How to write a book blurb that sells with examples reedsy blog. The curious history of book blurbs and why theyre still around those snippets of praise on book covers have been around for over 150 years at least. Book covers exist to give visual form to written content. When i was looking to get blurbs for my first book, i had asked, lets say, twenty people, ten agreed, and out of those ten, only about five of them were able to actually deliver the blurbs in a timely mannerthat could be though because we were on a time crunch and i didnt start soon enough. The twists and turns in a place in time are strung together by an unsolved crime, romance and divine providence. How to write a blurb definition, examples, and more blurb blog. Great ideas and rich experiences by bill mcdermott.
Youll also find some useful links to websites with further information. How to sell your manuscript to publishers and your indie book to readers writers craft 19 kindle edition by hall, rayne. And helping you make your book with our toolsno matter what that b. The ultimate test how to know if you have a great cover.
Were more likely to associate them with the subtitles on movie posters or trailers, and most of us would be. Great expectations is one of the most famous and muchloved novels by the great master of victorian prose, charles dickens. After writing and polishing an entire book, many authors are surprised when they become stuck when trying to write blurbs. Blurb blurb is a creative platform and community that enables and encourages people to make books of the things they love. Perhaps it felt safe to read a book that i already knew was great. Charlie and the great glass elevator is a childrens book by british author roald dahl. The help is set in the early 1960s in jackson, mississippi, and told primarily from the firstperson perspectives of three women. It uses twilight as an example, but dont hold that against me. How to sell your manuscript to publishers and your.
Creating the cover using the blurb book creator plugin. When you need to write a blurb for a movie, book, or other project, start by writing a clever and catchy hook that. This article has helpful approaches to writing back cover blurbs. As a last remark, a good blurb sparks an interest, but a great blurb will create intrigue and captivate your potential reader.
A good tagline will snag readers attention, so they pick up the book and read its blurb or download a sample. How to write an effective blurb for a selfpublished book. And, he tells me, he has a book coming out later this year which will deal with every aspect of his life, dark and light. Aibileen is a maid who takes care of children and cleans. But perhaps his greatest contribution in this book is to examine in great detail the distrustthe war, eventhat exists between the corps and todays society.
One of my claims to fame is that i wrote a book cover blurb that appears next to one written by mlb network sportscaster bob costas. Newspapers do it with headlines and arresting images, but novelists have three tools at their disposalthe book cover, title, and taglines. Kansas farmgirl dorothy judy garland is transported by tornado to a magical land where she immediately murders. The blurb that appears on the back cover of your book, and on your amazon page. There are good and bad book covers, and a good designer can clearly tell you the difference between them. Great ideas to write a blurb that works for your book. The name and term stuck for any publishers contents on a books back cover, even after the. Join nigel french for an indepth discussion in this video creating the cover using the blurb book creator plugin, part of designing a book 20 join nigel french for an indepth discussion in this video creating the cover using the blurb book creator plugin, part of designing a book 20. Like all of his great novels, great expectations has dickenss brilliant use of character and plotalong with an incredible sensibility and sympathy for the way that the british class system was constructed in the nineteenth century. But maybe it was a little easier and less scary to learn.
Writing a book blurb for your back cover, and other promotional uses, is one of the hardest steps for many authors. The back cover of your book is prime real estate for promoting your book. Cover design has become a kind of language, and the best way to learn it is to look at what other authors do. Tes global ltd is registered in england company no 02017289 with its registered office. Great expectations novel by charles dickens overview. Blurbs including a memorable cast of characters that form a society of various supernatural beings, stephanie griffins kingdom of salem is an engrossing dark fantasy tale. The space on the back cover of a book for blurbs, which are brief. I had to learn how to do it, because writing one type of copy isnt the same as writing another. How to get awesome book cover blurbs build book buzz. Entwined by heather dixon wallwork, the near witch by victoria schwab, the iron daughter by julie kagawa, eve by anna care. When writing a novel, there are few selling tools as important as a solidly written book blurb. A great tagline can help sell books and give readers an idea of what kind of story theyre picking up. Create, print, and sell professionalquality photo books, magazines, trade books, and ebooks with blurb. About the author examples that youll actually want to read.
This section features citations for books bearing quotes, or blurbs, from crews. In addition to hooking their interest, it will stick in their minds. Why you should ignore the superlatives on book jackets books. However, titles, covers and blurbs play a much larger role in book marketing, so taglines aka straplines or endlines in the uk are rarely discussed. Blurbs reveal the goal of the protagonist or hero and heroine for a romance, why heshe wants what heshe wants, and. By combining elements of many classics of the fantasy and horror genres, griffin has created an engrossing read that relies heavily on the dialogue of the individuals who. Chose from several free tools or use adobe indesign or adobe lightroom.
So, ok, here are my tips for writing your kickass romance blurb. It unfolds against a background of significant african american. They spend a great deal of time, money, and energy trying to sell art. A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. The key with fiction is to excite and engage your reader. We all had that book as kids a book with such a terrifying book cover that we had to keep it under our beds or in another room between readings. To help prevent you from falling into this unfortunate group, weve put together a few tips that should help you write a winning book blurb, whether its for the latest fantasy novel or for a nonfiction selfhelp guide. It is the sequel to charlie and the chocolate factory, continuing the story of young charlie bucket and chocolatier willy wonka as they travel in the great glass elevator. Writers have a split second to catch readers attention. If you truly want to see what visual style is trending in. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dustjacket of a book, and are now found on web portals and news websites. In 2027, the world is suffering from two decades of global infertility and on the brink of collapse.
A successfully designed book cover will convey the tone of your book, will whisper hints without giving it all away, and will excite readers into actually opening up the book and reading. An unfinished novel, the last tycoon, was published posthumously. The book depicts bill mcdermotts childhood,education,his passion, family life and the struggle he had in his life. He wrote many short stories and four novels, this side of paradise, the beautiful and the damned, tender is the night and the great gatsby. This short video is brought to you by publishnation. But, if you have caught a potential readers attention, the blurb is what will sell your book and convert readers.
Want to help prevent bad book covers before they become an embarrassment. Aibileen clark, minny jackson, and eugenia skeeter phelan. How to create an eyecatching book cover that will entice. This leaves a comprehensive list of his lifes work, not just his writing. A blurb is the book description you find on the back of a book or online to describe a books contents. Writing a short book blurb is not only fun, but great practice for writing promotional copy of any kind. An easytofollow, practical guide to writing the best blurb to sell your selfpublished book, provided by ya author sarah juckes of completelynovel.
Thus, if you write a book with no market, even the slickest cover and best blurb will. The space on the back cover of a book for blurbs, which are brief promotional paragraphs, is one of the more valuable spots for book promotion. The ultimate guide to book covers, blurbs, categories. This is because a book cover is a piece of art with a specific purpose. He has his fingers in plenty of pies, but the list still never runs too long only about one sentence per accomplishment. How to write a romance blurb blog author rosalind james. Soliciting blurbs is part of the publishing process, so much so that editors often expect to see a list of potential blurbers in an authors book proposal. Sign in to your blurb account and go to your my projects page. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Most run several paragraphs, but some publishers want them shorter or in a special format so be sure to check with your publishers guidelines before you begin work. Creating a book blurb, while still technically writing, is closer to a science than an art. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dustjacket of a book, and. Back cover blurbs for books tips for wrting blurbs that sell books. The blurb that appears on the back cover of your book, and on your amazon page, will either. When you select your paper weight in bookwright, youre setting up a spine width specific to how thick your book will be, which means your cover design will be accurate in your printed book. Once youve taken in all of the above and gotten a feel for the promise you want to make to the reader, use the outlines below to write your book cover blurb. Which means that writing blurbs for my books was a piece of cake, right. This website and its content is subject to our terms and conditions. Jomny sun might have written some funny, irreverent tweets and a great book to boot, but here jonathan covers all his bases. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading writing book blurbs and synopses. Blurb create, print, and sell professionalquality photo.
Scott fitzgerald judged gatsby by its cover a surprising examination of the original book jacket art to the great gatsby. Write only 12 short sentences that cover the most important parts to give your reader an idea of your story. The blurb should include any information that represents the book best and. Lets look and learn from 50 fascinating book cover designs.
How to create a back book cover blurb that sells i just published a guest post which goes into this with some examples. Work by convincing readers to take a chance on it, or. Early blurbs can be key, but you need to remember that its a numbers game. However, many self published authors treat it like the hellstrip in front of their house between the sidewalk and a busy street. Which is a good thing, because beautiful books are our business. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Blurbs are short descriptions that promote things such as movies, books, or other projects. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. Scott fitzgerald was born in 1896 in st paul, minnesota, and went to. The greatest comic book cover blurbs ever comicsalliance. Fail to engage your target readers in that sense, a good blurb is anything but subjective. This could turn her not only into a paying customer, but also the latest member of your ever growing fan base. How to create an eyecatching book cover that will entice readers.
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