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What Should You Say On The Cover Of Your Novel?
Tips from a Penguin Books copywriter with an example of great cover copy for the ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
You have the title and, if you’re lucky, a few lines of advance praise from readers. But what else should go on the cover of your novel (or the flaps or jacket if it’s a hardcover with a dust jacket)?
The other day I posted tips about writing back-cover copy for fiction and nonfiction that drew on those in Blurb Your Enthusiasm: An A–Z of Literary Persuasion (Oneworld Publications, 2022), by the longtime Penguin Books copywriter Louise Willder.
If you’re looking for advice specifically about what to say on the cover of a novel, these excerpts from my post may help:
“For a novel, Willder argues, the cover copy must do four things. It must set up the lead character; give you a sense of time and place; reflect the language of the book in an enticing way; and have dramatic tension.
“Your copy shouldn’t spoil the pleasure of reading the book by giving away the ending. Its last line might instead suggest the most important problem or issue that needs to be resolved, sometimes by asking a question….
“Good cover copy…
