{"id":729,"date":"2016-08-24T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-24T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/161.35.63.92\/index.php\/2016\/08\/24\/capture-readers-with-better-book-descriptions-for-fiction\/"},"modified":"2022-06-13T19:08:59","modified_gmt":"2022-06-14T00:08:59","slug":"capture-readers-with-better-book-descriptions-for-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/capture-readers-with-better-book-descriptions-for-fiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Capture Readers With Fiction Book Descriptions"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are a lot of tools in the publishing tool belt, and each has its own unique purpose and strength. Few, though, have more sway over a would-be reader than your book descriptions<\/b>.<\/p>\n

We’ve talked about descriptions before.<\/a> You may call it a \u2018blurb\u2019 or \u2018back cover copy\u2019 or \u2018all that text I have to paste into my book page.\u2019 Whatever your name for it, you can\u2019t afford to ignore it. After your cover, the product description of your book is the first experience the reader has with you as an author. So getting it right is the proverbial \u2018big deal.\u2019<\/p>\n

This post is aimed specifically at book descriptions for fiction, and we\u2019ll post something for non-fiction authors later. Until then, read on\u2014you\u2019ll find that the general idea is going to be the same regardless, and some of the tips here can help you with a non-fiction description as well.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at a few tips for creating book descriptions that does all the work of selling your book for you.<\/p>\n

TAKE THE READER ON A JOURNEY WITH YOUR BOOK DESCRIPTIONS<\/h3>\n

Most book descriptions have less to do with the story of the book,<\/i> and more to do with the story of the reader<\/i>. Tell the reader about the journey they’re going to take, rather than trying to create a shorthand or synopsis of your book.<\/p>\n

The structure of this is going to be pretty simple.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • The Hook \u2014\u00a0<\/b>You\u2019ll want to capture the reader\u2019s attention right away, so it\u2019s good to start with something that piques their interest, and forces them to immediately ask questions they\u2019ll want answers to. The hook needs to be intriguing and a bit open ended. More on this in just a bit.<\/li>\n
  • The Protagonist \u2014<\/b> This will be the person your reader will root for throughout the book, so you\u2019ll want to set them up as likable and\/or incredibly interesting right from the start.<\/li>\n
  • The Antagonist \u2014<\/b> This needs to be the character everyone loves to hate. Mostly you want to position them as a threat, and talk about how bad things will be if they get their way.<\/li>\n
  • The MacGuffin \u2014<\/b> This is the object of everyone\u2019s lust, desire, obsession, passion, and overpowering need. It\u2019s the One Ring. It\u2019s the Ark of the Covenant. It\u2019s what everyone in your story wants, and the one thing that will determine the fate of everyone in the book.<\/li>\n
  • The Consequences \u2014<\/b> You\u2019ll tell the reader exactly what\u2019s at stake if the Antagonist gets their way.<\/li>\n
  • Social Proof \u2014 <\/b>Everyone likes to be part of the in-crowd. So you\u2019ll spend a smidge of time relaying what other people think of your work in general, what awards you may have won, or readers and\/or reviewers are already saying about this book in particular.<\/li>\n
  • The Call To Action (CTA) \u2014<\/b> And finally, you\u2019ll tell the reader what to do (nicely). Think of the reader as sitting there, dumbfounded, having just read a book description that blows their mind. Your job is to nudge them, and remind them they can have even more<\/i> thrills and spills if they buy the book!<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Now that we have the framework, let\u2019s fill in the gaps a bit.<\/p>\n

    Hook the reader from the start with something that derails their expectations.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    SET UP THE HOOK<\/h3>\n

    Just like good fiction, these things start best with action. And bonus points if you can make that action intriguing<\/i>. For example:<\/p>\n

    \u00a0“Dan Kotler just wanted a cup of coffee, but he never expected to find the key to a lost city served up with his latte.”<\/em><\/p>\n

    An intriguing hook is basically just a WTF<\/i> moment\u2014something that makes the reader\u2019s pulse quicken a tiny bit, and makes them want to read more just to find out what\u2019s really going on.<\/p>\n

    Take this example:<\/p>\n

    \u00a0“Judith was fine with crocheting and needlepoint, but her real hobby was murder.”<\/i><\/p>\n

    Tell me you don\u2019t want to know a heck of a lot more about Judith!<\/i> I wrote<\/i> that line purely as an example, and I still<\/i> want to read that book.<\/p>\n

    And that\u2019s the idea. Your opening line needs to be a nice, sharp hook that catches the reader so you can reel them in. Nothing does that better than defying expectations<\/b>.<\/p>\n

    In the examples above, we defy reader expectations by introducing something common and unimposing, and then turning it on its ear. Dan Kotler gets a lost city along with his latte. Judith goes from a kindly crocheting matron to a knife-wielding serial killer. No one saw that coming.<\/p>\n

    THE HERO WE DESERVE<\/h3>\n

    Introduce the protagonist by the problem they’re dealing with. In life, we shouldn\u2019t judge someone\u2019s character by the problems they face, but here it\u2019s an essential shortcut to getting the reader to empathize and relate to your protagonist. So use that shortcut to further the story and keep down a lot of unnecessary exposition.<\/p>\n

    For example:<\/p>\n

    When a beautiful neighbor turns to him for help in solving an ancient riddle, Dan Kotler does what he always does\u2014he finds himself in more trouble than he was expecting. Now, with a sadistic treasure hunter and mercenaries on his heels, Kotler is chasing leads in a mystery older than recorded history.<\/i><\/p>\n

    We don\u2019t need to know any more about Dan Kotler than that. In one paragraph we learn that he\u2019s someone people would turn to for help in finding something ancient and lost, that he has a penchant for beautiful women, and that he\u2019s not so popular with bad guys who employ mercenaries. We also learn a little about both the Antagonist and the MacGuffin, but we\u2019ll get to those in a second.<\/p>\n

    Just like in your novel, characterization is key to engaging a reader in your book descriptions. A good antagonist can sell the book for you.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI\u2019M NOT BAD, I\u2019M JUST WRITTEN THAT WAY\u201d<\/h3>\n

    In a sort of mirror image of the protagonist, introduce your antagonist by their objectives and schemes. We don\u2019t need to know that your bad girl or guy went to Oxford but flunked out because they tried to start an on-campus prostitution ring, unless that happens to be the plot of the book. What we do<\/i> need is information about what drives<\/i> the antagonist, so that we know who and what to root for. We need to know what the antagonist wants, and why it would be really bad for him to get it.<\/p>\n

    For example:<\/p>\n

    Aslan has his sights on Atlantis, and he\u2019s willing to eliminate anyone who stands in his way. With the treasures of this lost civilization under his control, Aslan can change the course of world history, and reshape it to his own purposes.<\/i><\/p>\n

    Here we learn that Aslan is after Atlantis and all of its treasures, and that world domination is a possible motive. Rather than stating it out loud, we imply<\/i> that this would be bad for everyone, but it amounts to the same thing. Aslan can\u2019t be allowed to get his hands on Atlantis.<\/p>\n

    HERE\u2019S WHERE IT ALL GOES WRONG<\/h4>\n

    We did this just a bit in the example above, but to make the point really clear: Tell the reader the stakes and consequences, if the antagonist succeeds:<\/p>\n

    \u00a0Unless Aslan is stopped, thousands and possibly millions will die.<\/i><\/p>\n

    Or \u2026<\/p>\n

    Whoever wins this contest of wits and wills will hold the fate of thousands in his hands, and will also lay claim to the fabled city of gold.<\/i><\/p>\n

    It\u2019s fine to blend this in with the description of the antagonist\u2014in fact, that\u2019s often the easiest way to handle it. But you definitely want the reader to know the consequences<\/i> of your story. They need to know what happens to the protagonist\u2014the relatable character they\u2019ll be following\u2014if he or she drops the ball and doesn\u2019t stop the bad guy. They need to know the dangers they<\/i> face, while living in this world you\u2019ve created.<\/p>\n

    Social proof will tell a potential reader “It’s ok to buy this book because other people loved it!”<\/h3>\n

    \u201cYOU\u2019RE THAT GUY FROM THAT THING\u201d<\/h3>\n

    People are funny creatures: We\u2019re always looking for shortcuts. And this holds true when it comes to making decisions (any<\/i> decision), including \u201cShould I buy this book?\u201d<\/p>\n

    One way we shortcut this is to look around and see if anyone else<\/i> is doing what we\u2019re thinking of doing. This is the biggest reason why Amazon reviews are such a big deal for authors. Readers want to know that someone else approves this book, thinks it\u2019s worth reading, and recommends it.<\/p>\n

    The trouble is, most books don\u2019t start<\/i> with reviews (they can \u2026 but we\u2019ll get to that in another post). So how do we assure our would-be reader that they\u2019ll be getting a fine bit of entertainment for their money?<\/p>\n

    Provide some social proof.<\/b><\/p>\n

    I like to include quotes. It works best if you have a kind comment from someone of note, that others might recognize. But it can be just as good to use a reader quote.<\/p>\n

    \u201cKevin Tumlinson does thrillers right\u2014lots of action, lots of intrigue, and lots of hours of sleep lost while scrambling to see what happens next.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

    \u2014James Rollins<\/i><\/p>\n

    You can put this little blurb (that\u2019s what this is, by the way \u2026 the real<\/i> definition of a \u2018book blurb\u2019) just about anywhere in the description, but you should tag it as a header or otherwise call it out with special formatting.<\/p>\n

    I like to use the H2 tag, because it makes the text big and bold, and noticeable. And I particularly like putting this blurb at the very top of the book description\u2014because it can serve as a hook (see above) for getting the reader to keep reading.<\/p>\n

    You can also use these quotes to break up an otherwise lengthy description that’s just one big block of gray text. Put them in after key parts of your description\u2014such as between the Protagonist and Antagonist sections\u2014to create visual interest on the page, and to keep the reader from reacting with TLDR (too long, didn\u2019t read).<\/p>\n

    For an idea of what I mean, take a look at this post. The sub-heads help break up the big blocks of text, so that you can read the whole thing in \u2018chunks.\u2019 You\u2019re welcome, amazing author-reader.<\/p>\n

    The point here:<\/b> Layout plays a bigger role in this kind of copywriting than people think, so the more attractive and easy to read that you can make these things, the better. Break up large blocks of copy with headers, quotes, italicized excerpts, or bolded key talking points (for non-fiction, mostly). It helps keep the reader moving all the way to the end, where you’ll make your pitch.<\/p>\n

    Always include a call to action\u2014the reader is WAITING for someone to tell them what to read, so be that someone!<\/h3>\n

    CALLING ALL BRAVE AND VALIANT SOULS<\/h3>\n

    When ancient rulers needed to raise armies from among their subjects, they would issue a call to arms. Sometimes this took the form of proclamations read and posted in towns and hamlets within the kingdom, to which loyal countrymen would respond and heed the call. Sometimes they involved armed men raiding the above-mentioned towns and hamlets, clubbing prospects in the head, and enlisting them by force.<\/p>\n

    We\u2019re going to lean more toward the former.<\/p>\n

    Your book descriptions need to include a call to action (CTA)<\/b>. This is a brief statement that literally tells the reader what to do next. Observe:<\/p>\n

    Scroll up to buy this book and start reading today!<\/i><\/p>\n

    Easy. Simple. Pointed. Instructional. The CTA doesn\u2019t have to be elaborate or fancy in any way. In fact, it should typically be the simplest writing on the entire page. Your goal is to be literal here, and tell the reader exactly what your expectations are, and how to meet them.<\/p>\n

    People forget this all the time, but you have to remember that you’re writing marketing <\/i>material, not a short story. And you always have to ask<\/i> for what you want.<\/p>\n

    It’s a psychological trigger.<\/p>\n

    You can do this in a lot of ways, but one really effective method is to start with questions:<\/p>\n

    Will Kotler solve the mystery of the Coelho Medallion in time to save his friends? Will Anwar claim victory, and the lives of thousands? Scroll up to pick up your copy of Kevin Tumlinson’s latest thriller, ‘The Coelho Medallion,’ right now<\/i><\/p>\n

    The questions create what\u2019s known as \u2018open loops.\u2019 And we humans hate<\/i> an open loop. We\u2019ll do practically anything to close them! Including, thankfully, buying an author\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

    The only real requirement is that these open loops have to actually trigger an emotional response in the reader. And if you\u2019ve done the rest of the description well, then you\u2019ll have that requirement nailed by default.<\/p>\n

    A good start for your book descriptions: Jot down your protagonist, your antagonist, and what they both want, as well as what happens if the bad guy wins.<\/h3>\n

    A FEW QUESTIONS TO HELP GET YOU STARTED WITH BOOK DESCRIPTIONS<\/h3>\n

    I\u2019ve written a lot of book descriptions, for myself and for others, and so over time I\u2019ve developed a series of what I call \u2018onboarding questions.\u2019 I send this list to anyone I\u2019m working with for book description, and use the answers to inform everything we discussed above. Feel free to copy and paste these into a document (I keep them in Evernote), and use them as prompts every time you write your own book descriptions.<\/p>\n

    STORY SETUP<\/b><\/p>\n

      \n
    • What is the business card synopsis (2 sentences max) for the story of this book?<\/li>\n
    • Who is the protagonist, and what’s their biggest problem before the start of the story?<\/li>\n
    • What’s their biggest problem after the start of the story?<\/li>\n
    • Who is the antagonist, and what’s their biggest problem before the start of the story?<\/li>\n
    • After?<\/li>\n
    • What is the McGuffin? (the object everyone in the story wants to get their hands on?)<\/li>\n
    • What ‘s the worst thing that could happen if the antagonist gets the McGuffin?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      MIX-INS<\/b>\u00a0(usually optional, added for flavor)<\/p>\n

        \n
      • What is the setting for the story, including location and era?<\/li>\n
      • Are there any Rosencrantz and Guildenstern\u00a0characters? (supporting or background characters who might be colorful enough for a mention)<\/li>\n
      • Is this book part of a series? Which volume is it? (Putting “Book seven of ten” or “Book three in the Alien Viking series” is a nice confidence booster for readers, showing that you have some longevity\u2014and also helping to upsell some of your other books!)<\/li>\n
      • Does the book have anything unusual<\/i> to push? For example, is it 1,500 pages long? Does it feature a foreword from someone prominent? Was it written while sitting naked in a swimming pool filled with Vodka?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        SOCIAL PROOF<\/b><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Do you have any reader quotes or quotes from official reviewers? (These do not necessarily have to be about this book in particular, but may just be about the author. These are great at the end of a description, to help ‘close’)<\/li>\n
        • Has the author hit bestseller status and\/or won any awards?<\/li>\n
        • How many other books has the author published?<\/li>\n
        • How many languages (if any) has the author\u2019s work been translated to?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          You can always change your mind later. Try some book descriptions out, and change them if they don’t seem to be working.<\/h3>\n

          A good start, and not the finish line<\/h3>\n

          What we have here is a good starting place for book descriptions that really help to sell your work. And of course, this isn\u2019t the only<\/i> way. There are several books about this very topic, outlining some specific \u2018rules of thumb\u2019 and tips about making these descriptions really work for you. The best approach is to use the method that A) works best for you and feels more natural but B) (more important) actually accomplishes your goal<\/i> for your book descriptions.<\/p>\n

          And that goal, of course, is to entice readers to buy your book. If your description reads as art, if it wins its own Hugo award, if it garners you accolades and kudos from all of your childhood heroes, but it doesn\u2019t actually sell your book? You have a problem. Rethink. Rewrite. Start again.<\/p>\n

          Keep that goal in mind as you try this, and remember that the beauty of living in the digital age is that you can make changes as you need to. Try a book description for a while, and if it doesn\u2019t work try another one. You never lose points for improving on past work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          There are a lot of tools in the publishing tool belt, and each has its own unique purpose and strength. Few, though, have more sway over a would-be reader than your book descriptions. We’ve talked about descriptions before. You may call it a \u2018blurb\u2019 or \u2018back cover copy\u2019 or \u2018all that text I have to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[469],"tags":[206,436,430,350,351,438,205],"table_tags":[],"class_list":["post-729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-author-how","tag-antagonist","tag-blurb","tag-book-descriptions","tag-call-to-action","tag-cta","tag-hook","tag-protagonist"],"yoast_head":"\nCapture Readers With Fiction Book Descriptions - Draft2Digital | Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For authors, few tools in the publishing tool belt have more sway over a would-be reader than your book descriptions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/capture-readers-with-better-book-descriptions-for-fiction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Capture Readers With Fiction Book Descriptions - Draft2Digital | Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For authors, few tools in the publishing tool belt have more sway over a would-be reader than your book descriptions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/capture-readers-with-better-book-descriptions-for-fiction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Draft2Digital | Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/draft2digital\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-08-24T18:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-14T00:08:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Untitled-design-17.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin Tumlinson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@draft2digital\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@draft2digital\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin Tumlinson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/capture-readers-with-better-book-descriptions-for-fiction\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/capture-readers-with-better-book-descriptions-for-fiction\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin Tumlinson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4cdb9f318435fe94137e15a3c0caf342\"},\"headline\":\"Capture Readers With Fiction Book Descriptions\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-24T18:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-14T00:08:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/capture-readers-with-better-book-descriptions-for-fiction\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2820,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/capture-readers-with-better-book-descriptions-for-fiction\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/Untitled-design-17.png\",\"keywords\":[\"antagonist\",\"blurb\",\"book descriptions\",\"call to action\",\"CTA\",\"hook\",\"protagonist\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Author How-To & Mindset\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/capture-readers-with-better-book-descriptions-for-fiction\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/capture-readers-with-better-book-descriptions-for-fiction\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/capture-readers-with-better-book-descriptions-for-fiction\\\/\",\"name\":\"Capture Readers With Fiction Book Descriptions - 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