Writing Tips

Macchiato Wenge

The dos and don'ts of writing a blurb for your novel

When writing a novel, there are few selling tools as important as writing a solidly written blurb. Sure, the cover design creates intrigue, but, if you have caught a potential reader's attention, the blurb is what will sell your book—and convert readers.

A "blurb" can refer to both a "description blurb" that you write for the back cover of your book and a "review blurb." For the purposes of this post, we'll be focusing on the former, and how you, the writer, can craft the best possible blurb.

Dos
-Reference the genre and central theme
-Create intrigue around the main conflict
-Dive right in and introduce your protagonist
-Keep it short and punchy Reference your book-writing or professional status, if it relates to your book.

Don'ts
-Give away any spoilers, no matter how tempted you are
-Give a summary of the first chapter
-Open with "In a world," or any other overused phrase
-Give everything away -Say how amazing your book is
-Compare yourself to other writers or your book to other books

While there's no perfect formula for writing the best blurb for your next novel, there are some patterns worth taking note of: Calling out your success in the book-writing world, introducing the reader to the protagonist in a way that creates intrigue without delving into all the assorted details, and referencing the central point of conflict—without explaining how a resolution may come about.

(c)Milena Canizaresin