The little piece of story found on the back of a book is called the back cover blurb, well that’s what we call it anyway. These few sentences have a lot of work to do. Their job is a continuation from the front cover.
The front cover shoots out the tractor beam drawing the reader in with its irresistible call and gets them to pick up the book from there, it’s up to the back cover to seal the deal.
So how do you write a great, no an amazing, no an award winning blurb? By boiling your book down to the most intriguing one to three paragraph summary, without spoilers, and lots of foreshadowing.
Introduce your main point of view character, set the scene, hint at the character’s ghost (hidden past, trauma, loss) and the give them a taste of the plot.
Doing some heavy in the trenches research is going to lead to a big payoff here. Take your handy dandy notebook (yes, that’s a blues clues reference) and held to your nearest bookstore or library. Virtual visits and research is accepted.
Look at books from the genre you are writing in. How long, what’s the structure, what elements of the story are covered, what point of view is used?
Your blurb should leave the reader with unanswered questions and a connection to a character. I know this is really difficult in just a few paragraphs. That’s why you need to research and write it over and over. Have people review it. Have followers vote on versions before choosing one.
Fighting For A Chance To Dream 