Book Descriptions That Sell!

Your book description is only as good as its opening line.

Marketers for bestselling books employ a simple strategy to conquer short attention spans—a tactic every author can use.

If you’ve gotten this far in reading, you’ve read further than most readers who come across book descriptions on Amazon or elsewhere. Just like with news articles or Facebook posts, people often quickly skim book descriptions and rarely read past the first few words. Even if the rest of your book description is compelling, it won’t matter if you can’t hook readers with your first sentence.

This is especially true on Amazon, where your full description is often truncated and hidden behind a “view more” link. If you don’t captivate readers with the first sentence, they might never see the concluding one.

So, how do you encourage readers to read on? The secret is to craft a one-sentence summary that puts all your most important details up front.

To develop a method for producing one-sentence summaries that sell, Pronoun worked with authors, publicists, and book marketers. We learned that the best one-sentence summaries answer three questions as quickly as possible:

• What is the book about?
• Who is it for?
• Is there proof the book is good?

Content: what your book is about

The basics. Main characters, key figures, major plot points, pivotal action, notable settings, specification of genre -this category is the broadest by far. Technically, nearly every element could be considered part of content.

Audience: who your book is for

Elements that help readers self-identify. Familiar author names, a series name, related titles, or keywords and topics that will catch the attention of the right reader.

Proof: why it is special or valuable

Elements that persuade readers the book is worth reading. Listing bestseller status, awards, and notable quotes or endorsements work well. If a book doesn’t already have such “bragging rights,” you can also use key adjectives, build suspense, or offer a solution to a problem to establish a book’s value.

Elements:

[Specific Element] [Which questions it answers]

Author name audience/proof

Title content/audience

Setting content/audience

Characters content

Plot content

Action content/proof

Genre content/audience

Series name content/audience/proof

Comp titles audience/proof

Comp authors audience/proof

Keywords content/audience

Awards audience/proof

Quotes content/audience/proof

Bestseller status audience/proof

Target reader audience

Examples:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time:

A landmark volume in science writing by one of the great minds of our time, Stephen Hawking’s book explores such profound questions as: How did the universe begin—and what made its start possible?

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451:

Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future.

 

Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City:

Erik Larson—author of #1 bestseller In the Garden of Beasts—intertwines the true tale of the 1893 World’s Fair and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death.

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice:

In this historic romance, young Elizabeth Bennet strives for love, independence and honesty in the vapid high society of 19th century England.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein:

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a classic tale of a man-made monster seeking acceptance from society in light of his ghastly appearance and strange upbringing.

 

Now You Do It!

__character__ __conflict__ __setting__ __book type__ __audience__

“A downtrodden girl struggles to find her heritage in 19th century London in this coming-of-age novel reminiscent of Great Expectations and A Little Princess.”

…all of which can be reversed:

__audience__ __book type__ __setting__ __conflict__ __character__

“For fans of Great Expectations and A Little Princess, this coming-of-age novel takes readers to 19th century London, where the struggle to find her heritage thrusts downtrodden Victoria into a journey she never imagined.”

…and shifted:

__conflict__ _character__ __book type_ _audience__ __setting__

“The struggle to find her heritage thrusts a downtrodden girl into a journey she never imagined in this coming-of-age novel reminiscent of Great Expectations and A Little Princess, set in 19th century London.

All blanks can be mixed and matched:

__book type__ __content__ __setting__ __author__ __audience__

“In this untold history of the Union’s military strategy in war-ridden Virginia, renown professor Tom Thomas writes for Civil War buffs and military historians alike.”

…and then shuffled around:

__author__ __audience__ __book type__ __content__ __setting__

“Renowned professor Tom Thomas offers Civil War buffs and military historians the untold history of the Union’s military strategy in war-ridden Virginia.