Good question. My answer? All together now… it depends.

Yes, it depends on what publishers choose to do with the back cover real estate. As Ken Whyte thoughtfully wrote in a post from his popular and edifying Substack, Shush, back in January:

“There are five things you can do with the back of a book.

• You can print several blurbs, those short recommendations of the book from other authors or subject-matter experts

• You can run “praise” for the author, quotes from previous reviews or blurbs attesting to his or her merits

• You can display an author photograph

• You can sell or tease the content of the book with a short excerpt or a description of the contents

• You can go with some combination of the above.”

His conclusion was that far and away the most popular use of the back cover space is for blurbs—I wrote a post about blurbs over a year ago that you can read here. I’m one of those who actually reads the blurbs on the back cover. I’m not suggesting the blurbs ought to have much influence over my decision to buy a book, but I confess they do have an effect. If I like a writer who has blurbed the book, and their words describing the writing and/or the story pique my interest or parallel my own tastes, I am definitely more likely to make the purchase.

But in this post, I’m really referring to the story description, whether it appears on the back cover or on the front flap if it’s a hardcover or fancy trade paperback.

For me, I’d say it’s the pithy description of the story itself on the back cover that wields more influence over my purchase decision than anything else. I know what I like and what I tend to shy away from. For instance, I tend not to read books that feature supernatural phenomena or magic realism. I know there are countless books that fall into this category, but after reading many of these novels, I know it’s just not in my reading wheelhouse. So the back cover story description, as cryptic as they sometimes are, helps me find novels I’m more likely to enjoy. To fracture a cliché, I expect I’m not alone in sometimes judging books by their back cover.

A couple back covers from my library

More than thirty years ago, the back cover copy below persuaded me to buy Nobody’s Fool, my first Richard Russo novel. I then went on to read everything he’s ever written, all because this back cover copy somehow spoke to me.

And a Canadian example:

Solomon Gursky Was Here is among my favourites of Mordecai Richler’s funny, moving novels. (He has a Leacock Medal to his credit, among many other literary accolades.) There’s a lot going on in this story, still, the back cover copy drew me in. This was one of the novels that turned me on to Richler’s writing. I now have first editions of nearly all of his books.

The back cover copy has not only helped me find novels I’ve enjoyed, it has introduced me to writers I love.

The all-important story description

The idea is to share enough on the back cover to catch the reader’s interest without giving away too much of the story, where it’s going, and how it ends. It’s a delicate balance. I think the story description takes on even greater importance if the reader has never heard of—or read— the author. If they’ve already enjoyed the writer’s books, then the cover copy perhaps becomes less influential—if you love a writer, you’re usually going to buy their next novel.

So who writes the back cover copy?

For all of my novels, the paragraph that teases the story on the back cover (or front flap, as the case may be) has been written jointly by my editor and me. In a way, my editor has an advantage in that when he or she is reading my manuscript, they’re coming to the novel fresh. As I’ve said before, the writer can never read his or her work for the first time—but an editor sure can, and does. It’s part of their job. So it’s often easier—and more effective—for my editor to take a first crack at the back cover copy. He has just experienced ‘reading the novel’ and, therefore, may be in a stronger position to write a paragraph specifically for the prospective reader. But I have always participated in the copywriting process, too—often adding a line or two, or tweaking a few sentences. But I don’t often change much.

A case in point…

Here’s the latest—not necessarily final yet—back cover/front flap copy for my upcoming tenth novel, The Marionette. As usual, it was initially written by my editor, Joe Lee, and then sent to me. My minor tweaks are shown in red. I think Joe did a great job on the first draft. There may be further minor edits but you get the idea.

A few more examples…

For what it’s worth, I’ll close with a look at the back cover/front flap copy for some of my other novels. The story descriptions below were all collaborative efforts with my editor taking the lead in the drafting, while I would review and tweak.

Wrapping up…

If it weren’t already clear, I’m firmly in the camp that believes back cover/front flap copy can be an important element in readers’ book-buying decisions, particularly if they’re coming to the author for the first time. So, my editor and I take great care in crafting the cover copy. It’s often the first and only prose the unsuspecting book-buyer reads about the story before deciding whether or not to part with their money. So those words on the back cover/front flap can make the difference in the reader’s all-important decision—to buy or not to buy the book.

What do you think? Do you read the story description before buying?

Thanks for checking this out. Here’s hoping you’ll subscribe—it’s free and easy— so you don’t miss future posts. See you in a couple weeks.

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