[Jack Krenneck]

I'm always on the lookout for blurb tips from someone who's sold a ton of books. Suffice to say, I don't turn much up. People who are selling books are usually busy writing their next bestseller. However, I found this yesterday:

http://writershelpingwriters.net/2014/08/blurbs-bore-blurbs-blare/

Some of it is definitely not how I would have worded it (you'll know that bit when you see it) but that doesn't mean it isn't correct. As for the rest, it shows what's really important in a blurb. Pretty much everything else is a non-issue in terms of sales.

 

[Tim McGregor]

Check out Libby Hawker's book "Take off your pants". Best blurb advice ever!

 

[Guest]

Just a point worth considering.

The bestselling books I've seen amongst indie authors - a larger and larger number use the blurb to promote their email newsletter and their other books, and whatever offers and sales they might have.

They don't really care too much about telling you what the book is about or impressing you with their mastery of language conveyed via the blurb.

That, in my rather limited world view, is what works best.

If authors spent as much time improving their covers, as they do improving their blurbs, they'd sell a lot more.
Just a point of feedback. That's all, and in my limited world view.

Also,

1) If you must focus on your blurb, this advice is great advice:

That is IT, people. The outside of your book--the cover design, the spine, the lettering, EVERYTHING--is for one purpose: to separate readers from their money. Your blurb is part of that. And its part of the job is (again):

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.


2) If readers don't like your cover and click on it, they aren't going to read your blurb.
If you don't have good reviews, they aren't going to read your blurb.

 

[I'm a Little Teapot]

Check out Libby Hawker's book "Take off your pants". Best blurb advice ever!

That's Libby's outlining book (and it is awesome). The blurb book is Gotta Read It!

 

[Kirkee]

I have stated this before, but to me the blurb matters far more than the cover. I have never ever
bought a book when I didn't care for the blurb; but have bought dozens, if not hundreds of books over the years with a lousy cover (by that I mean some of those Grove covers were the worst: nothing on there but the title & name of author, etc.).
Yes, if you can put a strong cover on there, do it, but it is never a deal-breaker for me & never will be. And when it comes to indies: if it looks like the writer did it, slapped it together to save forty bucks...this is not going to help; in other words, that blurb better be good enough to make up for it.

Jack, thanks for the tip. You were a huge help to me, by the way, as you well know.
I can do burbs, but they tend to be either too long & way too packed, or else kinda on the short side. I do prefer a shorter blurb, but one that hooks big time.

Also, please keep in mind, folks: all those Black Sparrow Press books (started & owned by John Martin) never had a singe word on the back. Ever. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And Bukowski still sold. Millions of books. I didn't matter to us that there was no blurb, so long as Bukowski's name was on the front cover (& those covers weren't great, either, by the way.) Am talking about Post Office, Ham on Rye, Factotum, Love Is a Dog from Hell, Hollywood, et al.

My two pennies.

 

[Jack Krenneck]

Just a point worth considering.

The bestselling books I've seen amongst indie authors - a larger and larger number use the blurb to promote their email newsletter and their other books, and whatever offers and sales they might have.

I've seen this too. I think it is becoming more popular - but my impression is that it's still only about 1 or 2% of blurbs. The blurb can be a good place for this kind of stuff because it has the most eyeballs on it. The bio section, review section etc. don't get anywhere near as many hits.

2) If readers don't like your cover and click on it, they aren't going to read your blurb.
If you don't have good reviews, they aren't going to read your blurb.

This isn't my experience. The cover of my first book is ordinary. But it does speak strongly to genre. I think, so long as the cover isn't bad, and that it speaks to genre, it does the job of getting people to check out the blurb. An awesome cover will probably only bring in a trickle of extra sales on Amazon. Advertsing sites are different.

Here are some sales figures, sales rank and review numbers for that book with the ordinary cover. There was no advertising (which would have been less successful because of the ordinary cover and lack of reviews):

Day 1. 3 sales. SR 84000. Reviews 0
Day 10. 48 sales. SR 12000. Reviews 0
Day 16. 163 sales. SR 6563. Reviews 1
Day 20. 300 sales. SR 4142. Reviews 2
Day 40. 896 sales. SR 5531. Reviews 4
Day 55 1912 sales. SR 5714. Reviews 4 (After Countdown special - but not advertized anywhere)

I'd had good sales and reached the Epic Fantasy bestseller list with an ordinary (but satisfactory) cover and two reviews. So, from my perspective you can see why I think covers and reviews are overrated as a selling tool - on Amazon.

 

[Guest]

1) Good point - I've seen this too. I think it is becoming more popular - but my impression is that it's still only about 1 or 2% of blurbs. The blurb can be a good place for this kind of stuff because it has the most eyeballs on it. The bio section, review section etc. don't get anywhere near as many hits.

Yes, perhaps it's a function of getting the most eyeballs.

2) Interesting the results you see.

It's very hard to say. I only look at books in aggregate and at trends, because we curate so many books every day. Perhaps for your book it's different. The overall trend, across all books, is that covers and reviews are the two big things.

3) How can we determine

a) What your book would have done with an improved cover and lots of reviews?

b) Whether your book is selling well because cover and reviews don't matter, or inspite of those drawbacks?

******

4) This question of what works on advertising sites versus Amazon in general is a good question. Don't have any answers for that. I think only Amazon can share data o what sells and how book sales change once they get different covers and more reviews.

 

[Jack Krenneck]

Yes, if only Amazon shared stats with us it would make our job easier.

Just to be clear, I do think the cover is important. I also think reviews help. But in my experience (and from my observations) the blurb and the look inside feature carry a lot more weight. Especially for authors trying to break into the market. Established authors have a little more leeway.

 

[Kirkee]

I'll give you another example, guys. (I hope my friend Tricia doesn't get upset with me) but her book The Stolen Dog has a nice enough cover. OK? Nothing amazing, nothing that says: Wow! This is one absolutely well-written book.

So why did I buy it? Yes, I like Bostons (but I also like pit bulls & other breeds), but that wasn't the sole & major reason. No way. I read the blurb & there was no doubt in my mind: had to buy the book. Yes, I did it partly to help out a member, but mainly, so help me--it was the blurb. Storyline. Hooked me & pulled me right in. I needed to know what happened to this woman & the pet she loved so much.

Off the top of my head: here's another: UGLY cover. For years. Nausea by Jean Paul Sarte. This publisher had the ugliest, most unappealing covers for decades--& still do. I got the book & read it, simply because I'd read something else by this writer & knew he would deliver. Yes, that other cover wasn't much, either: just some B&W photo they slapped on there, etc. The Wall. Check it out. One of the greatest short story collections I ever read.

It's about being able to relate in some way, and the blurb will do this--unless you happen to be a writer whose work I respect & know will not let me down.

Jack, are your books in paper? I don't read on my kindle, buddy. Yeah, I'm still Old School.

 

[Sever Bronny]

Good read, thanks for sharing

 

[EthanRussellErway]

I always look for good advice on blurbs, I hate writing them.  Thanks.

 

[Usedtoposthere]

You know, I'm gonna link to my blurb post again, because some Romance folks have said it helps. (I used to be a copywriter.)
This is just one way; there are, of course, many ways. But I do deconstruct it. Hope it helps.

http://www.rosalindjames.com/how-to-write-a-romance-blurb/

Oh, OK. The blurb I use as an example--the book got to--I think #230? On Amazon on release; and to the #30s somewhere during a promo; spent almost 6 months in the Top 100 in Romantic Suspense on Amazon. So--between the cover & the blurb, I sold a lot of books. It was #2 in a new series for me; not what I was known for at all. So it WAS the blurb & cover as much as my author name, if that gives my advice some cred.

 

[Jack Krenneck]

Jack, are your books in paper? I don't read on my kindle, buddy. Yeah, I'm still Old School.

They're in paper - I'm old school too. The covers look so much better as well, but that's probably because there's something a little bit more emotional/tangible about feeling the weight of something in your hand that represents so much work. A thumbnail can't match that...

 

[Jack Krenneck]

You know, I'm gonna link to my blurb post again, because some Romance folks have said it helps. (I used to be a copywriter.)
This is just one way; there are, of course, many ways. But I do deconstruct it. Hope it helps.

http://www.rosalindjames.com/how-to-write-a-romance-blurb/

Oh, OK. The blurb I use as an example--the book got to--I think #230? On Amazon on release; and to the #30s somewhere during a promo; spent almost 6 months in the Top 100 in Romantic Suspense on Amazon. So--between the cover & the blurb, I sold a lot of books. It was #2 in a new series for me; not what I was known for at all. So it WAS the blurb & cover as much as my author name, if that gives my advice some cred.

I've read your tips quite a few times - I like them.

Pretty much everything there, except the shifting POV between hero/heroine which is a romance thing, applies to any genre.

 

[Michael J Elliott]

I'm always on the lookout for blurb tips from someone who's sold a ton of books. Suffice to say, I don't turn much up. People who are selling books are usually busy writing their next bestseller. However, I found this yesterday:

http://writershelpingwriters.net/2014/08/blurbs-bore-blurbs-blare/

Some of it is definitely not how I would have worded it (you'll know that bit when you see it) but that doesn't mean it isn't correct. As for the rest, it shows what's really important in a blurb. Pretty much everything else is a non-issue in terms of sales.

I just signed up for their newsletter and bookmarked the site, it looks very helpful. I've also bought Libby's book but have yet to read it, thanks to the posters who informed us that it also contains great blurb advice

 

[Sophrosyne]

IMO:

The cover gets people to click on your book and read the blurb.

The blurb gets people to read the opening sample page(s).

The sample pages get people to buy the book.

The reviews are what people turn to when they're on the fence about buying the book.

If your cover, blurb and sample pages are at odds with each other, you're going to lose sales.

 

[Kirkee]

Bookmarked your page, Ros. Love your covers, even though I don't
read in your genre, etc. But am certainly tempted.

Anyone know if Lib's book is available in paper? The lady's intellect just
plain knocks me out. I get this way about anyone who is sharp & works
hard & is wiling to share. Cool peeps. What it comes down to.

I believe I misspelled Jean-Paul Sartre's name in the earlier post. Can't
do that to the "Father of Existentialism." Right?

Ros, you're absolutely right about revising & revising the doggone blurb
until it's just right--& it better not look like you sweated over it, either.
Pull 'em in. Hook the reader. I have been "seduced" by blurbs no longer than
three or four relatively brief sentences. Dan Fante's Chump Change was one of
those. Ordered it through 'Zon & I remember reading it at the time & running
late for the day gig (this was many moons ago), but it didn't matter to me. I
HAD to finish the thing & did.
Believe me, once again, the cover was nothing to cheer about. The blurb & subject
matter got me. Bingo!

Again, am not going to knock a good cover. Our covers need to be just as attractive
as anything put out by the trad-pub wolves with deep pockets.

 

[Jack Krenneck]

IMO:

The cover gets people to click on your book and read the blurb.

The blurb gets people to read the opening sample page(s).

The sample pages get people to buy the book.

The reviews are what people turn to when they're on the fence about buying the book.

If your cover, blurb and sample pages are at odds with each other, you're going to lose sales.

No arguments here. I think that's about right.

But, I would add a point. At each of those steps a book is in a life and death struggle with its competition. Assuming a cover is good (and most of the competition does have good covers these days) what more can it tell a reader about the type of book it represents?

For instance, I'm an avid epic fantasy reader. The Game of Throne Covers looked great. But the blurbs didn't catch me, at all. Still, I forced myself to try to read book one (as a learning exercise) and failed. The writing is anathema to my personal taste. But the cover didn't (couldn't possibly) convey that.

The blurb and look inside feature is where a reader gets a proper taste of the book. That's the place where an author has a real chance to separate themselves from the pack - and that's why I give those factors more weight.

 

[Lisa Blackwood]

IMO:

The cover gets people to click on your book and read the blurb.

The blurb gets people to read the opening sample page(s).

The sample pages get people to buy the book.

The reviews are what people turn to when they're on the fence about buying the book.

If your cover, blurb and sample pages are at odds with each other, you're going to lose sales.

Yes, this. That's always how I find new authors. Cover catches my eye, if blurb sounds interesting I move on to the sample chapters, and then maybe look at reviews. Now, if it's from an author I know and love, the cover and blurb are far less important. (however, I do like to know a few details about the characters/world--maybe that's a fantasy/sci-fi reader thing.

 

[Tim McGregor]

Thanks for catching my mistake, Seven.
Writing sales copy is tough no matter how you cut it.