On the back of your book, you’ll find a brief summary known as the ‘Blurb’. This serves as a sales pitch for your book and gives readers an idea of what to expect. We will edit this description and use it as the basis for the Blurb. As we enter the edited text into the description box, it will be distributed to retail, wholesale, and library databases, our website, and all marketing materials.
You have the freedom to change this description until your final manuscript is uploaded.
Keep in mind that this longer text will be used by editors, designers, publicists, and sales professionals to promote your book.
It’s important to strike a balance with your word count – too few sentences may not give enough information while too many can dilute the message. Our limit is 175 words.
Tips
- Include the ‘keywords’ that your readers and search engines will use to find a book like yours. Try them out on Google and Amazon and see if competing titles come up. More below in Chapter 3 under Market Position.
- Focus on how the reader will be drawn into reading the book. What is interesting about you or your book?
- Avoid jargon, obscure words or overly technical terms.
- If referring to yourself, write in the third person.
- Don’t exaggerate, don’t use hyperbole.
- Be down to earth, be honest, write clearly. Talk as if to a lay friend/colleague, who is not an expert in your field, explaining why they should read your book.
- Include any highlights – a few words from an endorsement by someone prominent, or anything shortlisted for a good prize, a strong review in a trade magazine, a high ranking on Amazon, Waterstones and WHSmith etc.
- Use your USP to hook your reader.