Book Back Covers: What You Should Include [Examples Inside]

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YOU ARE READING: Book Back Covers: What You Should Include [Examples Inside] – Self Publishing School AT PhebinhvanhocEN

If your book cover is meant to grab the reader’s attention, the back cover is meant to keep it.

Think about it: the cover is mostly about showmanship. you are showing your reader a visual representation of the book to come. when I see a cover that intrigues me, I immediately turn it over to read the back cover. why? I am looking for a playing field. What is the book about? what does the reader promise me?

You are reading: Back covers of books

The back cover of your book carries more weight than you think and there are a lot of elements that make it work well. In this article, we’ll cover what a book cover is, what’s included, and how you can make your own.

what is the name of the back cover of a book?

Did you know there are a few different ways to refer to the back cover of a book?

First, there’s the dust jacket. this is the shell that comes with hardcover books; It typically features the book’s front and back covers, and readers can remove the dust jacket to reveal the hardcover book.

There is also the back cover, which is called exactly that: the back cover. the front cover is where the front cover goes and the back cover is on the other side. very easy.

There are also things called “propaganda”. an advertisement functions as a sales pitch intended to attract readers. These can be summaries, testimonials, or any number of short descriptions intended to attract audiences.

What do you put on the back of a book cover?

The back cover of your book has a purpose, just like the front cover. And while it may not be as important from an aesthetic standpoint, it’s still important to consider each item carefully. Let’s go over some things you could include on the back cover of your book.

1. testimonials

A testimonial is a short statement from another author about how good the book is. You may notice, for example, that a lot of horror novels have Stephen King blurbs on the front or back cover. they might say something like “this book shook me to the core” or “a truly unsettling read.” my copy of soul hunger katsu has a comment from stephen king that says “deeply disturbing”.

The testimony of a well-known author gives the book some credibility. it also suggests that this book could be in the same vein as the books of the author giving the testimony. If you like Stephen King, you might like this book. you’re more likely to read books recommended by a friend, and similarly, you’re more likely to read books recommended by an author you already like and trust.

2. summaries

An abstract is a brief description of what happens in a book. on the back cover, it’s not supposed to be a full plot summary; after all, you don’t want to reveal the story. the goal is to make the reader want to buy the book and read about what happens.

So what does a summary include on the back cover of a book? you want a brief synopsis, or introduction, like you would give to an agent. this will include your story premise, setting, main characters, and a hint of the coming conflict. you will not mention how the conflict is resolved or mention too many details; again, you want the reader to discover it for themselves.

Think of it like a movie trailer. in a movie trailer, you don’t know what happens at the end. that is the point. but you are hooked by the atmosphere, the characters and the promise of what is to come. if it’s a horror movie trailer, it probably promises you a terrifying viewing experience. an action trailer will give you a taste of the car chase sequences to follow.

3. awards and other books

Advertisements may also include mentions of other books the author has written or awards the author has won. this is most common for authors who are already bestsellers, but newcomers may do this too, if they’ve won notable literary awards before.

this works similar to testimonial. it gives the author, and by extension the book, some credentials. ideally, this makes the reader think, “well, it must be good. It was a finalist for the national book award!” or something like that.

If an author is particularly well known for a specific book, it is often mentioned as well. someone might not know that the author wrote more than one book, or might have heard of the most famous book without knowing who wrote it. It’s a reminder that this author has shocked and amazed audiences before, and who’s to say he won’t do it again with this book?

4. author biography

Author biographies sometimes appear on the inside jacket (especially hardcover book jackets), but they can also appear on the back cover of a book, especially paperbacks. An author biography is a short piece of writing about the author. it’s meant to let the reader know a bit about the person who wrote the book.

Author biographies can include information about where the author grew up, where they currently live, what hobbies they have, what other books they have written, where they went to school, or what book they are working on next. they are meant to humanize the author and help them connect with their readers on a more personal level.

related: Book Cover Design: Your Ultimate Guide to Memorable Book Covers
related: 7 Secrets to Writing Persuasive Back Cover Sales Copy
related: how to make a book cover: 9 great options if you’re self-publishing

how to write an unforgettable blurb

After the front cover, the back cover ad is possibly the next most important element of your cover. To make sure yours packs a punch, we’ve got a few tips and tricks for you:

1. be brief

Short notes give you a little space to summarize the plot of your novel, but really, it’s better to keep them short. I don’t know about you, but when I come across book reviews that are too long, sometimes I feel like I’ve already been told too much. I want to feel like I’m discovering the story, and having most of it laid out for me in one long blurb discourages me from reading the rest. If I have to read half the book before I find something I don’t know, I’m not going to have a very good time.

Keeping your blurb as short as possible also forces you to include only the most critical and exciting aspects of your story. This can be hard to pin down since as the author you’d expect to be excited about your entire story, but here’s the key: focus on the main plot and hint at the bigger subplots.

You also want to keep your language as clear and crisp as possible. this is not the place for passive voice, unnecessary adverbs, or awkward words. banner ads should be super optimized.

2. don’t give away everything

I talked about this in the previous section, but again, you don’t want to reveal too much. give your reader exactly enough to know what they’re getting into, but have them read the book to find out more.

In other words, you want to hook your reader. Show them a tantalizing snapshot of the world you’re promising them, but don’t show them so much that they feel like they’ve already seen it.

3. show your characters

A common tip for writing is to start the story with a character. in other words, on the first page, the reader should read about a person, not an information dump, not a description of the environment, but a human person. This is because people are attracted to people above almost everything else.

It’s the same idea with your book blurb. Introduce your character as soon as you can and do your best to make the reader care about him and his plight. if readers are interested in your character, they will follow them anywhere, even to the checkout to buy your book!

4. show your premise/conflict

A sure way to hook your reader into a blurb is to introduce the conflict as early as possible. again, think of a movie trailer. we might get a little glimpse of a character’s life before the conflict breaks out, but we probably won’t get much – most of the trailer focuses on how cool and exciting the conflict will be.

let your reader know what kind of book you are about to read. what is the premise what are the stakes? Does the main character stand to lose everything, including his last chance at love, if he doesn’t complete the quest? if it sounds serious, the reader is more likely to be interested.

how to design your back cover

The rules for designing the back cover differ from the advice you might receive for designing the front cover. Your book cover is meant to grab the reader’s attention, give them the title (and maybe a testimonial or two), and show the genre and tone of the book.

The back cover is primarily intended to convey information. the purpose is different, which means you’ll need to consider different guidelines.

1. function over style

the back cover must be legible, clear and simple. this is not the place for confusing fonts or hard-to-read art drawings that make propaganda hard to read. it’s better to have a simple back cover that’s legible over a highly stylized, unstructured back cover that readers can’t read.

A way to do this? use a template for your back cover. use the same color scheme used on the cover to keep it cohesive and keep the fonts in the same family. a template will usually do this for you and organize the information in a way that is readable and simplified.

2. get a professional opinion

You may not know where to start when designing a back cover, and that’s okay! If you don’t have the time to devote to making a cover or learning the skills to create one, hiring a professional to design one for you might be the way to go. this will ensure a polished product, but be sure to do your research and find the right artist for your budget and genre.

3. look at other books of the same genre

Finally, you’ll want to look at other books in the same genre to get an idea of what your back cover should look like. how do you make your designs? how are your advertisements? browse recent releases in your genre for inspiration and guidance. it’s okay to stand out, but you want to stand out on purpose, not because you don’t know what you’re doing.

examples of fiction and non-fiction book covers

Now that we know how back covers work and how to create a great one, here are two great back covers to use as a reference.

non-fiction example:

published: the proven path from blank page to 10,000 copies sold by chandler bolt

What works on this back cover?

divided into easy-to-read sections
opening question that engages you as a reader
key takeaways
closing challenge, ” don’t wait read this book and unlock the author advantage today.”
brief author biography that still shows benefits to the reader

fictional example:

crystaldreams: an urban fantasy thriller (paradise lot novel) by r. me.