Aside from the book cover being one of the first things that someone sees, when you're on a site like Wattpad, or even when you're in a bookstore, people always go straight to the blurb of a book to see what the story is going to be about.
THIS, just like having a good book cover, can either make or break your book when it comes to getting it noticed online.
Crafting the PERFECT story description (aka blurb) is NOT easy or simple.
It takes a lot of time and a lot redo's. And apart from having a kick-ass cover, having a kick-ass description for your story is also another way that you're basically selling your book to gain/catch people's interest (and money if you're on Amazon or something similar).
Don't take this part lightly when it comes to creating a new or editing an old story - having the perfect story description is EVERYTHING.
It's pretty much the final step for a new reader when it comes to them having to make the decision for whether or not they want to start or skip reading your book.
HERE'S A FEW NO-NO'S FROM ME FOR WHAT YOU SHOULDN'T DO WHEN CREATING/POSTING YOUR BOOKS BLURB:
don't have a single sentence/quote as your story description and nothing else...
I see a lot of people do this with fanfics on Wattpad and I really just don't get it... reading something like 'the day we met was the day I died' is intriguing, sure, but it honestly isn't enough to get me to click on the first chapter of your book, and I'm sure for big publishers who secretly scout for new content to traditionally publish from Wattpad, it's not enough to draw them in either, unless the book already has a gazillion reads lol
don't have an actual conversation between characters that's also going to be in your book as your story description and nothing else...
Some people can pull this off, but not many can. Don't try it unless you're coming with something strong and exciting. Also, having one or two lines from your characters + an actual blurb is cool, but a straight out conversation? Meh. It'd better be an interesting one, that's all I'm saying.
don't have a long description that basically reveals everything that's going to happen in your book...
When it comes to blurbs they should be, in my unprofessional opinion, under or right at 200 words. Anything more than that, you're basically giving away info. that you could be telling in a prologue or another chapter of your book.
don't have a super graphic sex scene as your story description and nothing else...
Yes, sex is hot and fun to read about lol HOWEVER, not everyone is for/about that life. You can potentially draw away new readers (and publishers) when they come to your book's description and the first thing they see is something like 'I stifle back a moan as he enters me roughly from behind...' Let's try to be a little more classy with the 'romantic' blurbs folks, lmao.
if I think of more stuff to add, I'll come back and edit it in ~
Your blurb isn't where you should be telling off this new world that you created (think sci-fi and fantasy novels), nor is it where you should be data dumping about a character's life (ex. someone who had it rough growing up) - the blurb is where you're trying to give off a bite-sized description of what your book is going to be about WITHOUT actually saying what your book is going to be about... get it?
if not, take Fifty Shades of Grey, for example:
Going off the blurb, you can obviously tell that Ana is a student and Christian is a businessman aka they're both adults and this is no sappy teen fic. You can also tell that they're going to eventually hook-up (see the 'love affair') and maybe even fall in love and live happily ever after, BUT do you see how James didn't give away every little detail about the characters or what the book REALLY is about (SPOILER!!) - BDSM?
Had she done so, she would have basically revealed a giant spoiler that plays the main theme throughout all three books, thus later ruining the element of surprise that you get in the first book when you find out Christian, this hot and fancy CEO, is a kinky Dom behind closed doors...
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Again, sometimes less is more. There's no need to have a super detailed FIVE paragraph long story description. Sum up your book in the best way you can while not revealing any spoilers or being over the top so that, even if you happen to have a not so good book cover, you'll at least have the readers attention with your gripping kick-ass blurb!
