My book needs you!

Help shape the blurb for my latest book, KOKORO

You’ve seen her. The woman who stands in the bookshop for ages, not impulse buying but impulse-picking-up. She hovers in the self-help section, handles a few books from the ‘recommended by our booksellers’ table, perhaps even runs her hand along a few spines on the shelf but usually goes with the ones that are facing out. As she picks up a few to take with her to the coffee shop, she wonders what the other shoppers make of her, based on the stack of books in her hands.

You watch her, and you think, I know you. I wrote my book for you. I really hope that you’ll read it.

But what makes her decide to actually go ahead and buy one or more of those books, ideally yours? Well there are a few things:

(1) The cover, of course - If it’s not a strong cover it probably won’t even make it into the stack on her bookshop cafe coffee table. This is mostly the publisher’s job, although some do involve the author for more than just approvals.

(2) The title and sub-title - does it sound like it will help her with something she has been struggling with, or support her in making a change she is wanting to make? And does the tone of it feel right for where she is right now?

(3) Quotes from other people saying what an amazing/powerful/moving/helpful/funny/unforgettable book it is, usually written on the front cover, back cover or inside front pages. We all love social proof. It helps us be confident in advance that the book will do what it says on the cover.

So far so obvious. But there is one thing people don’t talk much about, even though it plays a key role in turning the shopper from ‘browser’ to ‘reader’ (and not just any reader, but the kind of reader you have just spent years slaving over your book in order to help or inspire). It is this: