Back Cover Blurb. Huh?
I have written two blog posts about blurbs, trying each time to learn, but to apply what I learn to my own back cover blurbs.
So here I am again. For book three in my The Great Escapee Series.
But, I’ll start at the beginning.
What’s a back cover blurb anyway? Shoulda defined that in the very first blog post about them.
Flip your current read over to the back cover.
Yeah.
That’s the back cover blurb. Sometimes it’s just endorsements from other writers or influencers.
Easier to find and read than it is to write.
Hence, this is the third blog post about them. No author LOVES to write one.
That First Line–The Hook
The thing about blurbs is that, other than the cover and title, it is the thing that might, or might not, hook the reader into buying and reading your book.
Super important to get it right.
Super important to spend time doing it right.
For me, it’s the first line. I can’t even get started. If I could find that hook in the first line, I can write the rest. It’ll flow.
But that first line …
Samples of first lines:
“Ten years ago, four people were brutally murdered—one girl lived.” from The Girl Who Lived by Christopher Greyson. That’s a hook, for sure!
“Could you murder your wife to save your daughter?” from Her Last Tomorrow by Adam Croft. Crisp. Love it!
“There's a price on her head, and it has everything to do with the brand on her arm.” From Brand of Light by Ronie Kendig. Makes you want to find out.
“From the author of the New York Times bestselling Iscariot comes an award-winning novel that poses the question: if a demon came up to you and offered to tell his story, would you listen?” from Tosca Lee’s Demon: A Memoir. What a question!
My Blurb
So, as in the previous posts I have posted my blurb, the way it stands now, and then I update it.
Here is the blurb for Book 3, Restored, in The Great Escapee Series;
Clarence is set up. Again.
Just when he and Harold Dexter scheme to create an agency—Harold is the detective, and Clarence the put-em-away lawyer—Clarence is dragged away to prison … again.
This sets off a string of events: Katty digs through Clarence’s files to find a way to free him—only to be confronted with the shock of her life, and with Clarence out of the way, evil Phil has free access to Katty and his little girl, Bea.
Noell has to face her own nightmares and the reality of her gift—or is it a curse?
This is the third book in The Great Escapee Series.
Buy Restored to continue Clarence’s latest adventure today!
Fill in the Blanks
On Kindlepreneur How to Create A Back Book Cover Blurb That Sells, he says, “Nail that first line (or two)” It’s actually step six, but I’m starting … with the first line!
“Ask a question. Set a scene.” Or for nonfiction, “speak directly to the reader’s problems.” And, “Make a promise.”
So …
- Situation. Check. It’s brief and states the situation.
- Problem. It definitely is a problem to have to go back to prison.
- Hopeful Possibility. In my example above, I don’t see much hope.
- Mood. Scheme. Detective. Prison. Shock of her life. Evil. Nightmares. Gift—or is it a curse?
It’s all there. Except hope. Or even possibility.
Mine isn’t perfect, but I might leave it. For now.
I’ll get back to it.
The whole reason I started to blog on doing back cover blurbs, was that my read-through rate from Book 1, on through, is terrible. People buy the first book, or all three, but don’t proceed to the second or third. I need reviews on books 2 and 3, also.
Next blog post will be on Book 1 of Katty’s Trilogy ~
