Crafting a Compelling Blurb That Helps Sell Your E-Book

The blurb is a vital marketing tool. Amazon calls it the product description, but you can consider the blurb to be the enticing text you find on the back of a paperback or on the dust jacket of a hardback.

Most authors find blurb writing incredibly difficult, so give yourself plenty of time to craft and edit the blurb. (Mine required a fair bit of pencil chewing and tea drinking, along with lots of crossing out and starting again.) If you typed a few hasty sentences while listing your e-book on Amazon, you definitely need to revisit that description.

Study the blurbs of bestselling books in your genre or category. For example, if you’ve written a nonfiction book about running a restaurant, head to the category Hospitality, Travel & Tourism (under Business & Investing and then Industries & Professions). Or, if you’ve written a love story about vampires, take a look at the Fantasy, Futuristic & Ghost category in the Romance section.

Print several blurbs from other authors’ e-books (or copy them to your computer). Review the blurbs, and note which ones make you want to read their books. Underline sentences or phrases that seem especially effective, and see whether you can use similar wording for your e-book.

For a fiction e-book, the blurb should

Briefly introduce the main characters: A newspaper report might describe a character as “19-year-old intern Rachel Harris.”

Describe the key conflict or problem: An example is “John Thomas, a professor at Harvard, is wanted by the police.”

Give the reader a sense of the style and tone of the e-book: You might describe a “fast-paced” or “lyrical” or “warm and heartfelt” story.

The blurb you write should not

Contain spoilers: If Chapter 10 reveals that John Thomas murdered a student, don’t spill the news in the blurb. You can hint at mystery, though: “John can no longer run from the secret that he’s been hiding for ten years.”

Include every member of the cast: Even if your story has several key characters, you may be able to identify only one or two by name. Use phrases such as her three best friends or a group of bikers or four cousins to hint at additional characters without wasting words naming them.

If you’re writing nonfiction, your blurb should

Clearly introduce the topic of your e-book: Though this advice might sound obvious, authors sometimes have difficulty taking a step back to explain their key message or theme in a few words. Ask a few friends or fellow writers to review the blurb to ensure that it’s clear.

Include the reader: Use the word you to make a connection, as in the phrases You’ll learn how to or You’ll find out. Make a clear promise to readers: Let them know what they’ll be able to understand or do, or how they might feel, after reading your e-book.

Apply formatting (perhaps via Amazon’s Author Central) to help readers easily absorb the most important points. For example, add boldface to key sentences or selling points.

Your blurb should not

Be too short: A short blurb about a work of fiction can be quite effective. For nonfiction, which tends to cost more than fiction, readers may want to see the full details before sampling or buying your e-book. If the first few sentences sum up the book, the remainder of the blurb can serve as a sales page.

Make false claims or give readers undue expectations: Be upbeat and enthusiastic about your e-book, but don’t try to represent it as something it isn’t. Although you may make some initial sales, they’ll be followed by poor reviews (from readers who will be unlikely to buy from you again).

If you belong to a writers’ workshop or a group of writing-oriented friends online, ask them to review your blurb. Persuade them to point out confusing text and suggest clarifications. Enduring round after round of edits on your blurb may seem frustrating, but the stronger it is, the more books you’ll sell.