BOOK BLURBS
Book Blurbs: Turn browsers into buyers
INSTRUCTOR: BETH ILER
Your book description has one job: convince someone who's never heard of you to click "buy now." Yet most authors struggle to write effective blurbs, either underselling their stories or overwhelming readers with too much information.
This four-week course teaches you the psychology and craft behind book descriptions that convert. Whether you're self-publishing or working with a traditional publisher you'll learn to write blurbs that capture attention, build intrigue, and compel action. This isn't just about summarizing your plot, it's about understanding what makes readers buy.
Week 1: The Psychology of the Buy Button - How readers make purchasing decisions, the anatomy of high-converting blurbs, genre conventions and reader expectations, and analyzing bestselling descriptions in your category
Week 2: Crafting Your Hook - Opening lines that stop the scroll, identifying your story's most marketable elements, stakes versus plot (and why stakes win), and creating emotional resonance in 150 words
Week 3: Structure & Optimization - The three-act blurb structure, using comp titles and genre signals effectively, Amazon description formatting, keywords and discoverability strategies
Week 4: Testing & Refinement - A/B testing strategies for descriptions, analyzing what's working (and what isn't), adapting your blurb for different platforms (Amazon, Goodreads, social media), and writing series descriptions that sell multiple books
This class is all about writing and revising. You'll create multiple versions of your book blurb, test different approaches, and learn what resonates with your target readers. We'll analyze dozens of successful book descriptions across genres, identifying patterns and techniques you can immediately apply.
Each week includes guided writing exercises, peer feedback sessions where you'll see what makes other readers want to buy, and detailed instructor critiques. You'll also learn to "shop" the competition—researching comparable titles to understand what works in your specific market. By week four, you'll be testing variations and learning to think like a marketer, not just a writer.
REGISTER NOW: THURSDAYS | APRIL 2, 9, 16, 30 | 6 PM TO 8 PM | $140
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Beth Iler is an independent editor, journalist, and author with a BS in Journalism and an MA in Publishing. With over ten years of editing experience, she brings versatility and precision to every project. She enjoys hiking, going to poetry slams, and Swedish metal concerts. She reads way too many books at one time, from poetry to weird medical non-fiction. But her true love is fantasy and myths.