Why Focus on Your Book’s Back Cover?

If the front cover of your book is the movie poster, the back cover is the movie trailer. If a potential reader makes it to your book’s back cover, it means the front cover successfully did its job. And now, the back cover must tell the reader three things:

1. What they get from reading your book.
2. Why you – and only you – are the right person to tell that story.
3. What kind of journey or experience they’ll have through your book.

Since your back cover is perhaps the most important piece of marketing on your book, every single word and image counts.

Why the back cover of a book is so important

With the sheer number of books available, a reader must make some tough choices. Your book’s front cover has mere moments to make a good first impression. Once that’s done, the back cover plays a pivotal role – convincing the reader your book is for them.

Also known as a “blurb,” the copy included on your back cover is the sales pitch that makes or breaks your book. You have roughly 200 words to describe your book in such a compelling way that potential readers must buy a copy of it immediately.

What makes a blurb good? It subtly communicates a book’s essence without giving too much away. A good blurb grabs the reader’s attention, making them so curious about what lies at the heart of your book that they want to learn more.

Elements of a book back cover blurb

Every book’s back cover generally includes several essential elements:

• The hook – The first one or two sentences of the book’s description should draw readers in and leave them wanting even more.
• The character – Share some strong hints about your main character’s style or personality, without spilling the beans. Show your readers quickly that they’re going to have a great time with your main character.
• The conflict – Again, tease the primary conflict, but don’t share how it gets resolved. That’s for your reader to discover throughout your book.

Your back cover should also introduce you as the author in an appealing way to allow potential readers to connect with you on a personal level. The back cover is also where the book’s ISBN number is located.

Designing a great back cover

Just like any other area of your book, there’s an art and a science to designing a successful cover. One thing to remember is you can’t design the back cover without designing the whole cover. Using a professional designer helps ensure the back cover is part of a coherent, attractive, professionally designed package that flows smoothly across the three faces of the book’s exterior.

Your designer should have a great feel for overall layout and composition and be able to create a clean, crisp, visually appealing design that is easy to read. Along with the book title, any subtitles and front cover graphics, the overall design should also incorporate the back cover blurb, author bio, author photo, professional testimonials and ISBN barcode in a way that marries them all together smoothly, without cramming too much information in or confusing your potential readers.

We know how much time and effort you have invested in writing your book. Let our professional Publish Pros team help you create the one-of-a-kind book cover design that sets you apart. Contact us today to learn how we can help.