“Dexter already knows everything there is to know about kindergarten. His big sister Jessie, went there too, and she’s told him all about it. So Dexter is not scared. Not even a little bit. Nope. Not at all. But his stuffed dog, Rufus, is scared. Actually he’s terrified.”

This blurb on the jacket of the hardcover “Kindergarten Rocks!” sets the scene, the tone and the characters of the story. It introduces the reader to what the book is all about and defines the essence of what comes between the sheets.

Who is the first reader of your story? Even before the darling spouse, the resourceful critique group and the wicked editor – you are the first reader of your book. Then you deserve a blurb as much as the book lovers in this universe – right from a grandma who picks it up as a gift to the alert school librarian who puts it through a rigorous test.

What is a blurb?

Blurb refers to the powerful paragraph written by an editor about the book she sends out to face the cynical world. Blurbs draw a reader in as much as the cover does. Blurbs give a glimpse of the treat in store and keep the reader just a bit guessing on the happenings.

Blurbs tease, baring just enough to dare the reader to peek and holding back so that the reader would take the book home. Blurbs don’t give the story away; they enhance the excitement, promising a jolly good read.

Try this exercise. Pick any book that you have read already. Put on the editor’s cap. Write a blurb to sell the book.

What are the characteristics of a good blurb?

Short and succinct: No one wants to read a critical analysis of the book on the jacket flap. Nor do they want to read an uninformative one-liner. The blurb should be short enough to fit into a jacket flap and meaty enough to help readers judge the book.

Everyone heads out the door, even little Bitty, who follows her big brothers and sisters to school. In class, Bitty stays busy with math, reading and snack time. But when Mama comes for her, the youngest student finds that she is most happy to return home.

School by Emily Arnold McCully

Essence: The blurb should bring out the essence and theme of the story in the blurb. What is the story about? New school jitters or a new step-parent or schoolyard bullies? What is the book all about?

Everyone knows the jumble of feelings that go through a child’s head as the first day of school approaches – especially if it’s the first day at a new school.

Will they like me? Will I make new friends? What if I don’t like it? These are questions Sarah Jane Hartwell asks herself as she tries to build up enough courage to embrace her new school.

Blurb from First Day Jitters by Julie Dannenberg.

 

Hook: Blurbs should hook the reader in and lead him into a maze of characters, themes and exciting scenarios. It should grab the reader’s attention and force them to feel passionate about the story within the covers.

 

Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley is unjustly sent to a boys’ detention centre, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day, digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes.

Yup you guessed it – the first para of the blurb of Sachar’s Holes.

Lead: Just as much the blurb reveals, it should also be mysterious. Never give out the ending. Make sure to raise questions in the minds of the reader. We want the reader to find out what happened to the character that has been portrayed in the blurb.

It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries todig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment – and redemption.

The second para of the blurb of Holes.

Positive reflection: The last couple of lines or the second paragraph of a blurb should reflect on the writer and influence of her personal experience in the story, the language and the target audience.

Take one disarmingly engaging protagonist and put her in the company of a tenderly rendered canine and you’ve got yourself a recipe for the best kind of down-home literary treat. Kate DiCamillo’s voice in Because of Winn Dixie should carry from the steamy sultry pockets of Florida clear across the miles to enchant young readers everywhere.

Karen Hesse on Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Told with deceptive simplicity, this is the provocative story of a boy who experiences something incredible and undertakes something impossible. In the telling it questions every value we have taken for granted and reexamines our most deeply held beliefs.

Blurb for The Giver by Lois Lowry

 Another exercise to blurb your brain

So what’s in it for a writer?  If blurbs are written by editors, why is the writer bothered? Isn’t it the job of the editor and her marketing team, to sell the book?

As hooks in cover letters

When Becky catches a cold and has to stay home from kindergarten, Grandmas Rosalie and Sophie come over to take care of her. Becky’s grandmas love her very much, but they can’t agree on anything! Grandma Rosalie treats Becky’s cold with hot tea, but Grandma Sophie is sure orange juice is best. Grandma Sophie sings a soothing song, but Grandma Rosalie wants to tell Becky a story. Using wise lessons learned from her kindergarten teacher—including “TAKE TURNS, PLEASE!” and “REMEMBER TO SHARE!”—Becky helps her grandmas to get along and understand that there’s always enough love to go around.

That’s the blurb from Pamela Mayer’s The Grandma Cure. But doesn’t it sound like the opening of a covering letter? Doesn’t it sound like sales pitch at a conference? Isn’t it just the right description of the book in a paragraph?

Blurbs are useful tools to pitch your book or sell your story. It helps the editor to understand the theme of the book and also the main issues tackled inside. But it doesn’t give the story away, encouraging the editor to read the submission attached to the cover letter.

Try this at home! Pick a manuscript that has been coming back like a boomerang. Write a 100-word blurb selling it to the editor of a suitable magazine.

Blurbs can also be useful when you don’t have enough to put as past sales in the cover letter. You summarise the submission for the editors, helping them to figure out if the topic is right for them or not. Just like in a bookshop, you browse the blurbs on different books and pick the one right for you, an editor can read through the different blurbs to find out which one is right for her publishing house.

As a synopsis tool

Imagine what it would say on the jacket flap of the hardcover edition of your book. Imagine how book reviews will present your book. Write down the essence of your book in two paragraphs. If you cannot condense the theme of your book into a jacket flap, it is going to be tough selling the book to an agent or an editor and then eventually to a reader.

Crunching the Blurb One-line Summary

Open one of your favorite books – go the copyrights page. Do you see a one-line summary? How does that help? Librarians often order books not by looking at covers and jacket flaps – mostly by reading the summary in their online catalogs. It can help you understand what’s important in your story and what’s not. It helps you focus your energies on the main part of the story and prevents you from adding flab to the manuscript.

One last word

When you attempt blurbs or one-line summaries on your manuscript, very often you will face a situation where you don’t know what to say. That doesn’t always mean you are not good at writing blurbs. It might mean the theme of your book is elusive. The passions and the core of the book have not been dealt with enough clarity.

Share here if you  have favourite blurbs and if you are struggling to write one for your books.