Literally no writer I have ever worked with (at present count, officially as an editor, this is over a hundred) has relished writing the back cover. None of them anticipated writing their back cover with glee and excitement. And yet, writing the back cover signifies you’re near the end of your writing process. Isn’t that a good thing?
While they are stuck in writing and revision, most writers would think so. However, if you polled writers for their list of top fears, the list might look something like this:
- Marketing.
- Reviews.
- Bad reviews.
- The Editor (dressed as the Big Bad Wolf from Red Riding Hood).
- Revision.
- Rejection.
- Factual mistakes.
- Typos.
Guess where the back cover falls in that list? That’s right, it’s in the number one category: marketing.
Scary!
But writing a back cover doesn’t need to be scary or dreadful. Let’s look at five tips for writing a back cover you and your readers will love…without pain or bloodshed.
Tip Number One: Suggest, not Summarize
Your back cover is not the place to summarize the contents of your book.
Your back cover is not the place to summarize the contents of your book. What you want to do is *suggest*. #bookmarketing #indieauthors #bookpublishing Share on XThat’s too much information. Too much information means too much work. Readers who feel like they’re working too hard to understand what you’re saying will check out instead of diving in for more.
You want to suggest what readers are getting. Set the mood, give the inciting incident, drop the Big Question you’re going to answer. And DON’T ANSWER IT.
Your book is the answer.
Tip Number Two: Create a Hook
The question you’re answering should be irresistible and intriguing enough that we commit to your book to get the answer.
If you’ve ever seen a headline and thought, “Clickbait,” that’s the kind of effect you’re going for (but without actually being clickbait…see Tip #4).
The question your back cover poses should be irresistible and intriguing enough that we commit to your book to get the answer. #bookmarketing #bookpublishing Share on XYou need to immediately grab your reader’s attention. You want this from the very first sentence.
Since lots of book discovery takes place online these days, include some keywords for your genre or topic (see Tip #3).
Tip Number Three: Meet Your Audience (Expectations)
Books don’t live in a void. All genres (and therefore all readers) come with expectations. True crime readers want something, romance readers want something, business book readers want something…not the same things.
What does your reader expect from this kind of book? Identify what your reader gets out of the experience. (Nonfiction books can consider bullet points!)
Tip Number Four: Short and Sweet
Back cover copy is printed in a limited space. You will have to leave something out, whether it looks too crowded or just because you’ve hit physical limitations.
Writing short is difficult. If writing short weren’t difficult, advertising executives wouldn’t get paid thousands (millions?) of dollars for three-word phrases. For most of us, it’s easier to write a bit long at first and then go back and tighten things up.
Keep it short and sweet: aim for 150 words or less. You might find it easier to blurt a bunch of ideas & come back to get rid of the less interesting bits later. #bookmarketing #backcover #writingcommunity Share on XLikewise, you’ll probably find it easier to blurt a whole bunch of ideas for your back cover copy, and then come back and get rid of the less interesting bits later.
Keep it short and sweet: aim for 150 words or less, so you preserve white space and legibility (and so you stick with suggestion, not summary).
You know the person at the party who can’t shut up? Don’t let your back cover be that person.
Tip Number Five: Honesty
I’ve picked up books that sounded great in the blurb, only to be disappointed once I started reading. I was disappointed because those books weren’t at all like the story I was expecting to read.
Yes, you want your back cover to be catchy; yes, you want to keep it short and sweet, and lean into genre expectations. And you also need to tease your actual book.
Not the idea of your book. Not what you wish your book was. Not what sounds like your version of someone else’s book. *Your* book.
When I talk about being honest, I mean more than being accurate about what we might call “the facts of the case”: character names, plot points, key pieces of information.
I’m also, perhaps more so, talking about the intangibles:
- the tone of the book
- your author voice
- the theme of your story
Not everyone is going to love your book. That’s okay. Your true readers are going to love it, and a small group of hardcore enthusiastic fans will do way more for you than a large, diffuse layer of “meh.”
Your back cover should be true in spirit as well as in technicalities. I know it can be tempting to fudge. But here’s a thought: if the fudge is that appealing to you, how about writing it into the book in the first place?
Bottom Line: Banish the Bogeyman
Writing your back cover doesn’t need to be scary, terrible, or confusing. Truthfully, with a good back cover copy, you’re doing your reader a service. You’re not only suggesting all the awesome goodies that are inside (relevant to your audience so they recognize themselves), you’re showing them through your tone and style what they’re going to get once they begin to read.
What is that most well-worn piece of advice—show, don’t tell?
Use these tips to write a killer back cover without bloodshed. Show us how it’s done.
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Need some help with your back cover? Let’s get the brainstorm party started.
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