How to write a blurb in about eighty words
The blurb is often the last thing a buyer reads before deciding. A simple structure that works for most books.
The QuillBees team
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·3 min read
Someone picks up your book, turns it over and reads the back. You have about ten seconds. The blurb has to make them curious enough to open it.
What a blurb is not
It is not a summary. A summary tells the whole story, including the ending. A blurb tells the reader why they should care, and stops before the good part.
It is also not a review. Avoid calling your own book "gripping", "unforgettable" or "a must read". Readers have seen those words on too many covers.
A simple structure
1. The hook. One or two sentences that put the reader in the situation. Who is the person, and what has just changed?
2. The problem. What is in the way? What does the person want, and what might they lose?
3. The question. End with the thing the reader will want answered. Not necessarily a literal question. It can be a line that leaves the door open.
An invented example for a novel:
When Anita inherits her grandfather's small printing press, she plans to sell it quickly and leave town. Then she finds a box of letters that were never posted. Each one is addressed to a different person in the same street. Some of them are still alive.
That is about forty words. It tells you the character, the situation and the question, and nothing about how it ends.
For non-fiction
Start with the reader's problem, not your credentials. What do they struggle with? Then say what the book helps them do, and what makes it different. A line about the author can come after.
Tips
- Aim for sixty to a hundred words. Longer blurbs get skipped.
- Use the present tense. It feels immediate.
- Name one or two characters at most. Too many names confuse.
- Do not use clichés like "a journey of self discovery" or "a heart warming tale".
- Read it out loud. If you run out of breath, it is too long.
Test it
Show your blurb to three people who have not read the book. Ask them, "Would you open this?" and "What do you think it is about?" If their answer differs from what you meant, adjust.
Write several
Do not stop at the first version. Write five. Combine the best lines. Cut the weakest.
A short version
You will also need a one line version for websites and social media. Take the strongest sentence from the blurb and make it stand alone.
It takes time to write eighty good words. It is worth it, because they do a lot of work.
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