How to Write A Book Description that Kills!

How to Write a Book Description that Kills!

How to Write A Book Description that Kills!

Tips for writing a book description that kills!

 

Knowing how to write a book description isn’t something that authors are expected to get right the first time. Consider how long you spent on your cover design and manuscript, and then consider how much time you spent on your description. After your cover, your book description is essential in effectively selling your book.

Your book’s three most important marketing components are cover, title, and description.

Writing a great book description will take time, multiple revisions, and lots of tweaks, so if you don’t nail it perfectly the first time, don’t panic. As an author or writer, writing the perfect book description is a tool you’ll definitely need in your author toolkit. However, what does a perfect book description mean? And how can it help you sell more books? In the following article, we’ll cover how to write a book description that takes your book blurb from meh to marvelous.

If you’re almost ready to publish, but Amazon KDP has you feeling a little lost, check out The Complete Guide to Kindle Direct Publishing for Australian Authors! We cover everything Australian authors need to know about one of the world’s biggest self-publishing platforms.

 

What Is A Book Description?

The first step in the buying process involves your cover. Your cover draws potential readers’ eyes to your book and leads them towards learning more. And how do they learn more about your book? The book description or blurb.

With a physical book, that will be the book description on the back cover. If readers are looking on a website, such as Amazon or any other digital bookstore, this could be the more extended version of the book description.

There are three key factors that a buyer will look at when they’re considering buying your book, including:

            1. The Title
            2. The Cover
            3. The Book Description

After these three, they’ll consider other factors such as the price, whether the book is part of a series and any reviews the book has.

As the book’s author, it’s understandable that you’ll want to put as much information as possible in your book description. After all, the more you tell the readers, the easier it’ll be for them to decide, right? Wrong.

Your book description or blurb isn’t a complete summary of your book, and it’s not a book review. Your blurb, especially the one on the back of your book, is an advertisement, and it should be written with that in mind.

If you think about your book description more like the marketing tool it is and less like a book report, you’ll be able to write a book description that genuinely sells your book.

 

How to Write A Book Description for Any Book

Like any tasks we take on as authors, writing an excellent book description that sells your book to readers involves specific steps. In this section, we’ll look at 5 tips to help you write a book description that converts potential readers into certain readers.

 

One. Keep It Short and Sweet

Your book description should be 150-250 words and approximately three paragraphs. Remember, you aren’t telling them the whole story. You’re advertising your book. So, what are the hooks for your story? What makes your book different from other books? What stands out? And how is it unique to every other book in the same genre? Ultimately, if you’re writing your back cover description, that description needs to fit on the cover. If you’re writing a description for an online or website listing, you have a little more room to play with.

 

Two. Write In the 3rd Person

The third-person perspective is a great way to tell potential readers about your book, and remember, you’re convincing them to pick it up and buy it to find out more, so don’t give away the ending or spoil the plot. It needs to tell them just enough, which can be a balancing act, without telling them everything.

 

Three. Don’t Go Over the Top

Going over the top with your language and verbose writing doesn’t have a place in your book description or book blurb. Every single word of your description has a value. You have limited space to work with, so choose your words carefully.

 

Four. Create A Hook

Like any great book, a great book description needs a hook. No one will be excited about reading the book if the description is plain and boring. In today’s modern world, attention spans are getting shorter, not longer. Does the first line of the first paragraph sell the book, or is it buried in the last paragraph?

 

Five. Keywords and Phrases

When you write a book description for Amazon KDP or other self-publishing platforms, you know the importance of keywords and key phrases. Still, keywords are also important when crafting a good book description. What are the emotional trigger words for your genre? What are the words you look for when considering reading a book?

 

Tips for Writing a Killer Book Description! | Conclusion

There you go! Five great tips for the next time you sit down and start to write your book description. If you only take away one thing, remember to keep it short and sweet. It’s an advertisement, not a novel.

Also, it’s a good idea to have a few different versions of your book description to be used on self-publishing sites such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or IngramSpark Publishing, which allow you to incorporate your keywords and phrases, as well as having more space.

If you have any questions about the self-publishing process, please don’t hesitate to contact us

At Author Services Australia, we support Australian and New Zealand self-published authors and writers with a full range of affordable self-publishing services, including ghostwriting, copyediting, developmental editing, proofreading, ebook and paperback formatting, book cover design, children’s book illustrations, graphic design services, manuscript uploading assistance, and social media and marketing.

Comment below if you have any tips or tricks you’d like to share with other authors. We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to avoid missing out on any future author news and updates.

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