Good book descriptions pages

Understanding the pros and overcoming the cons of selling on amazon. People are always looking for a reason to move on to the next thing. You need to know how to write a book description, preferably a great one. The purpose of the headline is to make the audience read further into your book description. Apr 01, 20 10 terms to describe the anatomy of a book. Most often seen in nonfiction like a biography or an academic text, a bibliography lists the references and sources used in researching or reporting the book. Before i start digging into book description writing, its best to get back to the basics and remember what exactly a good book description needs. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Heres a screenshot of this book, how to sell a truckload of books on amazon. How to write a great book description like a copywriter. Ioba book condition definitions are here for two reasons. In only around 60 pages, youll find an illuminating and logical outline with stepbystep strategies for. And the description section on your books product page is the most important selling tool you have.

I looked along the books on the shelf, there it was, the black shiny leather looked well kept. It helps potential buyers find and understand your book. How writers can optimize their books description on amazon jane friedman if youre an author, you may not like thinking about your published books as products, but thats what they are. How writers can optimize their books description on amazon. Amazon complains of invisible characters if when you go to publish your book description, and amazon says no and responds with something like description may not contain invisible characters this means that there are some tags that dont have anything. How to write an amazon book description that sells selling books is a result of two factors. Lets take a look at a few tips for creating a book description that does all the work of selling your book for you. If youve been thinking about book descriptions at all, youll have noticed that some descriptions make good use of formatting bold, italics, subheadings, etc, some make wildly excessive use. How to change your book s description in amazons dashboard.

Jan 31, 2010 i take it you are deprived in life and dont have an old book to take off the bookshelves. Lori culwell on the creative penn wrote an excellent post that details which retailers accept keywords and how many, and other places to insert keywords, such as by adding a bio, excerpt, and categories into the book description. Refugee by alan gratz meet your next favorite book. Tell the reader about the journey theyre going to take, rather than trying to create. It is because a potential reader or book buyer will read the book description before deciding if the book is worth buying.

Jan 12, 2016 how writers can optimize their books description on amazon jane friedman if youre an author, you may not like thinking about your published books as products, but thats what they are. The best product descriptions address your target audience directly and personally. Learning how to write a book description that actually gets people interested in buying your book is important for increasing book sales and creating buzz what makes you pick up or download a new book at the bookstore. How to write a book description that attracts readers. Good g describes the condition of an average used worn book that is complete. A good condition book should still have all pages and a fully intact cover. How to write a book description for a nonfiction book. Good describes the average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. See the winners in the only major book awards decided by readers. Whenever you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have in front of you a tree, a house, a field or whatever.

Capture readers with better book descriptions for fiction. Having book descriptions on web pages makes seo a lot more important. At the books end, readers see how many neighborhoods can come together to make one city, showing how each one of us is part of something bigger. You should heed the following five tips regardless of whether youve written a nonfiction or fiction book. We have an article that specifically explains how to write a book description. While the amazon book description wont affect traffic i.

Kids and illustrations are unique to this category. How to write book descriptions for fiction and nonfiction. I take it you are deprived in life and dont have an old book to take off the bookshelves. A wellestablished practice among publishers as early as the middle of the nineteenth century. Think of your book description as a teaser, or a short movie trailer. The book also includes maps of each fictional characters journey and includes a thorough authors note about the history behind the story. A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages. Description is a great book for the aspiring author who has already studied stein on writing or selfediting for fiction writers ive read many books on writing novels, books that pound in messages like showdonttell and avoid flashbacks like the plague. Oct 06, 2019 how to write product descriptions that sell 1. A great book description on amazon will engage readers and sell books.

Just like a great cover design captures your eye immediately, every good book description you see is interesting from the first line. Describing an old book state library of pennsylvania. Your description should not be a summary or a bio, its a sales page. Keep it simple the nittygritty details are best left on the pages of your book.

A book in which the text block, including illustrations, is complete. Apr 15, 2018 most sites let you customize the pages with a description, and you should take advantage of this opportunity to add your personality and make your business more attractive. Somewhere between 150 and 250 words and no more than three paragraphs. Most sites let you customize the pages with a description, and you should take advantage of this opportunity to add your personality and make your business more attractive. Comic book grading is the process of determining the grade or condition of a book, which directly influences its value. You want it to be short, eyecatching and interesting. How to create amazon book descriptions that sell is the quick fix you need to move from commonplace to compelling. The only piece of information thats necessary is the main plot. The key to a good headline is to include keywords that people on the hunt for. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading mastering amazon descriptions. Tell us what titles or genres youve enjoyed in the past, and well give you surprisingly insightful recommendations. Unless you are a huge fan of the books author, youre first drawn to a catchy title and cover appeala provocative illustration or that unique cover design.

Among authors who selfpublish using amazon kdp, most know that they can choose up to two categories for their book. Refugee is a middle grade historical fiction told through the eyes of three children josef in 1938 germany, isabel in 1994 cuba, and mahmoud in 2015 syria. The book also includes maps of each fictional characters journey and includes a thorough. Many times ill see blocks of text pulled from the back of the book and while, in theory, thats not a bad idea. Book descriptions on amazon can be up to 4,000 characters around 1,000 words. Must always be noted as such no matter what the condition of the book. Self publishing skills series 2 kindle edition by webb, gary. This is a reading list for people who dont have time for unimportant books.

This book has seen much better days and tends to be heavily worn and tattered. No one knows that better than bryan cohen, a man who has built a business writing the descriptions for the back of books. Here are some additional tips for how to write a book description for a nonfiction book. You may have to add linking sentences between the different sections. True, it may cost only 99 cents, but you still have to convince the reader that its worth it. Amazon complains of invisible characters if when you go to publish your book description, and amazon says no and responds with something like description may not contain invisible characters this means that there are some tags that dont have anything in between the two. How a great amazon book description can help indie authors.

I only list the best books to read in each category. What we think of as a booka cover supporting a block of pages, backed up by a spineis one. Chances are your friends are discussing their favorite and least favorite books on goodreads. A good book description is detailed, descriptive copy that is good for public display, used for your book marketing, book discovery, and for sales purposes. There are several books about this very topic, outlining some specific rules of thumb and tips about making these descriptions really work for you. It got me to read the first couple pages, standing right there in the store. So, i broke out some of my favorite resources on book descriptions.

Youll find more than 100 good books to read, organized by category. Describes the average used worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Book description basics celebrating independent authors. Find the book you want to change the description for and click edit details. May be soiled, scuffed, stained, or spotted, and may have loose joints, hinges, pages, etc.

If you were about to leave this planet, what would you. Describe any book thanks to my friends on facebook for submitting these adjectives. May 11, 2017 these are the questions that haunt my nights. Your book is a product and you are trying to sell it. When you write a product description with a huge crowd of buyers in mind, your descriptions become wishywashy and you end up addressing no one at all. Ioba members should guard against using language in their book descriptions which might conceal material defects, overstate a books condition, or mislead buyers in any other respect. How to write amazon book descriptions that sell your book. How to write amazon book descriptions that sell more. In this section, you want to explain to people why they should. A book description should draw the reader in, but authors tend to get too flowery with these. How writers can optimize their books description on. An index is an optional but highly desirable element for nonfiction works.

Weve had a post on the most common book description issues. How do you write amazon book descriptions that really sell the book and compel the reader. Worn book that has complete text pages including those with maps or plates but may lack endpapers, halftitle, etc. They often include bullet points to outline the books goals and procedures and they talk more about the author than the book itself. So, whats this got to do with an amazon book description. Must always be designated as such no matter what the condition of the book. The book description, often overlooked as a means to drive traffic to your page, is also a great place to use keywords. Oct 16, 2018 book descriptions not only tell readers what a book s about but help them find it online in the first place. Who, what, when, where, why, and how, and why do i want to readbuy this book. Whether on amazon or any other etailer, book descriptions are more important than most authors realize. Get access to my full free amazon ads video course. The best book descriptions can hook a reader and get them invested before theyve even read a single page. Nonfiction books have slightly different descriptions that fiction books. A book in this condition is worn, ragged and unattractive.

For many collectors this is the minimum acceptable condition for all but the rarest items. Examples of good book descriptions cameron herolds vivid vision. If youve been thinking about book descriptions at all, youll have noticed that some descriptions make good use of formatting bold, italics, subheadings, etc, some make wildly excessive use of them, and some make no use at all. If you want to learn how to write a book description that captivates readers. How to write a book description that will sell your book. What we have here is a good starting place for book descriptions that really help to sell your work. Bryan cohens book how to write a sizzling synopsis. Read, readers, kindle, author, series, kids, ages, learn, and illustrations are all high on the list.

Merely think, here is a little squeeze of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, until it gives your own naive impression of the scene in front of you. Booklet a small book, often only a few pages long and bound in wrappers pamphlet could be used as a synonym. Aug 22, 2015 whenever you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have in front of you a tree, a house, a field or whatever. Learn killer strategies for writing book descriptions to make bestselling books. Most book descriptions have less to do with the story of the book, and more to do with the story of the reader. The basics for writing a good book description dont change.

Rather than waste the midnight hours with trivial endeavors like sleep, i dissected over 2000 book descriptions in amazons paid best seller charts us to divine their secrets. The page is a reading list sharing the best books to read in various categories based on many hours of reading and research. Get tips for how to write a good book description and learn the. How to write a book description that sells with examples. Copywriting for authors kindle edition by meeks, brian d. The level of detail in this process would really help ensure that the book lives up to its description, offering steak as well as the sizzle, so to speak. Fair shows wear and tear but all the text pages and. A good book description is probably one of the most important sections of a book. This post details the process and provides book description examples from. I cant resist a good data visualization, so i also took the opportunity to craft this data into a series of word clouds. Here are five key elements to remember when writing your book description. And the description section on your books product page is the most. Ioba book terminology independent online booksellers. A copy of a comic in this grade has all pages and most of the covers.

Get tips for how to write a good book description and learn the difference between a long book description and a short book description. Very good vg describes a book that is worn but untorn. Digital pubbing writing a strong book description, a. To answer that question, you have to get a clear read on your who reader is what their state of mind is. Write sales copy but its a description, not a sales pitch. And, ill be the first to tell you i havent memorized everything. As with grading all collectibles, there is a degree of subjectivity as there are many factors to consider and all of them must be weighed to determine an overall grade. Book descriptions not only tell readers what a books about but help them find it online in the first place. How to craft the perfect amazon book description mike fishbein. Your description should sound like its written by a publisher. Comic book grading learn the scale and how to apply it.

Childrens book descriptions are by necessity directed at adults, so many of the dominant terms involve the books themselves. Ioba condition definitions independent online booksellers. Note that these instructions are optimized for nonfiction books. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading book descriptions that sell. The glossary is a list of term definitions used throughout the book that might be unfamiliar to the reader. Also referred to as the dust jacket or dustwrapper. Some nonessential pages such as the front free end paperffep or rear free end paper rfep may possilby be missing but the entire text and all. It should focus on your book, rather than on you unless youre a global.