Polish & share · Tip 80 of 82 · 4 min read
Write a Blurb for the Back of Your Book
A blurb is a short teaser that hooks readers without giving away the ending.
Turn over almost any book and you'll find a blurb: a short paragraph on the back cover. Its job is to make readers think, "I have to know what happens!" It's like a movie trailer, but made of words.
The blurb recipe
- Who: introduce your main character in one line.
- What's wrong: show the problem or the big change.
- What's at stake: hint at what could go wrong.
- The hook: end with a question or a cliffhanger.
Ten-year-old Ruby Okafor has never won anything. Not a race, not a raffle, not even a game of snap. So when she wins a mysterious golden ticket to the Midnight Fair, she can't believe her luck. But the fair only appears once every hundred years, and nobody who goes ever comes back the same. Will Ruby find her way home before the last ride stops?
Never give away the ending
A blurb is a teaser, not a summary. Tell readers how the story starts and what the problem is, then stop. If you tell them how it ends, why would they read it?
Okay 😐
This is a story about a boy called Sam who loses his dog and then finds it at the park.
Wow! 🤩
Sam's dog has vanished. The only clue is a trail of muddy pawprints leading straight up the side of the town clock.
Keep it short
Most blurbs are between 50 and 100 words. Every sentence should make the reader more curious. If a sentence doesn't, snip it out.