Writing Your Novel’s Back Flap Copy

One of the writers I work with recently asked me for help in writing the back flap copy for the novel she just finished revising. While I’ve helped plenty of writers with their queries, and given informal feedback on back flap copy in some of the online groups I belong to, this was a new formal request and so I set about researching a bit more on the subject.

Writing back flap copy– if you intend to self-publish your novel–is an exercise in writing advertising copy for your book. It’s not entirely dissimilar from writing a query letter, in that both forms require that you “sell” (not summarize!) your book in a very economical way.

I found tons of resources out there about writing back flap copy (sometimes called “blurbs”–though I don’t like that term because in traditional publishing, a blurb is a quote from another author endorsing a novel–usually by gushing about what they loved about it), and distilled what I gleaned from those resources I found most helpful into the information below– which I sent to my client along with links to those original sources, too. I’ll include all that here, for you.

Steps for Writing Your Novel’s Back Flap Copy

Think of your blurb as ad copy that is going to convince readers to buy your product.

Step 1: Read the back flap copy of bestselling books within your genre (Amazon can help with this!). Notice how each includes a main character…who wants something (desire)… but encounters an opposing force (conflict)….struggles against that force… and must take risks or make difficult choices about continuing the struggle (stakes). Make sure you look at self-published novels and not just traditionally published ones, because the marketing often is different. In particular, notice if your genre uses hooks (more on this in Step 5).

Step 2: Use the “This story is about…” exercise to remind yourself of what your novel is
about. Write 5 sentences that begin “This story is about…” and finish the sentence
a different way each time.

Step 3: Create a Framework for your blurb (inspired by Libbie Hawker’s YouTube videos on writing blurbs and queries, this guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog, Jane Friedman’s guide to writing query letters and the Query Shark’s blog ) by answering the following questions as simply and briefly as possible:
1. Who is your main character?
2. What does your main character want?
3. Why does she want it?
4. What stands in your character’s way and keeps her from getting what she wants?
5. What will your character sacrifice in order to get what s/he wants? (In other words:
what’s at stake if your character fails? What difficult choices must she make?)
If you’re struggling with this question, here’s another quick template:
e. The main character must choose Path A or Path B
f. If she chooses Path A, the dire consequences, outcome, or peril she
faces are:
g. If she chooses Path B, the even more dire consequences, outcome,
or peril she faces are:
h. What will she have to give up to get what she wants/achieve her
goal?

Step 4: Draft your flap copy using your answers to the above framework to guide you. Aim for 150 words. You can add some “sizzle” (or “meat” as Libbie Hawker calls it) to your framework at this point, but keep your focus on the following 3 things in this order. The order is important, so that within the blurb you build toward the payoff (which is the reader is so curious, they must buy your book to find out how it turns out).

1. The protagonist: Give the reader a character she can connect with. In presenting your
protagonist, focus on the psychology rather than physicality—so wants/desires,
misbeliefs/flaws, personality traits and emotions. If you’re going to add some “sizzle”
or detail, the character description is a good place to do it because you want readers
to connect with your protagonist. Remember—we connect more easily with emotion-based
traits, and emotions make us buy things.
2. The struggle: Present a conflict the reader can relate to. The character must be facing a
plot problem that is more than an average problem with an obvious solution. If the plot
problem is incredibly unique, you can focus on how the protagonist feels about having
to face this problem.
3. The stakes: The consequences and/or risks must be intriguing because the reader’s desire
to know how the protagonist is going to solve their problem and what it is going to
cost them is the *trigger* for making the purchase.
4. The sizzle: Add in a few brushstrokes of detail to highlight the setting, the character,
your style.

Step 5 (Optional): Add a “hook.” It’s just a very catchy sentence (or sometimes several very short sentences) that goes at the beginning of the blurb to generate curiosity and grab readers’ interest by making them want to know more about your story. It might:
1. Highlight the unusual, strange, unique or dangerous elements, objects or
intriguing events of your story.
2. Be an evocative tagline or quote.
3. Function as a newspaper headline for your novel.
4. Be a shocking or unusual takeaway from the story.
Write the body of your blurb first so you know what details to focus on here—the hook should directly connect to the points covered in your blurb. Keep it short and snappy.

EXAMPLES (with a caveat—what I see for self-published novels are often quite
a bit shorter, often almost a list or series of fragments, set apart from the main body of blurb, often in bold. They’re sometimes similar to this one I just made up: “a dragon, a possessed sword, and a power that can’t be contained”):

Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He’s never
worn an invisibility cloak, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. (Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by JK Rowling)

Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger
Games have begun… (The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins)

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. (Room, by Emma Donoghue)

You don’t know her. But she knows you. (Girl on a Train, by Paula Hawkins)

A royal scandal’s connection to a brutal serial killer threatens London…
(A Murderous Relation, by Deanna Raybourn)

Members of an Egyptian expedition fall victim to an ancient mummy’s curse…
(A Treacherous Curse, by Deanna Raybourn)

A dozen women join a secret 1850s Arctic expedition—and a sensational murder
trial unfolds when some of them don’t come back. (The Arctic Fury, by Greer
Macallister)

Wolf by Wolf: One girl’s mission to win a race and kill Hitler (Wolf by Wolf, by
Ryan Graudin)

For your blurb, AVOID:
1. Backstory: If a key backstory detail is necessary to understand the plot, mention it in
nothing more than a short phrase.
2. Subplots: Presenting subplots confuses the reader. Keep your focus on the main plot within
your primary genre (so, even if there is a strong romance subplot, if your primary
genre is sci-fi or mystery, keep your focus on that genre/that plotline).
3. Details: ONLY include crucial details that directly affect the plot. Excessive details
confuse or bore the reader. The fun of reading the novel is discovering all the
details. Specific details to AVOID are:
a. Proper nouns: Names, titles, locations, objects and organizations belong
in the novel, not the blurb. Limit names to the protagonist whenever
possible. If you must, you can offer the names of a villain, a sidekick,
what the protagonist is fighting for, a crucial location/setting. Anyone
else should be mentioned by their relationship to the protagonist (mother,
fiancé, aunt, friend, neighbor). ONLY mention those characters directly
involved with the plot.
b. Any term or content that requires definition or explanation in order to
understand it. Your focus should be on plot and what happens.
4. Lists: These are reserved for non-fiction.
5. Cliches: You want readers to think your story is fresh!
6. Overselling: Readers are often turned off by any hint of a hard sales pitch.
7. Repetition: Edit out any repetitive information/detail. Your blurb should be a concise and
tight as possible.
8. Spoilers