What Is A Blurb?
A blurb is a brief description of a story typically found on the back cover of a book. On Wattpad, it's the description on the Story Detail page. The main purpose of a book blurb is to lure readers in and captivate them enough to turn to chapter one.
Here are some tips we believe to be the most essential to crafting a good blurb.
1. Start With A Hook
If the first sentence is dull, readers may not even bother with the rest of the blurb. Startle them with an opening line that catapults them into the setting and the mind of the protagonist.
2. Entice, Don't Summarize
The blurb is not meant to be a summary of the book. The purpose of the blurb is to highlight the reasons the book is a great read without giving away spoilers. But here's where things get a little tricky. You want to tell readers enough about the plot that they'll want to know more. Teasing them about the secrets but not telling them.
3. Use A Formula
Most blurbs start with a situation, introduce a conflict or problem, and show the stakes if the main character fails. They usually end with a sentence that emphasizes the mood of the story.
4. Aim For 150-250 Words
Keep your blurb short and to the point. Just like this tip. (For the blurb workshop, please keep your blurb submission at or under 250 words.)
5. Write In The Third Person / Present Tense
Your blurb should always be written in third person / present tense regardless of which point of view or tense the story is written, just like the summary.
6. Appeal To Your Readers' Emotions
Most of us read novels to escape, so give readers a blurb that makes them want to get lost in the story. Give them action and suspense. Give them intrigue and passion. Give them characters they want to spend time with. Make sure when they get to the end of the blurb, they just have to read on.
We expect you've all written a blurb for your stories here on Wattpad, so this should be a familiar exercise for you. For an example of a blurb that follows these guidelines, scroll to the next chapter. We look forward to seeing you in the blurb workshop on our discord server.
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Wattys 2022 Boot Camp
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