How to Write a Book Blurb

Written by Colleen Riordan

Updated 3 years ago

A blurb is another term for paragraph pitch for your story used to intrigue readers. It's used on your book's back cover, on bookstore websites, in press articles, and more.

Every published book has one.

Every unpublished book needs one.

A blurb can be a useful marketing tool. If you can condense your story down to 150-250 words and leave us on a cliffhanger, you can talk about your book six ways to Sunday to literally anyone. It’s about knowing your story AND your audience.

The term blurb is also used for the short quotes from other authors and well-known people that grace the front cover of a book. The one discussed in this article is specifically about the back cover blurb.

Blurbs for fiction usually establish:
⁃ Protagonist, what they want, & the obstacles in the way
⁃ Context that makes this story special
⁃ Main themes
⁃ Setup for a plot twist

Blurbs for non-fiction, non-plot, or character-centric books typically include:
⁃ Main topics
⁃ Main themes
⁃ Reader's experience of the story

Watch the video below to learn how to craft a blurb for your books.

Write your book blurb. Download the worksheet below and take some time to answer the questions. You’ll use your answers to draft up your book blurb.

DOWNLOAD: Write Your Blurb Worksheet

If you already have a blurb—written by you or your publisher—you don’t need to start from scratch. Instead, review your current blurb through the lens of this lesson. If it doesn't hit all the marks, write a new one. It may not end up on the back cover of your book, but you can always use variations of your blurb on other promotional materials like your website to provide a clearer pitch to readers.

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