How do you do it? As an exercise, go get two or three books you’ve read before. This won’t work with books you haven’t read. Now, read the back of the cover and think about the blurb. Did it grab your attention? Did it tell the whole story? Do you know everything there is to know about the hero and heroine? Since you’ve read the book, think about what you know is in that book. Would you have bought to book if the blurb had been more detailed? Probably not. You would probably put the book back on the shelf before you finished the blurb.

I am betting the majority of you agree it captured your attention and then no to telling the whole story or everything about the hero or heroine. Why the heck would we want to know the whole story in a blurb? But I see this mistake made often. You don’t want to bonk the reader (or agent or editor) with everything there is to know about your plot. What you want to do is entice…seduce them into buying or requesting it. So what do you need? Here are some pointers I think will help.

· Always have a hook. Whether it you have a romantic suspense, romantic comedy, or historical romance, you need to have a hook that grabs the reader. A phrase. The phrase for one of my futuristics is: Being captured has never been so much fun. It is about bounty hunters. It conveys there is some kind of suspense but it also shows there is a bit of comedy there.

· Description of hero or heroine. Okay, don’t go overboard. We don’t need to know that she why she doesn’t trust the hero, or if he has green eyes and dark hair. What we need to know it short clear sentences is the major conflicts, note MAJOR. We don’t need to know that Sissy got mad at Bud because he flirted with women at a restaurant and then he tracked her down in his truck. (obscure Urban Cowboy reference there) That is part of the plot but not needed in a blurb.

· Plot. We need to have an idea of the plot, but nothing big here. The tone of the book and the gist of the plot. Is there a sinister menace after the hero? Fine. Just don’t go into detail. The best blurbs raise more questions than it answers. Remember, you are seducing a sale, not banging the reader over the head and dragging them to your cave.

· End it with a punch! My favorite thing to do is to leave them with a question. One of mine is: When he finds out what she is, will he forgive her or condemn her? Once again, I want the reader to WANT to read if he will condemn her, if they will be able to find love. You want that reader running to buy it because they are enticed to find out the answer to that question.