Book blurb examples, for a nonfiction book.
"Blurb" means two things: the description on the back cover and the short quotes from people who endorse the book. This guide covers both, with ten back cover examples, twelve endorsement examples, the structure behind them, how to ask for endorsements and where each one goes. Every example is hypothetical, written to show the pattern.
The two kinds of blurb
| Back cover description | Endorsement | |
|---|---|---|
| Who writes it | You or your publisher | Someone your reader trusts |
| What it does | Tells a reader who the book is for and what they get | Tells a reader someone credible thinks it is worth reading |
| Length | 150 to 200 words | One to three sentences |
| Where it goes | Back cover, Amazon description, your website | Front and back cover, Advance Praise page, Amazon Editorial Reviews |
Scribe Media's chapter How to get incredible blurbs for your book uses the word for the second kind: "a positive quote from a credible person endorsing you or your book." It also says blurbs "are not a requirement. Many successful books have launched without them." The description, on the other hand, every book needs.
The back cover structure
Scribe Media's chapter How to write a book description that sells gives four parts:
1. The hook
One line the reader recognizes as their own situation or question.
2. The problem
What the reader is stuck on, in their words.
3. The solution
What the book gives them, often as three or four specific outcomes.
4. The invitation
Who should read it, and a plain line asking them to.
The same chapter recommends 150 to 200 words, short paragraphs, the second person where you can, and active phrasing such as "You'll discover..." in place of "This book will help you..." Add one line about the author: what they have done that makes the reader trust them.
Start with the reader. The description is for the person in Lesson 1. If you cannot name them in the first two lines, the description will not either.
Ten back cover examples
Each is written for a different kind of nonfiction book. The titles in brackets are placeholders.
1. Business book for owners
Someday you will sell your company. The price is being set right now.
Most owners think about selling a year before they want out. By then, the things a buyer pays for, like recurring revenue, a team that runs without you and clean books, take years to build.
In [Title], a business broker who has guided more than a hundred sales shows you how to:
- see your company the way a buyer will
- find the three weaknesses that cut your price the most
- fix them while you still have time
If you own a company with 10 to 100 employees and want the choice to sell on your terms, start here.
2. Leadership book for new managers
You were promoted because you were good at the work. Now nobody wants you to do it.
New managers are handed a team and almost no instruction. Most fall back on doing the work themselves, and the team stops growing.
Drawing on twenty years of coaching first-time managers, [Title] gives you a plan for your first 90 days: the conversations to have in week one, how to delegate work you know you could do better, and how to give feedback without dreading it.
For anyone who has just been handed a team and wants to be the manager they wished they had.
3. Personal finance book for physicians
You earn more than almost anyone you know. So why do you feel behind?
Physicians start saving a decade later than their friends, carry large loans and are sold more financial products than anyone. Many reach their forties with a high income and no plan.
In [Title], a financial planner who works only with doctors lays out a plan built for a medical career: what to do about loans, how much to save and where, and how to know when you can cut back your hours.
Written for physicians at any stage who want their money to give them choices.
4. Health book for a specific condition
Your feet hurt every morning. You have tried the stretches. Now what?
Heel pain sends millions of people to the doctor, and many leave with advice that does not stick. The pain comes back, and they stop doing the things they love.
A podiatrist with a busy practice explains what is actually happening in your foot, which treatments have evidence behind them, and a step-by-step plan you can follow at home, along with when it is time to see someone.
For anyone who wants to walk, run or stand at work without thinking about their feet.
5. Memoir with a lesson
He built the company in his garage. Thirty years later, he had to decide whether his son should run it.
This is the story of a family business, three generations and the hardest conversation a founder can have. It is honest about what went wrong, including a year the family stopped speaking.
For every founder who wonders what happens to the business, and the family, when they step back, [Title] offers a story and the questions to ask before it is too late.
6. Sales book for a specific market
Selling to a hospital means selling to twelve people who will never be in the same room.
Most sales training assumes one buyer and one meeting. Hospital deals take a year, involve clinicians, finance, IT and legal, and die quietly when one of them stops answering.
In [Title], a sales leader who has sold to hundreds of health systems shows you how to map every person in the decision, what each one needs to hear, and how to keep a deal alive through a budget cycle.
For reps and sales leaders who sell into healthcare and are tired of forecasting deals that never close.
7. Career book for a career change
You are good at your job. You just do not want to do it for another twenty years.
Changing careers in your forties feels risky, and most advice is written for people just starting out.
[Title] is a practical guide for experienced professionals: how to find the work your skills already fit, how to test it before you quit, and how to explain the change so employers see experience instead of a gap.
For anyone who has asked "is it too late?" and wants an honest answer.
8. Parenting book
Your teenager has stopped talking to you. They have not stopped needing you.
The years between 13 and 18 can make a close family feel like strangers sharing a kitchen. Most parents respond by talking more, and it makes things worse.
A family therapist with two decades of practice shows you how to listen in a way teenagers notice, which fights are worth having, and how to stay close through the years when they pull away.
For parents who want their kids to come home, and keep coming home.
9. Industry book for a professional audience
Credit unions were built to serve their members. Many are losing them to apps.
Younger members open accounts with online banks and never walk into a branch. Credit unions have the trust and the mission, but not the tools.
In [Title], a technology leader who has worked with credit unions for years lays out how small institutions can work together to offer what members expect, without giving up what makes them different.
For credit union executives and boards deciding what the next decade looks like.
10. How-to book for small business
You know you should be getting clients from your website. You are not.
Most small-business websites list services, show a team photo and say nothing a buyer can use. Visitors leave without calling.
[Title] walks you through rewriting your site around the questions your customers ask before they buy, one page at a time, with examples from accounting firms, contractors, clinics and agencies.
For owners who want their website to do some of the selling.
Five weak descriptions, rewritten
| Before | What is wrong | After |
|---|---|---|
| "This book is about leadership." | No reader, no problem, no reason to open it. | "You were promoted because you were good at the work. Now nobody wants you to do it." |
| "In this groundbreaking book, the author shares decades of wisdom." | Praises itself and tells the reader nothing. | "Drawing on twenty years of coaching first-time managers, the book gives you a plan for your first 90 days." |
| "This book will help you with your finances." | Vague, and the weak phrasing the Scribe chapter warns against. | "You'll learn what to do about your loans, how much to save and where." |
| "Perfect for everyone!" | A book for everyone reads as a book for no one. | "Written for physicians at any stage who want their money to give them choices." |
| "The ultimate system to double your sales." | A promise the author cannot keep, and readers know it. | "Shows you how to map every person in the decision and what each one needs to hear." |
Twelve endorsement examples
Scribe Media's chapter names three sources of blurbs: respected people in your field, press mentions and reader or client testimonials. It also says the best ones sound authentic rather than over the top, and help the reader understand why the book matters. Names here are placeholders; use only words the person has approved.
From a respected person in the field
- "The book I wish I had been handed the week I became a manager." (Name), author of (Book)
- "Clear, practical and honest about what goes wrong. I will be giving copies to every new leader on my team." (Name), Chief Operating Officer, (Company)
- "Most books on selling a business are written for bankers. This one is written for owners." (Name), founder, (Company)
- "(Author) has done this work for twenty years, and it shows on every page." (Name), professor of (Field), (University)
From a peer author
- "Read this before your next hospital deal. Then read it again before the one after that." (Name), author of (Book)
- "Warm, specific and useful. A rare book that will change what you do on Monday." (Name), author of (Book)
- "I underlined half of chapter three." (Name), author of (Book)
From a client or reader
- "(Author) walked our family through the hardest decision our business ever made. This book is that conversation, written down." (Name), owner, (Company)
- "I bought copies for our whole sales team. The account mapping chapter alone was worth it." (Name), VP of Sales, (Company)
- "Finally, financial advice that starts from how a medical career actually works." (Name), MD
From the press
- "A practical guide for owners thinking about what comes next." (Publication)
- "Required reading for anyone in the industry." (Trade publication)
Notice what these have in common: each says who the book is for or what it does, and none claims it will change the reader's life. Scribe's chapter makes the same point about hyperbole: "Exaggerated or overly enthusiastic blurbs can backfire."
The chapter's example of the first source is Adam Grant's Give and Take, which carried endorsements from Susan Cain, Seth Godin and Robert Cialdini. The name behind a blurb carries much of its weight, so aim for people your reader already knows and trusts.
How to ask for an endorsement
Start three to six months before your cover is final, so there is time to wait for replies. Make a list in three tiers: people your readers would recognize, people you know who are respected in your field, and clients or early readers whose words carry weight. Then:
Make the ask short
Two or three sentences on why you chose them, two sentences on the book, and the date you need it by.
Make it easy
Offer the full manuscript, a few chapters or a one-page summary, whichever they prefer. Scribe's chapter suggests offering to draft a blurb they can tweak or approve if they are interested but busy.
Follow up once
A polite reminder a week or two later is normal. After that, let it go and thank them anyway.
Use what you already have
If a client or early reader has already said something kind about the book, ask permission to use their exact words. Your early readers are often the best source.
A note to adapt, in your own words:
"(Name), I have admired your work on (topic) for years, which is why I am writing. My book, (Title), is for (reader) who (problem), and it comes out in (month). Would you consider reading it and, if you like it, writing a sentence or two I could use on the cover? I can send the full manuscript or a few chapters, and I am glad to suggest a draft you can change or ignore. I would need it by (date). Either way, thank you for considering it."
Where each blurb goes
| Place | What goes there |
|---|---|
| Front cover | One short endorsement from the most recognized name, if you have one |
| Back cover | The description, an author line and up to three endorsements |
| Inside flap (hardcover) | A longer version of the description and the author bio |
| Advance Praise page | Every endorsement that did not fit on the cover |
| Amazon description | The description only |
| Amazon Editorial Reviews | Endorsements, managed through Author Central |
| Your website and press kit | The description and your strongest endorsements |
The places in the table follow the list in Scribe's blurbs chapter. Amazon's About promotional content page says an author or publisher may post content in the book description, About the Author and Editorial Reviews sections of the product page. The Amazon book page lesson covers the description rules in more depth.
A final checklist
- The first line of the description names the reader's situation or question.
- The description is 150 to 200 words, in short paragraphs.
- It says who the book is for, in so many words.
- It makes no promise the author cannot keep.
- Every endorsement uses words the person approved, with their name and title as they want them.
- The strongest endorsement is on the cover; the rest are on the Advance Praise page and Amazon.
- The same description appears on Amazon, your website and your press release.
For when the description and endorsements fit into the rest of your launch, see the book marketing plan lesson or build a dated plan with the Launch Plan Builder.