A book blurb follows a simple formula. It should be:
- Up to a maximum of 150 – 200 words
- Include a hook, without giving anything away
- Introduce the plot and set the scene
- Introduce the main character(s)
Simple, but identifying the key point(s) of the story, introducing the characters, and including the hook, within 200 words without giving away too much, but including enough, can be a huge headache. When a story is many thousands of words, it can be difficult breaking the story down in to a few sentences.
I use an editor to help me produce a concise, informative and engaging book blurb. To begin, I create my own blurb (revised many times) and send it to the editor. The editor will edit it and send it back to me, along with their own suggestion for an alternative blurb. They may also include any thoughts they have regarding the content of original blurb.
In my recent book, (How to Solve a Murder that Never Happened), there were four revisions before a blurb was decided upon that we both thought would work.
So, here it is step by step, how the process works. I have highlighted in bold any changes.
- I write a blurb and send it to the editor:
Hello, my name is Alice and I am eleven years old. I grew up in a small village in the west of England called Trent, until my dad died. Then everything changed. I now live in London with a grandmother who doesn’t like me very much and a mum who works all the time. Thankfully, I have made a new friend. Keith is great. He is super clever and does silly things that make me laugh. He has promised to help me solve the mystery of my father’s death. Everyone believes my dad died due to misadventure. I believe he was murdered and I am going to prove it!
2. The editor sends back my blurb edited:
Hello, my name is Alice, and I am eleven years old. I grew up in Trent, a small village in west England. But when my dad died, everything changed. I now live in London with my grandmother, who doesn’t like me very much, and my mum, who works all the time.
Thankfully, I have made a new friend. His name is Keith, and he is great. He is very clever and makes me laugh. He has promised to help me solve the mystery of my father’s death. That’s right, everyone believes my dad died because of misadventure, but I believe he was murdered. And I am going to prove it!
AND an alternative blurb:
Hello, my name is Alice, and I have a mystery to solve. I grew up in Trent, a small village in west England. After my dad died, everything changed. I moved to London with my grandmother, who doesn’t like me very much. My mum is with me too, but she works all the time.
Thankfully, I have made a new friend. Keith is very clever and makes me laugh. He has promised to help me solve the mystery of my father’s death.
That’s right, everyone believes my dad’s death was due to misadventure, but I believe he was murdered. And I am going to prove it!
3. I review these and decide if I would like to use one of these suggestions or make further revisions. On this occasion I decide to rewrite the blurb again and send it to the editor.
Hello, my name is Alice, and I have a mystery to solve. I grew in a small village, but when my dad died, everything changed. I moved to London and live with my grandmother, who doesn’t like me very much. My mum is with me too, but she works all the time. Thankfully, I have made a new friend. Keith is very clever and makes me laugh. He has promised to help me solve the mystery of my father’s death. That’s right, everyone believes my dad’s death was an accident, but I believe he was murdered. And I am going to prove it!
4. The blurb is edited again and feedback provided. At this stage I was happy with the revisions the editor had made. Here is the final blurb:
Hello, my name is Alice, and I have a mystery to solve. I grew up in a small village in west England, but everything changed after my dad died. I moved to London and now live with my grandmother, who doesn’t like me very much. My mum is with me too, but she works all the time. Thankfully, I have made a new friend. Keith is very clever and makes me laugh. He has promised to help me solve the mystery of my father’s death. That’s right, everyone believes my dad’s death was an accident, but I believe he was murdered. And I am going to prove it!
Chrissy Wolfe at EFC (Every Free Chance llc) helps me with my book blurbs and proof reads my final manuscript before publishing. She is an editor and you can find her at: efcservicesllc.com