Dana Delamar, By Your Side Self-Publishing
Want to make a writer cry? Ask for a tight, exciting 150-word bit of back cover copy for the book he or she has been working on for months and months, if not years. You’ll be met by whimpering, whining, and big puppy-dog eyes, along with “Do I have to?” Aside from the dreaded one-page synopsis, writing back cover blurbs is some of the most hair-pulling work a writer will ever do. And yet it’s the most crucial piece of work that writers ever produce.
Want to make a writer cry? Ask for a tight, exciting 150-word bit of back cover copy for the book he or she has been working on for months and months, if not years. You’ll be met by whimpering, whining, and big puppy-dog eyes, along with “Do I have to?” Aside from the dreaded one-page synopsis, writing back cover blurbs is some of the most hair-pulling work a writer will ever do. And yet it’s the most crucial piece of work that writers ever produce.
The blurb is what sells your book. To readers, to editors,
to agents. The blurb is your book’s calling card. A good blurb gets a reader to
open the book (or the online sample) and see what it’s about. A great blurb may
even get a reader to buy on the premise alone. Along with top-notch writing and
a professional cover, an exciting, well-honed blurb is essential to selling
your story.
Speaking from my own experience, it helps enormously if you
try to develop your blurb before you write the book. Boiling down what you’re
writing about into 150 to 200 words helps distill your ideas and make them
clear to you. I’ve found that writing the blurb helps me nail down the major
themes and determine the big hooks for the story. And, if you’re
writing a series—particularly one that is tightly linked—having the blurbs
written early will give you a sense of the scope of each book, the major
conflicts in that book, and how much of the overarching story will be covered
by each book.
What elements should be part of a great blurb?
- The protagonist and antagonist. For romance, that means the hero and heroine; if they’re facing an antagonist together, you may also need to mention that person or thing.
- What’s the big story question that the leads face? Do they have to work together to save the world from destruction? Do they need to learn to trust each other? Does one have to defeat the other? (In other words, what’s the journey the characters go on?)
- Is there an ironic twist to the story? Irony is an excellent hook. Are the leads complete opposites? Are they on opposing sides of an impossible situation? Do they have a fierce attraction, but mutually exclusive goals?
- Focus on goals, conflicts, motivations (GMCs) and the stakes. What will happen if the leads don’t resolve the central story conflict?
You can also think of writing a blurb this way: you’re
stepping back from the story and giving the view of it that a bird soaring
overhead might have. Two people in conflict. Over what?
I wish I had an easy formula for blurb writing, but it’s
really something you have to do again and again to get the hang of it. (At
least that was the case for me.) The best thing I’ve found to do is to try to
write the traditional two-paragraph (150-200 word) blurb first. Then chisel
that blurb down to 100 words. Then 50. Then one sentence. (You can use these shorter descriptions in various types of
advertising.) Make every word count.
Think of that single sentence as your
high-concept logline—in other words, it’s the “hook” you’d give
someone who asks you what your book is about. The logline gives the gist of the
book, including the twist/irony in the characters’ situation. Even though it’s
directed at screenwriters, Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat! has some great tips for developing your pitch and your logline.
Once you’ve got these versions of the blurb put together,
give yourself a pat on the back, and possibly a glass of your favorite alcohol.
Because you’re not done yet.
Now you need to punch up what you’ve got and make it as
exciting as possible. And this means using power words. Not sure what I mean? Read
the back covers of a bunch of paperbacks you have lying around. Try to pick out
the words that evoke some kind of reaction from you. These are power words, such as danger, kill, death, passion, jealousy, vengeance—you get the picture. Also make sure you’ve chosen the strongest verbs you can. And think
about what kind of mood your book has—is it fast-paced? Slow burning? Steamy?
Intellectual? An intricate puzzle, or a race against time? And then try to mirror
what kind of experience the reader is going to get through your choice of
words, syntax, and style.
Another thing to consider: your target audience and your
genre. What appeals to your readers? What elements are they looking for in a
story?
For example, if you’re writing romance, your audience will
be ninety percent female, so you may want to highlight the appeal of your male
lead. Let’s say your book is a romantic suspense story about a female cop who
has to team up with a male private investigator to solve a crime. If your story
is very steamy and the PI is super rugged (ex-military perhaps), you might
describe the PI as “lethally sexy” or “ruggedly handsome.” If he’s movie-star material, you might describe him as “drop-dead
gorgeous.” If he’s constantly trying to get her in bed, he might be “sinfully sexy.” If the story is less steamy and more light-hearted,
flirty, and full of banter (think the TV show Castle), you might describe him
as “irresistibly charming.” While you certainly could describe him as “good-looking” or “attractive,” those are generic
descriptions that could apply to anyone. The more specific you can get, and the
more that description conveys the tone of the story, the better.
To help you see what I mean, here are the log lines and short descriptions I’ve come up
with for my romantic suspense book Retribution.
I’ve highlighted the power words in bold.
Log line:
An undercover Interpol agent falls for an alluring
Mafia princess while playing a deadly
game of deception and betrayal—but is he the one getting
played?
50 words or less
version:
Intent on imprisoning his Mafia don father, Nick Clarkston poses
as a dirty agent and allies with another mobster.
But when he falls for the man’s alluring
daughter, will Nick’s unrelenting
drive for justice get them both killed?
(38 words)
200 words or less
version:
An Interpol agent playing a dangerous game. A Mafia princess desperate
to escape. A man determined to exact
retribution…
Nick Clarkston, a young
Interpol agent, threatens to undo the fragile
peace between the Lucchesi and
Andretti families when he tries to take down the Mafia don father who abandoned him. He allies with his
father’s sworn enemy, a mobster both devious and ruthless.
The mobster's alluring daughter
helps Nick negotiate the murky criminal
underworld, but he soon learns she’s using him. Trapped, and with nowhere to turn, Nick makes a tragic mistake that plunges him further into danger.
Delfina Andretti appears to be the typical Mafia princess—but this princess wants out.
Delfina dreams of being a fashion designer, and hooking up with Nick is her
ticket out of an arranged marriage.
Her feelings for Nick are genuine, but he’s leery of her. Even worse, his heedless
drive for justice threatens to get
them both killed and to put everyone
Delfina loves behind bars—unless she
and Nick can forge a new future for
their warring families. (177 words)
Bear in mind that it will take you hours (and hours) to
develop these various blurbs and loglines the first few times. However, practice
does make perfect, so the more you work at it, the better you’ll get. You may
even someday enjoy it!
Looking for more? These articles contain some great tips on
blurb writing:
If you’re still not sure whether your blurb really sells
your book, contact us at By Your Side for a blurb polish!
