What is a Blurb? And How to Write One

For the purposes of this blog, a blurb is the brief description of a book’s contents found on the book’s back cover, written with the intent of tantalizing the reader and selling the book.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD BLURB: Just as a prospective editor or agent reads the first page of your novel and then decides whether or not to proceed based upon that first impression, so too will prospective buyers of your book browsing online or in a book store read your book’s back cover and based upon THAT first impression, decide whether or not to buy and read your book. A well-written blurb should therefore strive to set your book apart from the pack, using vivid and compelling language to describe the gist of the story in a paragraph or two.

A BLURB should create intrigue around the story’s central conflict without giving away too much detail. You want to pique the reader’s curiosity and make them say, “Wow! I’ve got to read this!”

THE ELEMENTS OF A GOOD BLURB:

THE PROTAGONIST: WHO are they? and WHAT do they want?

example: “After recently serving 20 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, ex-special forces operative Terry Jessup wants only one thing. To be left alone.”
This example cuts to the chase. Who is the protagonist? Terry Jessup. What does he want? To be left alone. Straightforward and simple.

THE CONFLICT: The blurb should identify one or more of the obstacles standing between the protagonist(s) and the object of their desire.

example: “But what Terry Jessup wanted, and what he got, were two very different things. On his first night out of prison, Jessup is forced to kill a man in self defense. When he discovers that man is the son of the sheriff of the small town, things go downhill from there. And when TJ loses his brother to cartel thugs, the hunters become the hunted.”

Again, not too much detail is given away. Just enough to make the reader say, “hmm.”

Avoid giving away too much detail. Create a sense of mystery. Ask questions that demand answers. Answers that can only come through buying and reading the book. Of course, a blurb can only be as good as the story it’s promoting. So to ensure you have the makings for a good blurb, first write a good story.