Your Back Cover Copy Is A Marketing Tool

The back cover copy you write for your book is an important marketing message for your book. It should express the essence of your book’s most exciting features in a few hundred words that describes the book to the reader. It may serve as the basis for your online book descriptions, as well as any press releases or pitches you make to the media and other purposes. These words, if written well, will hook the reader. This is why most authors find it so hard to write the back-cover copy.  Here are some tips that will help with that.

---

Non-Fiction
For non-fiction books your back-cover copy should answer why and how the reader will benefit from your book?
 
When writing the copy don’t focus too much on a description of the book’s content, but focus on how the content will help, inform, or entertain the reader. Share your credentials and or how your experience helps them expertly address the subject matter.

• You can include a headline at the top that briefly sums up the key benefit or selling point of the book.
• About a 100-200 word summar that expands upon the headline and demonstrates the value of the book
• A bullet list of features and benefits the book provides to readers
• A final sentence or two to close the message, with a mention of the author’s credentials if not earlier described
• (optional) Praise for the book from recognizable authorities
• (optional) A brief author bio and author photo at the bottom of the cover

For Fiction
For fiction books the back cover can convey:

• Who is the main character(s)
• What do they most deeply desire
• What challenge do they face? 
• The setting or context for the story​

​Ultimately, you want to make the copy intriguing. Non-fiction or fiction, I encourage my clients to read the book marketing copy for books in their genre, and pay attention to length, point of view or voice, as well as how much of the story is described.