Writing an Eye-Catching Amazon Blurb

Professional Writing
Written By Muse Editorial LLC

One of the biggest roadblocks for writers when it comes to publishing is the Amazon blurb. It’s understandable; after writing an entire book, it can be hard to condense both the content and one’s energy into a paragraph or two. Writers will likely be tired, antsy, or just confused when it comes time to write their Amazon blurbs. Luckily, there are a few things to keep in mind to streamline the process, and make sure the blurb is actually engaging enough to attract readers.

General Guidelines

Fiction, creative nonfiction, and nonfiction differ slightly in how an Amazon blurb should look, but both use the same strategies to get to the end result. There is one thing writers should always keep in mind when writing their Amazon blurbs: the elevator pitch. The elevator pitch gives readers the most tension and intrigue because of how short it can, and should, be. These blurbs should be between 250 and 500 words. The goal is to make the person scrolling through Amazon stop and actually engage with what’s written on the screen. If it’s too long, they’re just going to click off and go elsewhere.

An elevator pitch can be done in about four to six sentences. The main things covered in this pitch are as follows:

• Tension—What is at odds? What’s a problem that seems unsolvable?

• Intrigue—What makes it different? This can tie in with tension.

• Main Idea—What is the book about? It’s important not to give too much detail here. Think broad strokes: “A father and daughter take a journey on horseback through the Mojave to look for signs of an alien invasion.”

Have the writer narrow down their book into these three basic topics, and you’ve got the bones of an Amazon blurb.

The next step is to give a call to action. The primary function of the Amazon blurb is to sell books. The elevator pitch will create enough intrigue to at least get that ball rolling, but readers want to know they are investing their money in a book they will enjoy.

Some ways to do that include, “If you enjoy XYZ, you’ll love [insert your writer’s book here],” or by giving a bit of information about the person behind the book. This should not be more than a few sentences, but it can be very effective when it comes time for the reader to pull the trigger and buy the book. If your writer is an established professional, putting in a brief summary of previous work might help draw in their preexisting base.

Fiction

Fiction blurbs are simple enough to craft. Take the main plot, the key characters, and the main conflict, then boil them down to a few lines. As long as the “big reveal” isn’t spoiled, the end result will contain the three aspects of an elevator pitch. For example, to continue with the alien story above, here’s what an Amazon blurb could look like:

A father and daughter take a journey on horseback through the Mojave to look for signs of an alien invasion, but only one of them believes they’ll actually find something. With their horses dangerously dehydrated, and without salvation in sight, the pair’s perilous journey into the desert soon becomes a battle of survival—and not just from the elements.

For those who enjoy heroic tales such as The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle or The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro, dive into the story of father and daughter in Aliens at Mojave.

Big things to notice here are structure and length. Start with the biggest idea, and gradually narrow as the paragraph goes on. End on a punchy note that hints at a plot point the writer reveals as the book progresses. Finally, the whole thing should end on the call to action so the reader has a point of comparison for the content, and will be more likely to invest in the book.

Creative Nonfiction

Creative nonfiction (CNF) blurbs for Amazon follow a similar structure to fiction, but there are some big differences. First of all, we aren’t dealing with made-up plot points. We’re dealing with events in someone’s life, in most cases. So, rather than using the plot as our starting point, we want to lead with the pivot point.

A pivot point refers to a moment in someone’s life that drastically changes their way of thinking or way of life. For example, getting into a car accident. The “before” and “after” of a traumatic event like that will likely shape how the writer lives and thinks about life. Of course, this doesn’t always have to be something traumatic, but it does need to be life-changing. A big move out of state, working in the White House, marriage, etc. These pivot points form the basis of the Amazon blurb.

The second thing to consider is point of view. Because of the nature of CNF, it’s likely the writer is going to be using first person throughout the book. However, the Amazon blurb should not be in first person. Unless you’re working with Joan Didion or David Sedaris, the blurb should be in third person. This allows the reader to really take in what the book is about rather than give them the feeling that they are reading a Facebook post about your writer’s life. Here’s an example:

When Joe Schmoe planned to scale Mt. Everest, he thought all he would gain was the satisfaction of completing one of the world’s most difficult endeavors. However, when he reached the top and looked out into the open air, all he could think about was who he left behind to get to the top. With the beautiful sky in front of him, he felt oddly dissatisfied.

In this inspiring memoir about pushing yourself to your limit, Schmoe discovers what actually drove him to take on such an impossible feat. It’s what he learned on the way that truly gave him the courage to face his demons head on—and how you can face yours too.

The arc here relies on tension and change. The reader knows Joe Schmoe has gone through a transformation of some kind, he did it at the top of Mt. Everest, and he can teach them how to transform too (without needing to scale Mt. Everest).

Nonfiction

A nonfiction Amazon blurb looks a bit different than its fiction and CNF counterparts. Nonfiction blurbs are more straightforward in most cases, but they should still entail engaging copy to draw readers in. The main draw of a nonfiction blurb on Amazon is the big question the book aims to answer.

Every nonfiction book should have a lens the author uses to add to whatever discussion they are trying to enter. That lens could be anything, but it needs to be clear in the Amazon blurb for it to be effective. For example, maybe you have a writer who wants to write about World War II. You don’t want your writer’s book to get lost in the flood of other World War II books. However, if you can pinpoint the lens, the book becomes a lot more unique. Here’s an example:

What exactly did platoons look like for nurses during World War II? With modern medicine so ingrained in our society’s mindset, it’s hard to imagine what life was like for the nurses who served alongside those soldiers during one of the biggest, and most deadly, wars in history. By taking a look at letters written by nurses to their families back home, we are able to put together a picture of what these nurses lived through in humanity’s darkest hour.

For history buffs who want to hear first-hand accounts from people on the ground, this book offers insight into not only the conditions in which these nurses worked, but also a greater look at how human beings connected with each other when all seemed lost.

The main thing to note here is the question. Not every blurb needs to contain an explicit question, but all nonfiction blurbs should have the tension a question brings. Find the point of contention and turn it into the lens for the book, and more specifically, the Amazon blurb.

Examples

Fiction

From the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and author of the Booker Prize–winning novel The Remains of the Day comes a devastating novel of innocence, knowledge, and loss.

As children Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were. Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special—and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together. Suspenseful, moving, beautifully atmospheric, Never Let Me Go is modern classic.

From the nationally bestselling author of The Luminous Dead and The Death of Jane Lawrence, a transfixing, intensely atmospheric fever dream of medieval horror. 

Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food is running low and there has been no sign of rescue. But just as the survivors consider deliberately thinning their number, the castle stores are replenished. The sick are healed. And the divine figures of the Constant Lady and her Saints have arrived, despite the barricaded gates, offering succor in return for adoration. 

Soon, the entire castle is under the sway of their saviors, partaking in intoxicating feasts of terrible origin. The war hero Ser Voyne gives her allegiance to the Constant Lady. Phosyne, a disorganized, paranoid nun-turned-sorceress, races to unravel the mystery of these new visitors and exonerate her experiments as their source. And in the bowels of the castle, a serving girl, Treila, is torn between her thirst for a secret vengeance against Voyne and the desperate need to escape from the horrors that are unfolding within Aymar’s walls. 

As the castle descends into bacchanalian madness—forgetting the massed army beyond its walls in favor of hedonistic ecstasy—these three women are the only ones to still see their situation for what it is. But they are not immune from the temptations of the castle’s new masters… or each other; and their shifting alliances and entangled pasts bring violence to the surface. To save the castle, and themselves, will take a reimagining of who they are, and a reorganization of the very world itself. 

Creative Nonfiction

From personal loss to phantom diseases, The Empathy Exams is a bold and brilliant collection, winner of the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize

A Publishers Weekly Top Ten Essay Collection of Spring 2014

Beginning with her experience as a medical actor who was paid to act out symptoms for medical students to diagnose, Leslie Jamison's visceral and revealing essays ask essential questions about our basic understanding of others: How should we care about each other? How can we feel another's pain, especially when pain can be assumed, distorted, or performed? Is empathy a tool by which to test or even grade each other? By confronting pain―real and imagined, her own and others'―Jamison uncovers a personal and cultural urgency to feel. She draws from her own experiences of illness and bodily injury to engage in an exploration that extends far beyond her life, spanning wide-ranging territory―from poverty tourism to phantom diseases, street violence to reality television, illness to incarceration―in its search for a kind of sight shaped by humility and grace.

Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.

Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read.

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity.”—James Baldwin

Nonfiction

Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results

No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.

If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.

Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field.

Learn how to:

• make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy);

• overcome a lack of motivation and willpower;

• design your environment to make success easier;

• get back on track when you fall off course;

...and much more.

Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

  • The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078MDSV8T

The New York Times bestselling TikTok sensation with more than 13 million copies sold worldwide, The Courage to Be Disliked is a transformative and practical guide to personal happiness and self-fulfillment.

Now you can unlock your full potential and free yourself from the shackles of past traumas and societal expectations to find true personal happiness. Based on the theories of renowned psychologist Alfred Adler, this book guides you through the principles of self-forgiveness, self-care, and mind decluttering in a straightforward, easy-to-digest style that’s accessible to all.

The Courage to Be Disliked unfolds as a dialogue between a philosopher and a young man, who, over the course of five enriching conversations, realizes that each of us is in control of our life’s direction, independent of past burdens and expectations of others.

Wise, empowering, and profoundly liberating, this book is a life-changing experience that shows you a path to lasting happiness and how to finally be the person you truly want to be. Millions are already benefiting from its teachings—and you can be next.

Muse Editorial LLC
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