Michaelbrent Collings said it well: The only purpose of the back blurb is to raise a question that can ONLY BE ANSWERED when the reader BUYS and FINISHES the book.
It seems as though I’ve read far too many blurbs lately that tell me too much. They name too many characters and give me way too much information on how the plot will turn out. We all know that a true romance story always has a happy ending. But the readers still want the hint, the possibility, the fear that in this book these characters won’t be able to solve their problems before time runs out.
The whole point of the blurb is to hook the reader, not to tell the story. The book tells the story. Blurbs should be short. In the olden days they were three very brief paragraphs. One about the heroine, one about the hero and the third about the plot. These days they might only be one paragraph.
The only things you need in the blurb are the genre (readers get cross if they think it’s a paranormal and it turns out to be historical), the mood (spooky, suspenseful, lighthearted), and the hook (that’s why they’ll buy the book).
Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com
Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.
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