Back of the book blurb analysis

A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. Its briefno more than 100150 wordsand creates interest in the story without giving away major spoilers or the ending. Eileen gittins builds blurb to make book publishing easy and affordable. This is a textbook example of a problemsolving nonfiction book. Generic structure and promotional elements in bestselling. The first step to writing a blurb is to read as many as possible, to get an idea of the style and format of a good blurb. The occult art of the poetry book blurb rachael mead. Generally, 150200 words are more than enough for a full blurb. Add comments for more like this author, back cover blurb, back cover copy, book, collection, compilation novel, how to write, novel, selfpublishing back cover blurb, selfpublishing compilation, short stories, short story, short story collection, short story compilation, writing back cover blurb, writing tips. Writing the book blurban analysis posted on june 11, 2014 by cara bristol. Bestselling book blurbs part two katie mccoach editorial.

A blurb also referred to as a synopsis or a glossary is the summary of the story found on the back cover of a book. Just finished the cover for our second book and am busy tearing out what is left of my hair trying attempt to create a back cover blurb. A simple outline for writing a killer book blurb ink and. Put simply, being concise is hard, and being concise about something you know insideandout can seem downright impossible. The next thing you do is read the back blurb, or if you are online, you read the first excerpt which is usually the same thing. The publishers blurb refers to this book as an existential crime novel. How to write a back cover blurb for a nonfiction book. Aug, 2015 if all of this sounds daunting, consider hiring an editor or marketing writer to help you craft your books backcover copy in the most compelling way possible. After the cover, a book description may be the most important tool in selling a book. On a print book, the blurb appears on the back cover.

The summary on the back cover of the book is called blurb. Learn the words you need to communicate with confidence. There is a big difference between writing a cover blurb for a novel and writing one for nonfiction. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dustjacket of a book, and are now found on web portals and news websites. Jan 28, 2015 a series of forbes insights profiles of thought leaders changing the business landscape. Although ive seen a couple back covers that did something a bit different like quote from the story and since most books are written in past tense the blurb was in past tense. That stuff, also known as a blurb, typically goes a long way in determining a potential readers likelihood of purchasing and reading your book.

A blurb is a short description of a book that is written for promotional purposes. Mar 10, 2019 chances are, you will write a better book if you let the blurb guide you. Blurb create, print, and sell professionalquality photo. Find a blurb book creator for hire, outsource your book blurb writing project and get it quickly delivered remotely. When writing a novel, there are few selling tools as important as a solidly written book blurb. How to write good blurbs and back pages for your book. The final step in completing this starter template is to create your front and back covers. Besides the blurb there are also some other elements that are included in the back cover of the book. Your back blurb should merely tease the readers on the plot points or knowledge theyll find within. Blueback by tim winton illustrations by andrew davidson isbn.

Fox emm shares how to write an effective book blurb for your memoir, or any piece of writing. Eileen gittins builds blurb to make book publishing. Back of book synopsisblurb creative writing forums. Their technical staff is obtuse and they use a biased color profile. Analysis of back cover books blurbs in english lecturer. The market for poetry is overwhelmingly other poets. All these elements should sell the book because you cant make a potential buyer look at your book in the order you want them to. Create, print, and sell professionalquality photo books, magazines, trade books, and ebooks with blurb. How to write a nonfiction book cover blurb that sells. Sell your book in the blurb bookstore, through amazon, or in the global retail network of over 38,000 retailers, libraries, and schools. Great blurb examples for nonfiction books cascadia author services. I wanted to create a trade book, as this was the only size dimension that was appropriate for my project. Then ensure you incorporate them into your back book jacket blurb. You pick up a book because the cover or title looks interesting.

Once your title and cover have drawn the reader in, the blurb is what is going to make the difference between a missed opportunity and a sale. How to create a back book cover blurb that sells i just published a guest post which goes into this with some examples. The book blurb s main purpose is to lure readers in and captivate them enough to buy the book. A blurb in a query letter is much like a short synopsisyou have approximately 250 words in which to summarize your book in a concise, engaging. I have seen nonfiction blurbs that are more about the author than the content of the book and i have seen fiction blurbs that are a synopsis of the story and even tell the reader the ending. Paratextual traces the blurb, back cover, inside cover, notes and title are part of the marketing process. How to build the back of a book cover with template. Pick up popular books in your books genre or category, and read the blurb to see how it managed to captivate readers into buying the book. Blurb is a basic service useable for basic book printing. If all of this sounds daunting, consider hiring an editor or marketing writer to help you craft your books backcover copy in the most compelling way possible.

How can we write that back cover copy that hooks a passing browser, and turns him or her into a loyal reader. You have another author bio in the back of the book thats for connecting with readers and making your optin offer. With that in mind, i wrote a logline for my current wip as soon as i began writing. A blurb is the book description you find on the back of a book or online to describe a books contents. Many authors write the book blurb as an afterthought. They are not stored on blurb s site until you upload them for ordering. Your back of the book blurb is the second thing a potential buyer looks at after your front cover. The paragraph you get at the back of a book is called synopsis and it is really what the book is about. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. Back cover copy is the blurb on the back of a book. Other than the cover, it is the other most important selling feature of a book.

It is a brief description of a book and book plot that should immediately attract the attention of your. Back up, move, transfer, or share your booksmart books. Before writing your back book blurb, choose 35 of the bestselling books in your genre and make a note of stylistic similarities. You can also use this backup if you want to work on your book on a different computer, or share your book with a coauthor.

How to get incredible book blurbs for your book medium. So your beautifully designed back cover will need to be altered or designed accordingly. Fifth grade lesson the blurb on the back betterlesson. This short video is brought to you by publishnation. Elisabeth rosenthals remarkable, outrageinducing book reveals how each attempt to check the health industrys excesses has been exploited for monetary gain. Like the book cover is one of the biggest selling points for any book, a book blurb helps sell the idea of the book to those who are in search of reading something either new or out of their usually picked genres.

Back up, move, transfer, or share your booksmart books its always a good idea to create a backup file of the book project youve been working hard on. All books are stored locally on the computer you originally used to create the book. How to write back cover blurb for your nonfiction book. Jan 09, 2017 composing the blurb in a rush to meet my publishers deadline wasnt the best way to go about it and i knew i needed to be prepared the next time. The synopsis is always written in present tense and most back cover blurbs are also written in present tense. A blurb is the description of the story found on the back cover of a book.

Back cover blurbs for books book publicity firm book. Notice the calltoaction words in the bullet points. The first is sales copy, the second is relationship building and to get them to take the next step. Apr 21, 2017 a book blurb is your way of selling your book. How is it that a writer can write a story spanning tens of thousands of words but stumble at a 250300 word book blurb describing it. I will definitely use the hidden gems blurb analysis service for future projects.

When it was published, adam grant was fairly obscure academic, not well known outside of academic circles. Feb 10, 2016 how to create a back book cover blurb that sells i just published a guest post which goes into this with some examples. If youve ever bought a book on impulse, it was probably due at least in part to the blurb on the back or the sales copy on the website. How to write good blurbs and back pages for your book by lynn serafinn on july 17th, 20. What should be included in the back of the book blurb. I have been a long time user but they are unable to print photo books true to the original images. Chances are, you will write a better book if you let the blurb guide you. As paperback publishing developed, readers began seeing the blurb appearing on the back cover.

Images are a pain to load into the book wright software. The blurb on the back of the book says that it will touch your heart. An excellent example is a book you have probably heard about, give and take. Improve your vocabulary with english vocabulary in use from cambridge. There used to be an empty chair at the back of my class, but now. About a 100200 word summary that expands upon the headline and demonstrates the value of the book. Its hard to condense hundreds of pages into two or three paragraphs. But the real secret to a great blurb is to know your audience. What is the summary written on the cover at the back of a book called. You have one shot at introducing your story to your reader make it count. Writing a book blurb for your back cover, and other promotional uses, is one of the hardest steps for many authors.

In the present research, i aim to investigate generic structure and promotional elements pes of online bestselling fiction blurbs from two booksellersu websites amazon united kingdom uk and okuoku turkey tr to reveal 172. A book blurb is the marketing text found on the back cover of a physical copy and in. For ebooks, the description is posted on a book s purchasing page, along with the book cover and price. It uses twilight as an example, but dont hold that against me. This article is about a short summary of a piece of work.

Blurbs are the second most important selling tool you have for your book, so. It is time for you to go to your just right reading spot and independently read. If you dont have a print version of your book and its only sold online, everything in this article about back book blurbs can be applied to your book description in online listings. Traditionally, it would be found on the inside back cover of a hardback. Generally, only poets shell out good money for slim volumes of poetry. Sep 14, 2015 the next thing you do is read the back blurb, or if you are online, you read the first excerpt which is usually the same thing.

Jun 01, 2015 so getting back to my use of the word relationship you get a blurb for a book of poetry by asking poets that you know and respect to read the proofs of your manuscript and write something complimentary about it, along the lines of what they think your poetry is trying to say and how brilliantly youve said it. Her linebyline analysis was useful to help me break down the major plot points so that the blurb didnt come across as simply a summary of events, but instead as a blurb that will hopefully hook readers and leave them wanting more. Therefore, your first instinct is probably to make it dazzling. From cambridge english corpus the contributions encapsulate the enormous diversity in this field, and thus the book does indeed provide essential knowledge about the study of language variation and change cover blurb. This is because writers dont really understand what a blurb is meant to do. May 17, 20 7 secrets to writing persuasive back cover sales copy by casey demchak covers the key points authors should think about when writing their sales copy. First thing, you cannot remove the bar code and cannot move its position either. Learn how to write a back book cover blurb that not only intrigues readers but gets them to buy. As a poetry reader, i know both the power of a good blurb and the equally potent effect of a good name on the back of a book.

But, if you have caught a potential readers attention, the blurb is what will sell your bookand convert readers. A keepsake photo book that gets photos off a screen and onto pages by pulling from a personal instagram account. How to create a back book cover blurb that sells kindlepreneur. It has to be almost an exaggeration of your story that entices the reader to buy, or at least download a sample to their kindle or ipad.

The back cover of your book is prime real estate for promoting your book. The summary goes over all the plot points and the main character arcthats not what you want for the back of your book. As an author, how can we turn this to our advantage. But there are parts that you can write at any stage of the process. But fear not, because theres a secret science to writing the perfect book blurb. 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. A good blurb has a beginning, a middle and an end, a light style and a definite point to make about the content or purpose of the book, as well as an expression of the publishers own confidence in its merits. This is a threepart series on getting a reader to buy your book. Vintage romantic tales of fright, i struggle with writing back cover copy, also known as, the blurb. The 5 core elements of a book blurb and why you should know. The novel begins with the man and boy in the woods, the boy asleep, as the two of them are making their journey along the road.

A blurb is the book description you find on the back of a book or online to describe a book s contents. Oct, 2014 they say you cant judge a book by its cover, thats true, but remember a book s cover includes the stuff on the back. Lets look at how to make your nonfiction cover blurb sell your book. Abstract the purpose of this paper is to present a preliminary approach to the study of blurbs, brief texts traditionally displayed on bookcovers, and nowadays also on the internet, which provide. Punctuation or grammar goofs in this highly visible spot broadcast the message that your book was not professionally written. Not long after that i wrote the back blurb to keep me focused on the main plot line.

Abel jackson lives with his mother dora by the sea at longboat bay where they live a hand to mouth but idyllic life, where they dive for abalone. Get free homework help on cormac mccarthys the road. Tips on how to write a good book blurb by author tina. Book summary and author bio on the back of the book. Writing a book blurb is harder than you think, and is an excellent way of getting yourself noticed. Whats the difference between book blurb and synopsis.

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. We get so caught up in delivering an enthralling story or a big idea. Sell one copy at a time and let blurb fulfill the orders or place a large order and sell inperson. Blurb definition in the cambridge english dictionary.

There is one big difference though between a book blurb and a synopsis. What is the summary written on the cover at the back of a. Many writers find writing book blurbs really difficult. On the back of your book cover, youll want an author bio and website usually but just one or two short sentences. The key with fiction is to excite and engage your reader. It is a brief description of a book and book plot that should immediately attract the attention of your readers. Writing your back cover blurb dorrance publishing company. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. If your book has a flap then its the flaps job to sell the book. However, many self published authors treat it like the hellstrip in front of their house between the sidewalk and a busy street.

You are using some of credibility and status of the person giving the blurb, and reflecting it back on your book. Link and close the minilesson by saying, readers, the blurb on the back is such a great place to get information and a overview of the characters and issues in your book. Basically, the name of the game with a blurb is to entice readers to buy your book. I wanted to print a photo book with blurb for a long time, and finally ordered my first blurb photo book in june 2014. And its something that in my experience takes some timeas you have to distill quite a few elements to make a. An american sickness will give you many new reasons to avoid getting sick, but also the resources to help protect your finances and your life if you do. View it here as youll recall from our previous blog post, the second thing that sells a reader on your book is the cover copyyour book description you may have the best hook on the first page of your book, the first sentence evenbut what if no one.

How to write a blurb definition, examples, and more. Indeed, it can help you focus if you write your blurb before you even start writing the book. Great ideas to write a blurb that works for your book. This definition specifies that a good blurb contains at least the elements of book praise and book subject matter. This back cover blurb explains exactly who the book is for, what the reader can expect to get out of it, and why the book is an excellent alternative to similar resources. Chose from several free tools or use adobe indesign or adobe lightroom.