Writing A Book Blurb


Blubbering into your laptop.

That’s how having to write your book blurb can leave you.

After slaving away over your work for months/years/decades, you’re finally finished. Except you’re not.

Unless you’re lucky enough to have someone else to do it for you, you’re going to have to sum it all up in a few snappy, salesy sentences.

Good luck.



No, sorry, actually the point of this post was to say that the task can be made easier by writing a blurb after each draft.

Even if you haven’t finished your story, a blurb after each draft can help you write the next draft, giving you more focus and a better (or even a new) idea of where your story needs to go.

I started doing this after finishing an earlier novel and writing a blurb that outlined a story that was tighter, better structured and more exciting than the one I’d just finished.

Naturally, I had to rewrite the whole thing to fit the blurb, but the book was better for it.

I’ve also found that blurbs are easier to write months after you’ve finished a book. A bit of distance clears the air, brings things into sharper focus. Though I have to say, more than a year after finishing it, I still haven’t written a blurb I’m happy with for A Dead Chick And Some Dirty Tricks.