How to Write a Book Description and Sell your Book
Book description makes the first impression of the book; it’s the first thing readers see besides the book’s cover. It has a great impact on whether a person will buy it or not. Therefore, the author should put a lot of effort into the book’s description. If you are going to release a book, take the description part as seriously as the content of your book.
Remember that a great catchy description is an excellent promotion for your book. You can make readers buy it with only a few paragraphs of text. But if the description is boring and unclear, it can spoil the image of your book, even if the content is interesting and useful. If you want to make a bestseller, the right description is a key instrument for success.
It’s not easy to compose a short, wholesome description, but it will definitely worth it. Remember, it’s not about retelling the content of the book; it’s about promoting it to the readers. Literally, it’s a marketing tool to sell the book, so don’t neglect writing a great description, if you want your book to be popular.
How to Create a Book Description for Any Kind of Book
It doesn’t matter, what kind of do you have – nonfiction or fiction – these tips will work for any of it. In the next chapters, we will get more specific, and now learn some general rules for writing a book description that is quite important to know.
Make it brief
Don’t try to write another book on the cover of the first. Three short paragraphs will be enough to introduce your work to the readers. Try to fit in 200-250 words, avoid unnecessary details, and very general information.
Don’t write in first person
ou should write a description in the third person regardless of the type of storytelling in the book. It will be more understandable and readable for the audience.
Use simple wording
Don’t confuse readers with difficult terms or complicated thoughts out of context. Your description should be simple and easy to understand. Show your writing skills inside the book and present the necessary information at its cover.
Make the first sentence hook readers
It works with books, articles, essays, and descriptions as well. The opening sentence makes the first impression of the text. Therefore, it shouldn’t be boring and too general. Make readers excited to read the whole description and then the whole book. Show the tone of voice used in your book, catch the reader’s attention immediately.
Use power words
Some words are more emotional than others, they can reflect happiness, humor, passion, success, power, simplicity, beauty, prestige. Search for them on the internet and include a couple in your book description. They will help you bring the message and the idea of your book to the audience.
Talking about the internet, if you place your description on some website, include all the keywords people can use while searching for the material they need. Include simple keywords that reflect the theme of your book; in this manner, it’s going to be easier to find your book on Google.
Writing a Great Description for Nonfiction Book
There are some differences between successful description for nonfiction and fiction books. Nonfiction description is focused on presenting the purpose of the book, the main points of it, the author. So, if you are dealing with this kind of work, here are some specific tips for you.
Focus on relevance
What benefit will the reader get from your book? Why is it useful and necessary to read? Explain it in the description. Show all the advantages, present the professional value, make a reader choose your book over the others.
Present yourself as an expert
Show your value to readers as an author of the book, convince them that they can trust you. The author’s personality is quite important when it comes to nonfiction.
Writing a Good Description for Fiction Book
This kind of description requires more creativity than the previous one. It should be exciting and intriguing, presenting the hint of the book’s plot in such a way that will make readers want to know the whole story. There is a huge selection of fiction at book stores and on websites, so be ready for serious competition. A good description can make you a winner. Here are recommendations on how to create your description successfully.
Make readers understand the genre
People should clearly understand what they are going to read. Is it a romantic novel or a futuristic detective thriller? Don’t leave them confused; focus on the main storyline. If your book is about fighting cruel aliens and saving the Earth, don’t focus on the subplot with relationships between characters.
Keep the climax covert
Don’t rewrite the whole story in your description and definitely don’t reveal what happens at the end. It will be a big spoiler, and readers will lose a reason to buy your book. Make a hint, leave readers wondering. Remember, it is a promotion, not a review.
It Won’t Be Perfect on the First Try
Don’t feel bad if you won’t make it right at the beginning. Learning how to present your work takes time, and it’s normal to make mistakes. Therefore, you won’t create a wholesome description in 5 minutes; it takes a lot of practice.
Here is an exercise for you – choose several books (you can pick your favorite ones) and read their descriptions a few times. What do you like about them? You can write down the main points that have got your attention. Think what makes these descriptions great, do they follow the rules mentioned before? When you are done with analyzing, it’s time to practice.
Write down a description for your book, but not only one example, create three, four, five variants. Yes, they all should be different, but for the one book. Then ask your friends to read your description and give their opinions about it. Ask your coworkers or classmates would they buy you a book with a description you made. It’s very important to know how other people see it because your main purpose is to sell your book to strangers. Get feedback, listen to advice, make some edits.
Try again and again, make a lot of variations, and you will definitely succeed with your book description.
