After the title and cover of the book, your description is the most important marketing material for the book.
The book description is featured prominently on the back cover and at the top of your Amazon page (below the price and above the book reviews). Convincing is crucial, because readers make purchase decisions based on the book’s description.
You are reading: How to write books for amazon
In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to write a book description, provide a template, and include examples of good and bad book descriptions.
Download the writing book description template below and let’s get started:
download book description template
Here’s what we’ll cover:
why your book description is important
how to write your book description
book description examples
more best practices for book descriptions
why your book description is important
The book description is the argument to the reader as to why they should buy your book. when done right, it directly drives book sales.
There are so many examples of how book descriptions lead to big changes in sales. one of my favorite stories is for jt mccormick’s book i got it.
despite having a good cover and receiving good reviews, it did not sell as many copies as it should. so we dove into the description of the book, discovered the flaws, and completely revamped it.
sales doubled in an hour.
This is not unusual. Often the description is the factor that solidifies in the reader’s mind whether the book is for them or not.
if you guess right, the sale is almost automatic.
If you make a mistake, very few things can save you.
Remember, people are looking for a reason not to buy your book, so having a good back cover description is key to keeping them on the path to purchase.
how to write a book description
At scribe, our writers use the “hook, pain, pleasure, legitimacy, open loop” format, which is very similar to how we write introductions.
(Note that these instructions are optimized for non-fiction books. Descriptions for fiction books follow different rules.)
1. write a convincing hook
See Also: 30 good nonfiction books about espionage | Mal Warwick Blog on Books
Just as a great cover design grabs your attention right away, every good book description you see is engaging from the first line.
People are always looking for a reason to move on to the next thing. don’t give it to them make the first sentence something that grabs them and compels them to read the rest.
Broadly speaking, this means focusing on the book’s boldest claim, or most sensational fact, or most compelling idea.
2. describe the current pain they are in
Once you get their attention, describe the current pain they’re in. if you can describe the reader’s pain, you can engage them in the idea of buying the book.
You don’t need to be gratuitous here, all you need to do is be precise: what pain is in your life? What unresolved issues do they have? Or, what great unfulfilled aspirations do they have? articulate them clearly and directly, in clear and simple language.
3. describe how your book will solve their pain
then tell them what the book does to help them resolve this pain. done well, this creates an emotional connection by describing how the book will make the potential reader feel after reading it.
or even better, what will the reader get out of reading the book: how will his life be transformed by this book?
will it make them happy or rich? Will it help them lose weight or have more friends? what do they get once they read this book?
Be clear about the benefits, don’t hint at them. you are selling the reader a result, not a process (although your book is the process). explain exactly what the book is about, in clear and obvious terms.
4. legitimize yourself before the reader
It’s about letting the reader know why they should listen to you. why you are the guide they want to lead them through this journey.
This can be very short, like a blurb for a book. you want enough social proof to keep them reading.
this can also go on the hook. if there’s an impressive fact to mention (eg “new york times bestselling author”), it should be in bold in the first sentence.
or if there’s something remarkable and surprising about you or the book, that can go in the book description.
something like, “from the author of [insert best-selling book]” or “from the world’s most decorated Marine sniper, this is the definitive book on shooting.”
5. create an open loop
you pose the problem or question the directions of your book, you show that you solve or answer it, but you also leave a small key piece out.
as a suspense. This keeps the reader’s attention and leaves him wanting more. you want to be very explicit about what they will learn, but you don’t have to delve into the “how.” this is to create an “open loop”, so to speak; you’re hiding the secret sauce that’s actually in the book.
That said, don’t make the reader strain to understand what your point is, or how to get the reader there. this is especially true for prescriptive books (how-to, self-help, motivational, etc.). people like to understand the basics of “how” (as well as “what”), especially if it’s something new or novel. this is a balance that our examples will show you how to achieve.
book description examples
examples of good book descriptions
cameron herold’s vivid vision
what makes it good?
Three things make this an excellent description of the book:
- Enticing Hook: Everyone knows that mission statements are rubbish, but how many people say this out loud? by doing so, you take a stand and engage the potential reader right away.
- Important keywords: We tend to recommend staying away from buzzwords, but in some cases, especially business books, the correct use can work. This works. words and phrases like “easy to follow” and “simple steps” and “progress progress” work well here.
- clear pain and benefit: this book is not appealing to everyone , but for the perfect reader, it is very attractive. clearly articulates a real problem (“witty, eye-catching mission statements that ultimately do little”) and then tells you the outcome it delivers (“detailed, actionable three-year mission statements for your companies”) and how it gets you there (“Mapping how your company sees and feels in each business category”).
tim ferriss’s 4 hour workweek:
what makes it good?
There are three things that make this good.
- has a great hook: tim tells you right away why this book is important to you, because you can stop looking forward to retirement. who doesn’t want to retire now? ok, I’m interested, tell me more…
- you have a bulleted list with specific pain and pleasure: a vague promise is not good if it is not fulfilled. tim makes specific promises about the information in the book, both about the things that have happened and the things that it will teach you.
- it makes you want to read more: after the contrast of the big general goal and the specific information At a minimum, any reader will continue to read reviews and other information. you’re hooked, you want to know how he teaches this.
philip mckernan’s last talk:
what makes it good?
This is one of the best book descriptions I’ve ever read. It grabs you from the first sentence and forces you to read the rest, which is short and to the point.
Since it’s his first book, he gives mckernan’s credentials, then explains what the book is about, where it came from, states the big question it addresses, and does so in a way that creates an emotional reaction. who doesn’t want to tell their truth?
examples of bad book descriptions
by ben horowitz, the difficult of difficult things
what’s wrong with it:
This description is bad because, based on this description, the book seems somewhat bland and boring.
If I don’t know anything about Horowitz before I read that description, what makes me want to know more? Nor does it really tell me anything about the substance of what he says in the book, and it substantially understates both Horowitz’s prominence and the resonance and importance of the book’s message. and who cares if he likes rap? What does that matter to me, the reader?
as a side note: this book is very good. the book’s description reads like a bad self-published novel (and they’ve been doing it again ever since).
douglas rushkoff’s coercion: why we listen to what “they” say
what’s wrong with it:
Short descriptions are great, but this is too short to even tell me what the book says. this is an example of overselling, without doing it right.
note the descriptions, “devastating”, “expert analysis” and “empowering account” – this description sounds like it is doing what it says it warns us about: selling without substance. Nowhere does this description connect the reader to the book’s themes in an engaging or compelling way.
more best practices for book descriptions
1. change of mentality: it is an announcement, not a summary
Don’t think of the book description as a synopsis. So many authors want to put everything about their book in this section. resist that urge (you can do that with book liner notes, which are a bit different).
is an ad. an elevator launch. think of it as a verbal book trailer for your book. is designed to make people want to read your book. you want them to feel a call to action to buy it.
2. use attractive keywords
It’s not enough to be precise, you need to use high traffic keywords that increase the probability of your book being picked up in search.
For example, if Sports Illustrated does a book, you’ll want to not only say Sports Illustrated magazine, but also mention the names of the athletes featured in the book.
Even better, use words that evoke an emotion from the reader. don’t use “asshole” when “asshole” will work. Amazon especially rewards attractive keywords.
3. be brief
On average, Amazon bestsellers have descriptions of about 200 words. most descriptions are divided into two or three paragraphs.
the easier to read, the better. you want it to look accessible on the book page, especially for the main amazon book description.
4. simple writing
keep the writing simple. use short, clear sentences. you don’t want anyone to have a hard time understanding what you’re trying to convey because you’ve strung too many ideas together in one long sentence.
5. write as the editor, not as the author
This is probably obvious to you, but the description of the book should always be in an objective third-person voice, and never in the author’s voice. it is always written as if someone else was describing your book to potential customers.
6. no insecurity
don’t compare your book to other books. I see this all the time, and all it does is make the book (and the author) look immediately inferior. plus, a reader may hate the book you’re comparing yourself to and you’ll lose it.
The only place a comparison makes sense is if you’re citing a reputable source that makes the comparison itself.
7. don’t insist on doing it yourself
I can’t tell you how many wonderful authors I’ve had and they’ve come to me completely confused because they couldn’t write their own book description.
this is normal.
The reality is that the author is often the worst person to write their own book description.
they are too close to the material and too emotionally involved. If this is the case, we recommend asking a friend for help, or going to a professional editor or even better, a professional writer, for help.
See Also: 13 Picture Books for Teaching Phonological Awareness and Phonics – Tejeda&039s Tots