. It piques the reader’s interest, teases them with a soul-stirring adventure, and invites them to open the book or, better yet, to purchase it.
While the reader may open the book and read the first phrase or paragraph, it is ultimately the book description that compels the reader to say, “Hell yeah! Allow me to take a chance on this book.”
Your book description is critical to marketing your book regardless of book genre or target market/audience/demographic. Therefore, let us examine how to accomplish it properly.
How is a book description formulated?
Your book description is not a detailed synopsis of your book. Rather than that, it’s more like a written version of a movie trailer. It establishes the central storyline, introduces the characters, provides flashes of tension, and highlights the subject. It is an advertisement, and its purpose is to entice readers to purchase the book.
Where does a book description appear?
At the very least, your book description will appear in the following four places:
Book’s Back Cover
Amazon’s Listing Page for Your Book
Website’s Landing Page
Press Package
Why is it difficult to write a book description?
It is challenging to condense 100,000+ words into a few paragraphs. What do you prioritize? What should you include in your description to convey the story’s message effectively without giving anything away?
Further, writing a book description demands a distinct set of skills. To properly master book blurbs, you must think like a copywriter. You must first capture the attention, pique their curiosity, arouse their desire, and then motivate them to act.
While your book is a narrative, your book description is an advertisement.
If you have never written an advertisement before, you are going to need some assistance. However, fear not, here we will outline everything you need to know on creating an excellent book description.
Creating Book Description
1. Conciseness
When it comes to the word count of your book description, you have around 250 words to work with—and that is the top limit. (Amazon advises you to keep your blurb to 150 words and limits you to 4,000 characters, or around 500 words.)
Writing 250 words feels little after writing 100,000+ words. However, it is simultaneously everything. Each word in your book description is critical, as readers can quit reading at any point. If your word choice is poor, if your description becomes generic and formulaic, if your writing is imprecise, or if your write too much in your book description, you will lose a potential reader.
For other writers, writing 250 words is insufficient for them. As a result, they disregard it and continue writing. Additionally, they may utilize an extremely tiny font for book covers in order to fit all of their words.
Here’s why you cannot cheat the word count: The majority of people will never read more than 250 words. They will then determine whether to purchase or pursue another alternative. That is why it is preferable to work within the constraints of a minuscule word count.
2. Capture Reader’s Attention
Even though you have a word count to mind, the first few words are critical. Begin with a stunning remark to pique the reader’s interest.
Try to provide as compact information as possible in the first sentence. You may indicate the protagonist’s internal and external strife. Then expand on what you have previously provided by setting the scene and digging into the back story. Introduce the reader to your protagonist and offer them a cause to care with your hook?
3. Compelling Conclusion
The first line should pique the reader’s interest, and the final sentence should leave them on edge. If readers reach it all the way through the end of your book, they would be compelled to purchase it in order to find out what happens next.
A wonderful method to accomplish this is by posing a thought-provoking question.
4. Central Topic
Bear in mind that your book description should focus exclusively on the protagonist and the central conflict. It should refrain from discussing subplots. There is also no need to introduce supplementary characters. Concentrate on the character who will be inside the reader’s mind.
5. Easy to Read and Scan
Even if you capture the reader’s attention with the introduction of your book description, you must still make your material easy to read and scan.
Creating an Easy to Read and Scan Text
Compose Brief Paragraphs.
Employ shorter paragraphs to convey information swiftly and without delaying the reader.
Incorporate Bullet Points.
Utilized bullet points to convey critical information. This is especially beneficial for emphasizing essential themes in nonfiction texts.
Italicized Content.
Another technique for emphasizing critical topics. Bold the words or phrases that you want to draw the reader’s attention away from the rest of the content.
6. Keywords Implementation
Keywords are used for more than simply website searches. Amazon and other online bookstores operate in a manner similar to a search engine. Include keywords in your book description to swiftly explain the book’s subject and increase the book’s discoverability since people frequently seek new books to read using these keywords or phrases.
7. Spread the Word About Your Book
Is this a stand-alone book or a part of a series? Inform the reader. Certain readers enjoy series and will purchase a book if they know there will be more. This is especially true if they enjoy your book’s subject and writing style (which they can glean from the first couple of paragraphs).
When writing a book description or blurb, keep in mind that the objective is to generate an advertisement for your work. It should simply serve as a preview of what is to come. Don’t give too much away and keep them wanting more.