If you want to sell lots of books, it’s self-evident that you first must write a really good, readable book. Whether you’ve done that or fallen a little short of the mark, it’s a cinch you won’t sell many books if the summary you present to potential buyers showcases poor writing and drab thinking.
These examples were discovered in just a few minutes perusing summaries in the ebook section of lulu.com. We have changed just a few words in some of the excerpts to prevent any embarrassment, but the essentials remain. As a reader, would you buy these books?
Mistakes in a summary are good predictor of careless workmanship in the book itself.
“The 19th century may have seen the United States embroiled in a
bitter War of Succession (as opposed to a war over secession)...”
“The lightening (not lightning) was crashing and the thunder was
rolling as Annie Rogers stood on that bridge looking down at the
river below. “
If the blurb begins, “This book is about…,” you’re not likely to be drawn in. The chances that the sentence will end “a maniacal ship captain obsessed with killing a great white whale” are slim.
“This is the story of a man who shot his wife's lover and thus
created a memory which wrecked his own life.”
“This book allows us into the life of Danny Clyde; inside his thoughts and motivations to create, his will to sculpt and survive, and what experiences have brought him thus far.”
Nothing says unprofessional like bad punctuation – or the weird use of capital letters.
“There are Many Ways to be able to travel with your family and
make it a memorable and also Enjoyable Trip for You and Your Family!”
“In the far future, Earth is a worn-out backwater and humanity is spread
across the galaxy on worlds that began as colonies, but now feel like home,
each with its own long history of a thousand years or more, and each with
its own unique culture.
“Life hasn’t been easy for Celia Colby, raised by a single mother, money’s
been tight, but it’s about to get a whole lot worse.”
Our intention is not to demean the work of any of these authors, each of whom has invested the time, effort and expense to write and publish a book.
Chances are these summaries accurately reflect the books they describe. But if your book is well written, properly punctuated and doesn’t contain spelling or factual errors, make sure your summary is working for you, not against you. Perhaps as much as any other aspect of writing a book, the time spent perfecting your first communication with the reading public is critical to your sales success.
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