HOW-TO WRITE THE DEFINITIVE FICTION BOOK DESCRIPTION
Why is a Book Description important?
Further to our blog on writing A Killer Non-Fiction Book Description, this piece is tailored to the needs of novelists and How-To Write The Definitive Fiction Book Description.
Let’s be clear what a book description is NOT! It is not a summary of your book, nor is it something that is cobbled together just to fill the space. Your potential reader loves your book cover – that’s why they clicked on it. You now have to encourage them to click the BUY button. Usually, a great book description will do this!
If it sucks, then the reader will move on to another book.
Nearly all book descriptions are written in the present tense.
How to Create a Fiction Book Description
First paragraph
FIRST SENTENCE
The first line needs to contain the hook. It has to pique your reader’s interest so that they have no choice but to read on. When a reader lands on your Amazon page, only the first few lines of your book description will show up, before it gets cut off. You don’t have many words to convince a potential reader to click ‘Read More’.
To best achieve this, you need to include all the following in the first line:
WHAT THE MAIN CHARACTER WANTS
WHAT IS IN HIS WAY?
WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IF HE DOESN’T GET WHAT HE WANTS
SECOND SENTENCE
This sentence needs to be short. What has our hero been doing? Example: “Helen Taylor never saw the break-up coming”.
THIRD SENTENCE
In this sentence, we need to know what the protagonist’s life has been like up till now. Example: “With her job of 15 years no longer available, she has no option but to move back to her sleepy English village”.
FOURTH SENTENCE
This last sentence in the first paragraph contains the Inciting Incident, an event that occurs, in relation to your protagonist, near to the beginning of your story, which sets that story moving in a different direction. The word ‘inciting’ is used because the event which occurs incites your protagonist towards a new course of action.
Example: “But when the spaceships appeared in every major city, Daniel knew the glowing orb was more than a myth; it was life and death”.
Second Paragraph
FIRST SENTENCE
Here, the reader needs to know how the protagonist is dealing emotionally with this incident. Example: “Following the clues to a shady warehouse, Tara wonders if she’s ready to face the dark truth”.
With most novels, the reader needs a protagonist who they care about. Even in the book description, readers need to feel the hero is struggling.
SECOND SENTENCE
In the hook, we knew there was going to be an obstacle. This is it! It thwarts the hero from getting what she wants. Example: “But when an awful secret spills her army apart, Princess Evelyn may have no choice but to face her terror alone to keep her mother’s neck from the axe”. Keep it vague. By saying ‘may’, it might happen or it might not. Keep it to the anatagonist and hero’s journeys.
THIRD SENTENCE
This is where you need an even bigger cliffhanger. The protagonist or everyone might die.
Call To Action
CEMENTING THE DEAL WITH A CALL TO ACTION
Remind the reader of the book again and its genre with the call to action (CTA). Example: “If you like amateur sleuths, small town gossip and plenty of red herrings, you’ll love this laugh-out-loud cozy from Janet Wise”.
Some authors will go further. For instance, a thriller writer might say in the CTA “If you like Lee Child and David Baldacci, you’ll love this tense, suspenseful thriller from Colin Jones”.
Don’t forget that Dave Chesson at Kindlepreneur has the Book Description Generator which uploads your finished piece and it takes care of all the HTML code needed to upload to online platforms like Amazon.
Be sure to click “Once you finish your description, click here to see if AI can improve it!” You may be pleasantly surprised.
If you’ve found this blog valuable, please share and join me for future forays into the field of self-publishing.
If creating a Book Description is something you’d rather leave to a pro, then our copywriting experts can help you and formulate a ready-made sales description for your book for just £119.
Facebook
LinkedIn
Graham Cann is a #1 international best selling author and CEO of Chas Cann Publishers
Affiliate Disclosure
I earn a small commission on some product links on my blog pages at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I use now, have used in the past or would use if there was a personal need. The extra pennies help with the coffee fund.
