How do I write back-cover copy?
- Back-cover copy sells the book; it is not a summary.
- It opens with a hook and raises the central conflict.
- It conveys stakes and stops short of the ending.
- Genre conventions shape tone and length.
- It overlaps with the online description but is print-facing.
Write back-cover copy in three moves: a hook that captures the premise and voice, the central conflict and what is at stake, and a closing line or question that leaves the reader wanting more — never the ending. Keep it tight (roughly 100-200 words for fiction) and matched to genre tone. It is persuasion, not summary: every line exists to make a browsing reader open the book.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Back-cover copy is the close: a reader who likes the cover flips to the back, and these few sentences decide the sale. New authors often summarize the plot or give away too much, killing the curiosity that drives a purchase. Treating the copy as marketing — hook, conflict, stakes, stop — is what turns a browser into a buyer. The same copy, adapted, becomes your retailer description.
Chapter ii·What to include
- A hook that captures premise and voice.
- The central conflict and protagonist.
- Clear stakes — what is at risk.
- A closing hook or question, not the ending.
- Genre-appropriate tone and length.
- No spoilers and no plot summary.
Chapter iii·Example
A thriller author drafts back-cover copy: an opening line that lands the premise, a paragraph raising the central question (did her husband fake his death?), the stakes, and a final line that hooks — stopping well before any answer. She adapts the same copy into her Amazon description. Browsers who flip to the back open the book.
WriteLoom's Sell studio keeps your back-cover copy and retailer description together, drawn from the same hook.
See the Sell studio