The Structure of Your Book Description
There are many ways to write book descriptions (and lots of fads you can follow), but there are a limited number of things that your book description needs to do:
- Tell the reader about what emotions or experience they will get out of the book (which should include the genre or subgenre).
- Identify the main elements that readers care about so they can decide whether they feel like reading your book and not a different one in the same genre.
- Ask the reader to buy your book.
- Bonus: provide a little social proof that other people have liked your book.
There are lots of ways to tweak your book description to make it perform better, but if you hit the three main points above (and the bonus, when you can), you will always have a solid book description.
The things you can do to make your book description perform better than this involve watching for what’s popular and emphasizing those elements in your book descriptions when relevant—to jump on the current bandwagon, that is. The boost you can get from doing that can be huge…or it can be nothing.
I advise that you learn how to write a solid book descripton first before worrying about whether you should follow trends, if for no other reason than because following trends is much more effective when you can do so competently.
So let’s say you’re just starting out and you don’t have social proof (like reviews) that other people have liked your work. How should you structure your book description?
My advice?
Separate each of these four points into separate categories so it’s clear what each section of your book description is trying to accomplish.
Start with the big picture first, by hinting to the reader what emotions they’ll get if they read your book.
Then back up your hints with some details.
Finally, get the reader to buy your book!
(I’ll discuss what to do with your social proof after that.)
The Hook
I’ve spent a fair amout of time trying to figure out what a “hook” is. Mostly, people define a “hook” with fiction as “something that gets the reader’s attention.” Which is true, but begs the question: “So what gets people’s attention?”
Usually, if the person defining a hook addresses this second question at all, it’s something like, “Something unusual and unique.”
Which begs another question: “What makes something unusual and unique?”
It’s frustrating trying to get a definition of what a hook is! And it’s frustrating trying to come up with one. But here’s my best guess:
A hook is a hint that there is a perfectly-fitting solution to your problem.
In the case of fiction, a hook is a hint that the story will deliver exactly the emotions and experience that the reader wants to have (which includes the element of surprise).
You should have already identified three things that your story does that fit with your genre or subgenre, and one thing that’s off the wall or unusual. (If not, go do it now.) This is your hook, and it should go first. (Your primary keyword should go here, too—for the same reason.)
Don’t worry yet about how it’s written yet!
If the elements you cover are exactly what the reader is looking for, the reader is pretty likely to read your book and maybe review it and give it five stars. If it’s not exactly what the reader is looking for, it still describes an experience the reader might find fun—and gives you a higher chance of attracting readers who will have a positive experience from your book (let’s say this is a hypothetical four-star reviewer).
Some people aren’t going to like your book. Your goal is to make sure those people…don’t read your book. (If your book gets at all popular, more of those people will read your book anyway, as they jump on the bandwagon.)
Will this cut into your sales?
In the short run, yes.
But in terms of satisfied customers, no.
It is possible to get a reader interested in a book that’s not right for them, by being less than clear about what experience they’ll get if they read the book. And, it’s true, some of those readers might be pleased with the book. But if you put the hook first, you’ll know that the readers who actually read your book are more likely to like your book, keep reading more of your books, and become an ongoing fan.
You don’t need one popular book that a large number of people were disappointed in. Over the long term, it’s better to make your best readers happy and let other readers come and go as they will.
Line
The main body of your book description gives your readers the particular details about your book so they can settle any concerns in their mind about how the story is written. The list of details about your book that you should have written earlier give the reader benefits and settle objections. (Your other keywords go here, if it makes sense to add them.)
If you tell the reader that this book has everything they love and none of the things they hate, the reader is more likely to buy the book.
You hook catches the reader emotionally. The “line” is the part of the story that reels them in by reassuring them that your hook wasn’t just an empty promise.
The cover of your book is what grabs the reader’s attention. The “hook” is what tells them “why should I care?” (Because they will get the emotions that they want.) The “line” is what settles their intellectual worries about the story and answers the questions, “Will this story do what you say it’s going to do?” and “Will this story do something I don’t want?”
For example, in a romance, the main body of your book description should tell the reader if there’s going to be explicit sex in the book. (The hook should hint at it.) If you tell the reader whether there is explicit sex in the main body, you tell the reader “That hint about explicit sex in the title wasn’t a red herring!” and “If you’re looking for a sweet, clean romance, look elsewhere—sorry!”
Whether readers are looking for explicit sex or scared away by it, they will both be grateful that you cleared up that point.
Your main body also shows that you know how to write! It should feel dramatic, to settle any concerns about your not being able to handle the plot of your book.
Again, don’t worry about the wording yet. We’ll get to that. But make sure you have all your materials, both the important points and the keywords, that you will need.
(Next time: free samples and closing on the sale.)