7.1 hOW TO WriTE A BOOk DESCriPTiON ThAT SEllS “Anyone who tries to make a distinction between education and enter- tainment doesn’t know the first thing about either.” —MarShall MCluhan After the title and the cover, the most important marketing material for your book is the description. The book description goes multiple places, most prominently on the back cover and right below the price (on Amazon). It’s crucial that this short description be right. In this chapter, we will walk you through how to write and create your book description, and include some examples of authors who did it well, and those who didn’t. WHY YOUR BOOK DESCRIPTION MATTERS The book description is the pitch to the reader about why they should buy your book. It is sales copy to get them to see that the book is for them (or not) and then make the purchase. hOW TO WriTE A BOOk DESCriPTiON ThAT SEllS · 241