It is, I suspect, a combination of vanity and fatigue. Once we finish our book, we believe it speaks for itself. Hell, we put all that work in: it had better.
Our book can only speak for itself, though, once someone reads it. And reading it requires buying it. You see where this is going.
Elsewhere I've provided some other valuable tips about how to optimize the author tools for self publishing on Amazon, toward this end. While all those tips have big-time value, most importantly, and most challenging, among them all, is getting your book description right.
Prospective readers who have already invested cold cash in your book, even if only a modest sum, will generally give you about 20 pages or so to persuade them to read on. They have no such investment in your book description. Clicking away doesn't constitute any loss for them. It's a lot easier to do. Consequently, you have about 20-30 seconds, probably around three sentences, to capture their attention enough to keep them reading.
Failing to capture their attention will have them clicking away and a potential book sale lost. So, the question is, what does your book description need to do to keep prospective readers interested? And, how do you do it? Basically, you have about three sentences to impress such prospective readers in three important ways: tell, entice and show.
First: Tell them what the book is about. Don't confuse this with rehearsing a plot line. It's about given the genre details as concisely as you can. Is the book fiction or non-fiction? Let's say the latter. Then, is it mystery, romance or thriller? Is it set in the present the past or some speculative future? For the more discerning reader, you might want to inform if it's a first or third person narrator. Some kind of evocative comparison could be helpful: e.g., in the tradition of John Grisham; Tolkienesque; Toni Morrison-like.
2. Entice them. Why should they read it? For non-fiction this is easier, which is not to say that all self-published authors of non-fiction leverage this advantage. All non-fiction is filling some kind of need - even if only an increase of knowledge (though it's usually more than that). Have the benefit to your reader right up front. What will they be able to do easier or better thanks to reading your book?
For fiction, it can be a bit trickier. I suggest emphasizing the conflicts confronting your characters. Try to tap into the potential reader's own experience of such conflict: they may want to better understand it, relive it, or simply live it vicariously. The more vivid and impacting you can make it in a few short sentences the more likely it is to resonate with them.
Third: Show them what reading your book is like. Maybe the most difficult of the three, this can be the clincher. Think of the book description as a mini test drive of your book. If your promise is to explain some technical skill, such as website building or home micro brewing, show off your gifts for explanatory clarity. Use clear, easy to follow language to explain some technical detail, so they'll feel confident of being able to follow and learn from your book. Give them confidence that you can make it all easy to understand.
If you are publishing an atmospheric novel, use the kind of evocative language in your book description that you use in the book. If you have a moody, cloak and dagger spy novel, open with a description of the anxiety of sheltering in a doorway on a rain drenched cobblestone street, awaiting a dubious contact who, for all you know, may have sold you out already. Or, if it's a teen love story, open with your best two sentence description of that moment of stomach turning wonder, when your protagonist suddenly sees "the one."
So tell your prospective reader what the book is, entice with a clear statement of the benefits your book will provide, and illustrate a flavor of what can expected between the covers. It is a tall order, no denying that. That is what makes it difficult and why those who are able to do it well will enjoy the fruits of their efforts. It's a key ingredient for success in self publishing on Amazon.
If you have three to five times more rewrites of your book description than you did of the actual book, don't be surprised or discouraged. It's a real skill and takes a lot of work. And obviously there's no guarantee it will provoke the Amazon browser to buy your book. You can't make anybody buy what they don't want.
What you can do, if they are open to what you're offering, is convince them that your version of what they want is going to satisfy what it is they're seeking. That's where you close your sale, sell your book and create the potential for a long term reader and maybe even enthusiast of your work.
The first order of business, though, is to not have them pass you over as inadequately interesting from the start. And that takes a book description that is gripping from the get-go. Finishing your book wasn't the completion of your writing duties. There's still one more big job to do. Sharpen up that pencil.
Our book can only speak for itself, though, once someone reads it. And reading it requires buying it. You see where this is going.
Elsewhere I've provided some other valuable tips about how to optimize the author tools for self publishing on Amazon, toward this end. While all those tips have big-time value, most importantly, and most challenging, among them all, is getting your book description right.
Prospective readers who have already invested cold cash in your book, even if only a modest sum, will generally give you about 20 pages or so to persuade them to read on. They have no such investment in your book description. Clicking away doesn't constitute any loss for them. It's a lot easier to do. Consequently, you have about 20-30 seconds, probably around three sentences, to capture their attention enough to keep them reading.
Failing to capture their attention will have them clicking away and a potential book sale lost. So, the question is, what does your book description need to do to keep prospective readers interested? And, how do you do it? Basically, you have about three sentences to impress such prospective readers in three important ways: tell, entice and show.
First: Tell them what the book is about. Don't confuse this with rehearsing a plot line. It's about given the genre details as concisely as you can. Is the book fiction or non-fiction? Let's say the latter. Then, is it mystery, romance or thriller? Is it set in the present the past or some speculative future? For the more discerning reader, you might want to inform if it's a first or third person narrator. Some kind of evocative comparison could be helpful: e.g., in the tradition of John Grisham; Tolkienesque; Toni Morrison-like.
2. Entice them. Why should they read it? For non-fiction this is easier, which is not to say that all self-published authors of non-fiction leverage this advantage. All non-fiction is filling some kind of need - even if only an increase of knowledge (though it's usually more than that). Have the benefit to your reader right up front. What will they be able to do easier or better thanks to reading your book?
For fiction, it can be a bit trickier. I suggest emphasizing the conflicts confronting your characters. Try to tap into the potential reader's own experience of such conflict: they may want to better understand it, relive it, or simply live it vicariously. The more vivid and impacting you can make it in a few short sentences the more likely it is to resonate with them.
Third: Show them what reading your book is like. Maybe the most difficult of the three, this can be the clincher. Think of the book description as a mini test drive of your book. If your promise is to explain some technical skill, such as website building or home micro brewing, show off your gifts for explanatory clarity. Use clear, easy to follow language to explain some technical detail, so they'll feel confident of being able to follow and learn from your book. Give them confidence that you can make it all easy to understand.
If you are publishing an atmospheric novel, use the kind of evocative language in your book description that you use in the book. If you have a moody, cloak and dagger spy novel, open with a description of the anxiety of sheltering in a doorway on a rain drenched cobblestone street, awaiting a dubious contact who, for all you know, may have sold you out already. Or, if it's a teen love story, open with your best two sentence description of that moment of stomach turning wonder, when your protagonist suddenly sees "the one."
So tell your prospective reader what the book is, entice with a clear statement of the benefits your book will provide, and illustrate a flavor of what can expected between the covers. It is a tall order, no denying that. That is what makes it difficult and why those who are able to do it well will enjoy the fruits of their efforts. It's a key ingredient for success in self publishing on Amazon.
If you have three to five times more rewrites of your book description than you did of the actual book, don't be surprised or discouraged. It's a real skill and takes a lot of work. And obviously there's no guarantee it will provoke the Amazon browser to buy your book. You can't make anybody buy what they don't want.
What you can do, if they are open to what you're offering, is convince them that your version of what they want is going to satisfy what it is they're seeking. That's where you close your sale, sell your book and create the potential for a long term reader and maybe even enthusiast of your work.
The first order of business, though, is to not have them pass you over as inadequately interesting from the start. And that takes a book description that is gripping from the get-go. Finishing your book wasn't the completion of your writing duties. There's still one more big job to do. Sharpen up that pencil.
About the Author:
Self publishing authors who want to keep up on the hottest news and tips need to follow the Self Publishing on Amazon site. Lance Fallbrook is a frequent commentator on writers and writing. See his provocative piece on famous American authors -- the dead list!
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