The saddest truth in book sales is that even the greatest story on the shelf can't sell itself without solid packaging. Book marketing is a big business, and most publishing companies have staff devoted to book design above and beyond the editorial team, including graphic designers, cover artists, and copywriters.

Typically, a copywriter will create the text that appears on the paperback cover or book jacket. A copywriter may either be on the staff at the publishing house, or the publisher may contract out, or outsource, to freelance copywriters. Either way, it's the job of the copywriter to craft a paragraph or two about your book that will sell it to readers.

Otherwise, and this too occurs more often within larger publishing houses, an overworked and underpaid editorial assistant may be tasked with crafting your book jacket copy. This is often viewed as an onerous task and is obviously less than ideal; while editors (and editorial assistants) are useful in helping to shape and enhance your story, they may not have the necessary 'sales writing' skills to entice the reader to purchase your book on the shelf.

So, while most of the time you may not be writing your own book jacket copy, it's still important for any writer to be able to do so. Here's why:

1. This provides you with the chance to concisely sum up your manuscript and re-examine the story - it's like going through a copy edit of the plot.

2. It allows you to make sure you've been writing towards your target audience, OR it can help you to determine the target audience for your book.

3. If you're sending query letters out to publishers with hopes of selling your manuscript, you'll essentially have to write a paragraph to pitch your idea anyway.

Here are some tips for writing copy for book jackets or covers that will sell your book to the reader:

-Research. Before you start to write, read ten book descriptions on the back of books that would appeal to your intended audience. Get a feel for the amount of detail and how the writer avoids spoilers in winding up the description and weaves in the themes. Look at the kinds of promises made in the copy. Can your book make similar promises?

-Sell it, baby. This is advertising copy, not editorial copy. Don't go into too many details about plot or concepts. Use strong, compelling verbs and nouns. Some of the books I have on my desk use language such as "embark," "initiate," "embrace," "address," and "achieve."

-Highlight your key ideas with a bullet point list. If yours is a work of nonfiction, think about using bullet points in your description. Start each bullet with strong words, whether verbs or nouns, pay attention to parallelism. If you have a list of nouns, be consistent and don't mix a verb into your list: "practical solutions," "advice on," and "7 strategies" should not be mixed with a bullet point that starts with a verb, such as "Learn ways to... " If your bullet points are incomplete sentences, rewrite the others to make them all incomplete for consistency. Notice the parallelism in this article: I start every tip with a strong verb phrase in boldface, and use full sentences.

-Watch the hype. Don't gush about your book or yourself to a degree that might turn off readers. The rule is "know your audience." Maybe your followers will be excited by terms such as "earth-shattering" or "truly unique" but maybe you are better off with "groundbreaking" and "original" and "fresh approach." Remember, too, that you can't qualify "unique," which means one of a kind. Nothing's "very one of a kind" or "more one of a kind," so don't use "very unique" or "more unique."

-Work your expertise into the description. Don't just give your name and any degrees you have. You might write something like "Joe Smith, a lifelong spelunker and founder of CaveExplorers.com, the #1 spelunker's site on the internet... "

-Grab 'em up front! Consider asking a question in the first line or setting up a very short example that will grab your reader's attention instantly-or, make a starting statement. You want the reader to have an energetic response rather than a lukewarm one.

-Follow a "Wow! Okay... Wow!" structure. Structure your description by grabbing the reader, then explaining what's in the book and who you are, and ending with oomph. Of course, you want your description to be engaging and energetic, too, as I've explained, but the energy of the reader naturally dips when you're listing the facts about what's in the book. Think about how a musical performance will start with an energetic song, include quieter ones in the middle, and end on an energetic note.

-Check your spelling and usage. Don't rely on the eye, I like to say. Actually use spellchecker software, and if you really want to be picky, consult Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 11th Edition (the standard dictionary in book publishing) to make sure you've styled every word correctly (groundbreaking not ground-breaking, for example). Be consistent throughout your text (for example, don't mix "soundboard" and "sound board," both of which are acceptable-choose one and stick with it). Don't use terms people might not know unless you define them (for example, people often confuse "i.e." and "e.g." so it's better to use "for example"). Have someone else who is good with grammar, spelling, and mechanics proofread your copy and look over it yourself several times to catch usage errors (such as "effect" for "affect," which spellchecker software will overlook). Be as nitpicky as you can.

A few words of caution: Like most good things, blurbs are good in moderation. A couple on the back cover by reputable authors in your field will help the sell the book. Three or four pages on the inside, unless the book is an international bestseller, is probably overkill.

Try to reach out to respected peers in your field, but be wary of those that have been termed in the industry as "blurb abusers". An author's name found too often blurbing similar publications may reduce the value of the testimonial for your book. Look for thoughtful readers willing to offer genuine reviews and comments. There's no point in misleading the reader with a testimonial; everyone knows it's what's inside that counts.

Keep in mind that while you may try to design and format your book jacket cover on your own, there are professional editors who will do it for you. An experienced editor will create a professionally written book jacket cover that will capture your audience's attention. This is short, succinct copy that sends a strong message about your writing.

Happy blurbing!