How to Write the Best Book Descriptions for Audiobooks

Capturing an audience’s attention in today’s busy world is becoming increasingly challenging. That’s why, when it comes to audiobook publishing, there is nothing more important than your book description. This short, 200 to 300-word summary of your book is how it gets found by potential readers and what ultimately encourages them to purchase. No pressure, right? So, how do you, as an author, write the best book descriptions possible that will grab audiences’ attention and skyrocket sales? We’ve gathered tips on how to write a good book description from industry experts and are also sharing some well-executed book description examples to help get you started. 

    

The Best Book Descriptions Start With The Basics

What Are Book Descriptions & Why Do They Matter?

Book descriptions are brief summaries of what a book is about, crafted to hook readers and drive sales. For audiobooks in particular, book descriptions are featured on online retail websites and audiobook distribution platforms such as Amazon, Audible, iTunes, and more. Because book descriptions are ultimately how your book gets discovered by future readers, it’s important to put thought into crafting the best book descriptions possible. While audiobook covers may initially draw attention, and quality audiobook reviews certainly help lend credibility to your work, what really convinces a potential reader to click the purchase button is the book description. Learn how to write a book description that converts to sales with the tips below.

   

What Makes The Best Book Descriptions?

While every book description is as unique as its story, they all share common aspects. If you’re looking for guidelines on how to write a good book description, be sure to include the following elements:

• Attention-grabbing hook: Sometimes referred to as a tagline, this is the first line of your book description; it can be an emotion-provoking line, a bold statement, a rhetorical question, a sensational fact – anything that will cause readers to want to know more.
  Consider this book description example from #1 Amazon bestselling author Mel Robbins that utilizes bolding and italics to capture the readers’ attention, as well as a thought-provoking question:
• Compelling character synopsis: This should briefly tell readers who the book is about and why they should care.
• Key plot & themes: Without revealing too many details, quickly introduce the main action and conflict of the story.
  In this book description example from Andy Weir’s science fiction audiobook Project Hail Mary, a bestseller on Amazon, you can see how in two simple paragraphs he captures the essence of the book’s main character and its central plot:
• Relevant & specific keywords: When writing your book description, be sure to incorporate the main words that your readers would use to search for your book, including the book’s genre. So, if you were writing a book description for a romance novel about a wartime hero, you would want to include those specific buzzwords, as well as keywords more specific to your book, such as Victorian Era romance, British wartime romance, and more.
• Clear language: The “keep it simple, stupid” rule applies here. You want your book description to be written simply and easy to understand for any audience.
• Short & concise language: While you technically have a maximum of 2,000 characters (300-500 words) to work with for book descriptions, it is best to aim on the shorter side. Most Amazon bestsellers have very short book descriptions of under 200 words.
• Easy-to-read structure: Similarly, making your book description easy to digest is ideal. Break it into 2-3 paragraphs, use bullet points, and make it simple to scan.  Take this book description example from Atomic Habits by James Clear. The use of bullets easily conveys the benefits of this non-fiction book for the reader:

• Curiosity-inducing cliffhanger: Leave readers wanting more by ending your book description with a dramatic hook. Tie this in with a call-to-action encouraging readers to purchase the book to see what happens next. 

• Third-person objective voice: Be as impartial as possible to lend credibility and authority to your work.

   

How To Write A Book Description For Your Audiobook

Now that you know how to write a book description using key elements like a compelling hook, keywords, and a call to action, you may be wondering how to actually get started. When sitting down to write your audiobook description, here are some tips for making the process a bit easier.

   

Tips for Writing the Best Book Descriptions (When You Don’t Know Where to Start)

1. Take a look at bestselling books in your genre and see how their book descriptions are formatted. Is there anything you can borrow and adapt for your own book?
2. Put yourself in your readers' shoes. How might they search for your book? What words would they use? What language might draw them in and entice them to purchase?
3. Spend time fine-tuning your opening sentences. Platforms like Amazon typically display the first few lines of book descriptions, so these first few lines are crucial. Focus on frontloading your first 1-2 sentences with your strongest information. Use dramatic language, provocative questions, and social proof to draw readers in.
4. End with a call to action formatted as a hook. Leave readers wanting more and then encourage them to purchase your book to find out what happens next.

   

How To Write A Book Description: What NOT To Include

Just like there are certain elements to include in your book description to make it stand out from the competition, there are also things to avoid when crafting your audiobook descriptions to make sure they can be submitted successfully to audiobook distribution platforms and are formatted correctly on retail websites. Here’s what to avoid including in your book descriptions:

• Phone numbers, email addresses, or physical addresses
• Advertisements or promotional material
• Critic reviews
• HTML tags / formatting and URLs
• References to physical content not included with the audiobook (e.g. PDFs) 
• Time-sensitive language (e.g. coming soon, recently, latest, etc.)
• Explicit text and profanity
• Repeated information also included in the audiobook’s metadata

With these book description examples and tips, you’ll be well on your way to creating effective and engaging marketing material to help sell more copies of your audiobook. If you’re still feeling a bit overwhelmed, though, don’t worry! You don’t have to feel like you need to do it all yourself. At Author’s Republic, we partner with indie authors to make publishing and promoting audiobooks easier. Learn more about how we help with audiobook creation and find answers to frequently asked author questions.