How to Create a Summary That Hooks Readers
When people pick up your book, they want to know what it’s about. This is why books have a synopsis or description on the back cover. But if the back cover text doesn’t immediately grab the reader’s interest, chances are they won’t buy the book.
After seeing your book cover or hearing your book title, the first thing readers do is pick up the book and flip it over to read the back cover, or if they’re online, they’ll look for the product description, also called the blurb summary or synopsis (about a paragraph long). Some authors only put their biographies on their back covers. Depending on the book, the author’s bio can lend credibility, but not only will the reader still wonder what the book is about; the author also misses the best opportunity to attract readers. Below are some tips for writing a resume with a hook:
1- Make it short. Remember, a potential buyer won’t spend more than a few seconds looking at the back cover, so keep it sweet, short and to the point.
2- Make it relevant. Most people are looking for stories that relate to their lives, so it’s important to show how the book can relate to current times in the summary.
3- Make it credible. Even science fiction must sound believable to pique the reader’s interest. So make sure the way you describe your story (regardless of genre) rings true to the reader.
4- Make its uniqueness obvious. What makes your story different from other books in this genre? This is the question that should be answered in the summary.
To give an example of using the above tips to create a resume, below is the back cover of my Amazon book/resume:
“Growing up among Italians who survived World War II was not easy. For Susan, the hardest part was the feeling of alienation as she desperately tried to contact her parents without success. Over the years, Susan has been able to bond with her mother, but her father remains an enigma until one day he presents her with five tapes containing his memoirs. Based on Nino’s first tape, Innocent War is a boy’s adventure that shows the point of view of a child through the hardships, dangers and tragedies of war, combined with his own humour, innocence and awakening as he grows up. Join Susan as she gets to know her father and finds herself in the family she thought she knew.”
1- Make it short: Contains 114 words and states all the themes in the stories.
2- Make it relevant: It states how I was trying to get to know my father (relevant for anyone who has parents)… even though it’s about WWII, we’re currently in a war on terrorists.
3- Make it credible: I state that the story comes from first hand accounts and has tapes to back it up…
4- Make its uniqueness evident: World War II from an Italian perspective, a child’s experience.
After all, the best book seller is the author…and the best sales tool is the book itself!
#Create #Summary #Hooks #Readers