Self Publishing and You- Part 6 Reviews and Descriptions

#6 Reviews and Book Description  I'm not to this stage yet but I can see why it's important.  If you networked with like minded people for your promotions, hopefully you've found some people that are not just willing to review your work, but hopefully WANT to read your stuff.  I think of it as offering an exclusive view of an uncut edition of a blockbuster movie.  Who wouldn't want to be included in that?

Reviews are signposts to your work.  We humans don't like to gamble with our time AND we tend to follow trails blazed by others.  If Mike at work says that this new TV series is funny I'm more willing to check it out than if I just saw that it was on opposite something I mildly enjoyed and there was four other things I could watch with only a couple promos to base the decision on.  (Yes I ended that sentence with a preposition.  It's a brave new world and Merriam-Webster's "Ask the Editor" segment told me it was okay!) Good reviews on Amazon also help with your ranking, which cannot be a bad thing.  

Another topic I intended to speak to was your book description.  This would be the equivalent of the blurb on the back cover on a physical book.  After the cover, the next thing, I think we all look at, is the description.  What is this book about?  Is this something that will interest me?  

So ask yourself, what is it about a good description that makes you buy a book?  I’m willing to bet that there’s something there that peaks your interest and makes you want to know more.  At the same time, just enough info is given to leave you wanting to know more.

Without having read the description on any of the books for many years, here is an example of the description I would write for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Ten year old Harry Potter is a small neglected and abused boy of ten and he’ll never amount to anything more.  That is what his aunt and uncle would have him believe as he resigns himself to a life as their slave and son’s punching bag.  All that changes the day an owl arrives at Number 10 Privet Drive with an invitation for Harry to begin classes at the mysterious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy.  Escaping from the oppressive clutches of his dreaded uncle, Harry discovers that he is not only a wizard but one of the most famous in the world, having destroyed the wizarding world’s most feared dark wizard as an infant.  Can Harry learn to become a part of this amazing world of magic and survive the servants of the dark Lord Voldemort who seek to revenge for their master’s fate?

Okay maybe that’s a tad long (144 words) but I just pulled that out of the air.   And yes Harry Potter is a copyrighted product of JK Rowling, blah blah blah.

Had you never read Harry Potter, that description would give you a little peak at the world J.K. Rowling has created as well as allude to its darker side without giving away the details of the plot or its twist.  You feel some of the desperation that shapes Harry’s life as well as know that there is something very special about this boy if he could defeat a great wizard as an infant.

I decided to go to Amazon and see what the actual description for the Sorcerer’s Stone was.  

Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That's because he's being raised by his miserable aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he's really a wizard, just as his parents were. But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend an infamous school for wizards, and he begins to discover some clues about his illustrious birthright. From the surprising way he is greeted by a lovable giant, to the unique curriculum and colorful faculty at his unusual school, Harry finds himself drawn deep inside a mystical world he never knew existed and closer to his own noble destiny.

It’s just over 103 words and they chose to leave out the Lord Voldemort stuff, but I think I was pretty close.
So, to practice, pick your favorite novel and write a description for it then go to Amazon or the book jacket if you have it at home, and see how close you were.  If you want to post both in the comments here, it could be fun.  

The point of all this is, you can’t expect people to read your book to see what it’s about.  You have to tell them enough so that they are interested and leave them wanting to know the details of it and how it ends.  The description is asking the reader on a date, which is to actually read it.  If the date goes well, they will likely go out with you again.

Listening to Sex Bob-Omb: Threshold