How To Write A Great Nonfiction Book Blurb

The back cover of your book is prime real estate for promoting your book. A good book blurb sells books! However, many self published authors treat it like the hellstrip in front of their house between the sidewalk and a busy street.

Your back-of-the-book blurb is the second thing a potential buyer looks at after your front cover. Doesn’t it deserve a carefully crafted description of what your book is about?

If you’re just not sure how to write that important copy, Polly Letofsky of My Word Publishing has a nifty little guide for you. I used this guide this week to write a blurb for a client and it worked a charm.

Try it out yourself!

How to write a great nonfiction book blurb from Polly Letofsky of My Word Publishing:

1. Write it in 3^rd person. For all intents and purposes, your “publisher” has written this.
2. The first line is the most important. Your potential reader needs to know with a quick skim what kind of book this is, what it’s about and what the story is, or what problem will this solve for me?
3. It should be around 150 words – that’s how much will fit on the back of the book without looking crowded.
4. You can use testimonials.
5. You can use bullet points and questions.
6. Your last sentence should wrap it up – essentially coming full circle back to the first sentence.
7. Try to use your keywords – they’re great for SEO findability.
8. Research book blurb examples in your genre. Troll through Amazon and find books like yours. See how their book blurbs are crafted.

In a nutshell:

• The 1^st third of the 150 word promo should be “What the book is about.”
• The 2^nd third should answer “What problem will this book solve for me?”
• The 3^rd third should answer “Why THIS book is better than the others in this genre” and “Why you, the author is qualified to teach me this.”
• The last sentence should take your blurb full circle back to the beginning sentence.