You know what’s fun? Once you have a beautiful polished manuscript, you get to write an enticing 2–3 paragraph synopsis of the book that doesn’t give away too much plot but makes people want to buy your book. (This is for the back cover.)

And suddenly, reorganizing your pantry is really exciting and important right now . . .

Basically, you have three options once you put down the can of green beans: you can pay someone to write it for you, you can cry in a corner, or you can tie yourself to your desk chair and write it yourself.

Option three tends to be the least painful physically, emotionally, and economically, so let’s look at my favorite trick for writing a great back cover blurb.

Go watch several movie trailers in your genre.

Seriously.

I’m mentioned before that humans are great mimics. If you’ve ever seen kids play after they have watched their favorite movie a dozen times, you know what I mean.

When we read, watch, or write a certain style, it’s imprinted on our brain, making it much easier for us to immediately write in that style some more.

We are so highly influenced by whatever we are immersed in that it makes this a perfect tool to prep yourself to write a great blurb.

As you watch the trailer, listen to what parts of the movie they talk about, and take notes. Are they giving you the full plot? Nope. Just the bits that will entice you.

As an example, let’s discuss the trailer for Moana, a movie that nearly everyone on the planet has seen by now.

The trailer starts with Moana’s grandmother briefing you on the general plot, but the mystery is who the hero will be. “For generations, this peaceful island has been home to our family. But beyond our reef, a great danger is coming. Legend tells of a hero who journeyed to find the demi-god Maui. And together they will save us all.”

After this opening, they show clips of Moana (who you assume will be the hero) going to find Maui and then of them talking. You see the tension between the characters, which makes you wonder how they are going to work together to accomplish their goal. Following this, you see lots of action clips from their adventure together, with teasers of the dangers they have to overcome.

For this particular trailer, they don’t show you exactly how they accomplish the mission, but they do evoke feelings. This is what you want to accomplish for your book blurb, too. Here are some of the emotions you may experience when watching the trailer.

1. Curiosity about the legend and whether Moana can be the one
2. Excitement because she quickly found Maui
3. Suspicion that they won’t be able to work together as they start their quest
4. Fear that something bad will happen because they must overcome 3 great dangers
5. Hope because you know it’s a Disney movie and the princess never dies

Finally, you are left wondering how all this pieces together to help them save the island. What’s the connection between the danger that’s coming and Moana and Maui? They don’t mention the actual quest that the pair embarks on either. You know they do something important to save the island, but what?

Also, many of us initially wondered, “Can Dwayne Johnson sing?” This is a Disney princess movie, after all. (The answer is “yes,” if you’re curious.)

Once you’ve watched some movie trailers, hop on the computer and start composing.

Think about the big questions that your book answers. Think about how you can give a little information and leave your reader curious about the entire book.

I’ll apply the Moana formula to my own Martina Mackenzie: The Diana’s Eye, a middle grade fantasy book.

Deep within the Earth, the Rhihalven, Elves, Fairies, and other magical creatures have been thriving in their own fantasy world for millennia. But when a dangerous secret society whispers that they all deserve more, perhaps something the humans have, it puts the balance of the world—both Sheardland and the surface of the Earth—in peril.

Martina, a clever middle schooler, and her two friends discover an entrance to Sheardland through her family’s ice cream shop. Unknown to them, they stumble upon the people of Sheardland at a time when the future of humans as we know it hangs by a thread. The curious death of the dreaming trees, wet footprints in the chemist’s shop, and a handful of Rhihalva behaving strangely lead them on an adventure to restore balance on Earth and hope for a peaceful existence among the magical nations.

But how can three kids with no magic persevere in a land where everyone is imbibed with a natural elemental power? . . . And why is the Earth key missing?

For my book, I set up the basic plot and followed with what the main characters are involved with. Then, I leave the reader with the questions that I hope will entice them to buy the book and read on. Because I’m working with text, I can actually spell out the questions that I want my reader to ask when they get to the end of the synopsis. It’s a direct lead.

Much like the Moana trailer, I left the reader with feelings, mostly suspense and curiosity. I gave them a scenario that seems impossible, hoping they will read the book to find out how the kids save the world. I mentioned nothing about the Diana’s Eye, which is a major driver of the plot, just like restoring the Heart of Te Fiti is in Moana.

Try it out for yourself, and see how you do! Let me know in the comments what your new synopsis is, or tell me some of your tricks for writing a great book blurb.