Why Book Descriptions Matter: Book Descriptions That Sell & How To Write Them
Starting a book and finally finishing it comes with the excitement and fulfillment that comes with knowing you’ve created a masterpiece.
But, there’s one more thing: how do you convince a stranger to try and give your book a second thought after picking it from a bookshelf in a random store or scrolling through Amazon? Two words-- Book Description.
You might ask, “What is a book description?”. Of course, even if you’re a new writer, you must have seen many good and great book descriptions because writers are also readers. So, the right question is instead, “what is a great book description?”.
It would be best to aim for your book to have a great book description because it goes beyond describing the book; it is one effective way to advertise your book.
An excellent book description is the part of a book that convinces the reader to give the book a try. Writing a book description isn’t easy because you’re either thinking you’re not writing enough or providing too much information.
That makes authors the least suitable to write their books’ descriptions, save for a few authors who step out of themselves to write good descriptions for their books.
Another critical question you may be asking at this point, knowing that your book description is supposed to be an ad, is, “how would you describe a book to make it sell?”. Well, here are tips to help you write good book descriptions:
How To Write A Description For A Book
A good book description should be able to get the reader hooked. Most readers wouldn’t read past the first line if it’s boring, and you can bet they would drop the book afterward as you haven’t been able to convince them that your book is worth looking into.
Of course, there’s a secret to writing a hook for your book description; and it’s the use of irony. You may talk about the main character in your book in an ironic light
Another secret to writing a great hook is using one compelling claim or an astonishing fact from the book.
How would you write a book description in the third person’s point of view? By registering as though it weren’t your book. Even if the book’s content has been written in the first person, always keep in mind that your book description is an ad and, therefore, requires it to sound like the third person.
Being brief with your book description would help you not give out too much and keep it at the correct length for your reader.
You also won’t bore them, and you’ll give them enough insights to make them want to get the book. A description of three short paragraphs of not more than 150 words would be just right.
Most readers would scan through a website page, and as such, you’d expect that they wouldn’t just see your book description and go, “oh, wait!” without being given a tangible reason.
Correct spacings, bold texts, bullet points, or any other type of highlighting can help make your book description meaningful to any reader. This remains true whether they’re scanning through it or reading it word for word. They also make it easier to sift out points and information.
Most times, people use exclamation marks to relay excitement. However, having a ton of them in your book description would either come off as overselling or screams; and no reader would appreciate being screamed at.
While you’re overly excited about your book, keep in mind that you still have to convince your reader. Exclamation marks used scarcely can achieve this and further relay the authenticity of your book.
The proper use of keywords gives birth to best-selling books. Let’s face it, the whole grammar around Metadata can be daunting and confusing; but think of how readers at bookstores search for books by checking out titles and blurbs in sections. In the same vein, online readers use phrases to search for books.
How would you describe a book using keywords? It gets easy once you know how it works; because different keywords are associated with different genres of books.
Google is always your friend, but there are several eye-catching keywords for both fiction and non-fiction books. For example, description examples include “passion,” “epic,” “fantasy,” “vision,” “simple steps,” etc.
Also, in the spirit of searching through Google for the right keywords, you might want to look up some topics that may direct readers to your book. This is especially helpful for non-fiction books.
For example, an action genre would need to relate to life-threatening situations. At the same time, a fantasy book could use some magic, etc.
You will only succeed in getting a reader to roll their eyes and let out a sigh of disgust if they feel like you’re making a book sound better than it is. And who wants that?
Being verbose does not make a good book description; simple and straightforward terms are enough. But if you’re looking to captivate a reader, then highlight an intriguing plot from the book; and that would be all the magic you need to convince a reader to buy your book.
Connecting emotionally with your reader would involve appealing to their pain or whatever emotions they’re looking to soothe.
If you’re able to touch their pain in the exact ways they need, you can engage them; and this is mainly for non-fiction books.
The simple way to create an emotional connection with your reader is by outlining the exact emotion or pain the book aims to tackle.
Be direct and clear about how your book solves your reader’s pain. It could be how it would help them speak in public, make new friends easily, get rich, transform their thought process, etc.
People are looking for a reason to move on to the next thing; make sure your book description doesn’t help them. Instead, give them something to look forward to; it will, in turn, lead them to buy your book.
You can only create an open loop after stating the problem or pain and show that you can solve it without entirely giving away the solution. It’s like a cliffhanger; it’s more like telling your reader all they have to gain from the book while leaving out the “how.”
It leaves room for the kind of curiosity that would make a reader want to take a book home and attentively go through its pages.
There’s a need to appeal to your reader and know why they should read your book. Famous or older authors often use this part to their advantage, as you see sentences like “The New York Times best-selling author” or “from the author of...”.
However, you may still find something that makes you worthy, especially if you’re a first-time author and an expert in the field you’re writing about.
Keep in mind that the book description is about the book and not about the author. If you talk about yourself, be sure to keep it brief and remember to address yourself in the third person.
To be on the safe side, make out space below your book description to talk about the author; this way, you won’t take the attention away from the actual teaser.
An endorsement for a book description is a precise paragraph by someone whom the reader would recognize, say another famous writer. A testimonial, however, is usually a short blurb by someone who has read the book and has got help from reading the book. One of these features is significant in enhancing a book’s description.
You’ve probably come across a book description with spelling errors. The inevitable question that would come to mind would involve imagining the type of errors in the book if its description can afford a few. Don’t confirm a reader’s doubts about your book by giving them one avoidable reason.
- Practice!
Reading about how to write book descriptions without actually practicing would not yield results. You have to practice writing a book description more times than one. And even after you’ve got the one that sounds right, you need to read it several times to make sure it’s the right one for your book. Also, be sure to show your colleagues and friends, to get their suggestions.
Now that you’ve known how to write a good book description, here’s why good book descriptions matter:
Why You Need A Good Book Description
Knowing the importance of a good book description is necessary because it is one of the most effective forms of marketing your book. It’s the final conviction process for your reader. It’s not enough that you have a heavy online presence with a ton of followers. If a reader rolls their eyes at your book description, you can rest assured they won’t spend another thought on the book.
So, you would need to know the things a good book description can do for your book; and we’re sharing a few below:
Often times, people go online in search of books because it’s easy to find reviews for books thanks to platforms such as the New York Times, The Paris Review, and Goodreads. However, when readers can't find reviews on certain books from the platforms mentioned above, they tend to turn to Amazon for the book description.
And you would know that a standard amazon book description isn’t quite the length most writers would need to put their thoughts about their books together. Still, it indeed is a great marketing tool you would want in your corner.
If your book description turns out good, it will find its way into the staff recommendations of bookstores.
And you don’t need an announcement to tell you that most readers walk into bookstores without having any book(s) in mind and depend mainly on the bookstores’ staff’s recommendations. So, as the team does their part, be sure your book description seals the deal.
Kindle devices often use ebooks, and most readers seek new ebooks for their devices on the Amazon website. Ebooks that use a marketable language in writing compelling book descriptions are more accessible to readers, and as a result make more sales. In some cases a great book description can increase a book's sales over 50%. It’s vital if you’re trying to make your amazon ebook page visible on Google or self-publishing on kindle.
The Alternative Options
Because writers aren’t great at writing good book descriptions for their books, book description generators and templates have come to exist. But a book description generator doesn’t necessarily describe your book. Instead, it works with a code that it gives you to use on a platform that sells ebooks, which, in turn, generates a formatted description that will help attract readers to your book.
In addition to these generators, some people provide the service of writing great book descriptions. And just like editors, they’re the other pair of eyes that would see that your book is perfectly summarized without either adding too much or giving so little.
One of the brands or companies that can get you a great book description is the Publish Pages Services. We are a team of writers, so you’re sure we understand what it means to be passionate about your art, especially when writing a book.
With Publish Pages Services, you can rest assured that every aspect that concerns writing an excellent book description for your book will be met. And in turn, convert a browsing shopper into an actual buyer!
We also offer to edit a detailed book outlining, beta reading, sensitivity reading, and book manuscript services with zero plagiarism. Let us help you hook the attention of your readers, and turn them into buyers. Contact us today.