As I mentioned last week, the point of the book blurb is to elicit an emotional reaction and make people want to read more. We already talked about the five main parts of a blurb, and this week I want to focus on tips to strengthen the reader’s emotional response.
1. Precise And Vivid Words
It’s common knowledge that using precise language is important for any writer. This rule is pivotal, though, in book blurbs. You don’t have long to hook your readers into opening the book. The words need to be vivid enough to catch their imagination and simple enough they can read smoothly until the end. It’s also important to avoid repeating words so each sentence elicits a new image and reaction.
2. Genre Specific Words
When someone picks up a book, it needs to send a clear message about the type of story inside. The title and cover image help clue in the readers, but it’s important to use genre specific language in your book blurb as well.
You will have to do research and create a list of genre keywords. Look up popular books in your genre on Amazon, and write down any reoccurring or potent words that stick out to you. Horror words could include: sardonic, bloody, and menacing. Fantasy genre words would be: distant lands, magical, and curses. Make your genre keyword list and weave those words into your blurb.
3. Building Tension
Building tension is about starting with low level conflict and building up to a higher level in the end. Start by mentioning the fact that the character can lose her job. Then hint that the conflict could result in harm to her friends or family. In the end of the blurb, raise the stacks even higher with the end of society as they know it.
Try not to make the conflict seem cheesy by making it too big though. The ultimate risk could just be a woman losing her husband in a divorce. You don’t have to always end with a world-wide catastrophe, but make sure the last conflict you mention in the twist is bigger than the first conflict you stated in the hook.
4. Keep It Brief
People’s attention spans are getting shorter and shorter with each passing year. Our society is used to instant gratification. Therefore, you have to keep your blurb short. The goal is to make the blurb as close to 100 words as possible. It should not be over 200 words, but it’s ok if it’s under 100 words. The main point is to keep it as short as possible while still conveying the premise of the story.
5. Rewrite. Rewrite. Rewrite.
Nothing comes out perfect the first time. There is always a better word, a more precise way to write it, or a better sentence order for maximum emotional impact. As a rule of thumb, rewrite your book blurb ten times before considering it finalized. Sit down and write the first draft. Then walk away and take a break. When you come back, you’ll see it with fresh eyes for the rewrite. Do that eight more times, and you should have a powerful book blurb.
Formula For Conflict
Every blurb has to clearly spell out the story’s conflict and its potential consequences. There’s a simple formula for identifying this for the reader.
Character must______or it will cost______.
An example of this is perfectly laid out in Ally Carter’s book, All Fall Down. In the end of her blurb is her twist, and she uses a version of this formula to set the stakes.
“Her past has come back to hunt her…and if she doesn’t stop it, Grace isn’t the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down.”
In other words, Grace must confront her past or it will cost her life and the destruction of countries around the world. There are personal and world-wide stakes if she doesn’t succeed. This is the kind of punch you need in your book blurb to pull the readers into the story conflict and make them want to read more.
Final Thoughts
If you use these five simple tips and identify your story conflict with this easy formula, you can have a powerful book blurb that grabs the readers. When you do that, you are closer to selling your books and becoming a well-loved author that delivers rewarding stories with emotional payoffs.
Thanks for reading!
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