Description is the blurb on the back of a book. Or, in Wattpad's case, you see it on the story details page. It is for the readers.
A story's description needs to achieve the following:
- Pique interest of a browser
- Establish premise/conflict of the story
- Make clear the genre/tone/style
You'll pique interest through unique concepts and powerful language. This is where you reintroduce some of the creative language you stripped out of the summary, but not too much because description is usually only a paragraph or two.
You also need to establish the conflict that is going to come up as this might also piques interest. You just have to let people know what these characters are fighting for.
Descriptions that just introduce a set-up and then say "when these two meet, what could happen?" This isn't super spoiler-y because it could still go in so many different directions.
The style of your description makes clear what the style of the story is going to be. You're selling to potential readers and you shouldn't trick them into your story. People interested in science fiction stories will probably be turned away by a romance description, and that's totally fine.
Let's also address the element of spoilers.
Telling people about the genre, telling them the characters and the conflict really doesn't spoil anything. Yes, informing them of what might happen does give them the chance to start guessing but that's just what we want them to do. If they start guessing, they're interested in the content and will most likely want to see where the story goes.
With all three of these, you will also want to consider getting someone else involved. Remember, this is more a marketing exercise. However, you don't necessarily have to be good at marketing.
An easy way is to get extra opinions by showing the blurb to your friends, classmates, teachers or even fellow writers on Wattpad. Be open to their constructive criticism, but make the final edits once you have a couple of opinions.
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Wattpad India Awards 2021
RandomWelcome to Wattpad India Awards 2021 An annual celebration of the diverse, creative, and empowering stories from Indian writers. A celebration of stories that open our hearts and change the way we think. Dive into the book for more details.
