Your Back Cover Copy
Welcome to day three of the No Rules Book Sprint!
NOTE: This lesson will be available until the end of the day on Sunday, June 7th.
Transcript of Day 3
Today we’re going to write the back cover copy of your book, which might sound wild, because you haven’t written the book yet, but stick with me. I do this for every single book that I work on, my own books, my ghostwriting clients’ books. I recommend all my book coaching clients do this. It feels backwards, but it works.
Today’s lesson is pretty straightforward. I am giving you a template, it’s in signpost five of your book organizer, your homework is just to fill that out and post a draft of it in the Discord, if you like. But first, let’s talk about why I’m giving you this exercise.
Why This Exercise Works
You have to find your book’s promise, so that you know what you want your book to do for you and for your reader. We’ve talked about the book’s shape, which is the way that you will fulfill this promise. Writing your back cover copy puts all of that into snazzy marketing language that helps you feel like what you’re doing is real.
And just as a quick aside, I’m saying back cover copy, but this is your marketing copy, this is the inside jacket flap copy, this is the blurb that’s going to go on your book sales page, things like that. These are, you know, that two to three paragraphs that you read on the back of the book, and you’re like, “Oh, this sounds good. I can’t wait to read this. This is definitely for me.”
The likelihood that what you write today will end up actually on your book’s back cover is pretty slim, and that’s fine. The purpose of this exercise is to give you basically a compass that you can look at and be like, “Okay, this is where I’m going, this is the book that I’m writing.”
The Back Cover Copy Template
So, let’s take a look at this template. Like I said, this is going to be in signpost five, and then you’re going to go down to this exercise, your marketing copy.
1. Your Big Idea
This is the point that you’re trying to make in this book. So it’s basically your promise. Write your big idea here.
Examples:
- (Sales how-to book) Getting more leads isn’t actually a problem. If you want to close more deals, you need a smarter system that filters for fit fast.
- (Beauty industry thought leadership book) You don’t have to fit into their mold to succeed. In fact, success comes when you stop trying to fit in and start being bold.
2. Your Hook
This is a bold statement. This is a key pain point. This is a surprising truth, something that grabs your reader’s attention. It needs to be novel, rewarding, personally relevant, the thing that stops them in their tracks.
Examples:
- (Sales book) You don’t need a bigger pipeline, you need a smarter one.
- (Beauty book) Stop playing nice and start playing real.
Think of this as the thing that’ll be bolded at the top of your book’s product page.
3. The Problem
You’re describing the struggle your reader’s facing, and showing them that you understand what they want.
Examples:
- (Sales book) If you’re a sales leader drowning in demos that never close, you’re not alone. Most teams waste time chasing down the wrong prospects, and it’s costing you big deals and bigger morale.
- (Beauty book) If you’ve ever felt like an outsider in your own field, Unfiltered is your permission slip to stop waiting for a seat at the table and start building your own damn stage.
4. The Promise
Introduce your solution. What’s the reader going to learn? What are they going to be able to do after reading this book?
Examples:
- (Sales book) In the Sales Signal System, former SaaS VP Jordan Blake reveals a practical five-part framework for qualifying, connecting, and closing high-value deals without bloated pipelines or burnout.
- (Beauty book) The beauty industry told Bold Nation Beauty founder Nia Harper she was too loud, too bold, too different. So she built a multimillion dollar brand by breaking every rule they gave her and helping others do the same. In this raw, inspiring guide, Harper shares 10 principles that helped her scale a disruptive beauty brand, walk away on her own terms, and rise as a new voice in leadership and empowerment.
5. Your Authority
Position yourself as the trustworthy guide. Mention your relevant credentials, experience, results. You’ll notice in the fictional example, some of Nia Harper’s authority was woven into the previous statement, so it can be a little mixed up.
Examples:
- (Sales book) Jordan’s system has helped teams at over 40 companies streamline their sales cycles and grow revenue by double digits.
- (Beauty book) From going viral for the wrong reasons to calling out investor bias in real time, Nia’s stories will challenge you to rethink everything you’ve been told about success.
6. Your Call to Action
This is the final motivating line that invites the reader to buy and open the book.
Examples:
- (Sales book) If you’re ready to lead with clarity and close with confidence, this book is your blueprint.
- (Beauty book) You don’t need to play nice, you need to play real. Unfiltered will show you how.
Here’s the Key
Go through that template, brainstorm some things, do some free writing, and then put it all together in one marketing copy block. The point is to write the version that lights you up and makes you want to go write the book.
Here’s the key, though. I want you to write this like your book is already finished. Write it like the book you want to write. Be aspirational, call it a bestseller, call it a cult favorite, call it a movement, a manifesto. Quote the reviews that you wish you had. Pretend that Brené Brown blurbed it, or whoever it is that’s your hero in your industry.
This is the target you’re aiming at, the vision of where you’re headed. When you’re finished, print it out, stick it on your wall, look at it every time you sit down to write, and then drop it in the Discord. I will be in there reading, and I’d love to get your feedback.
Closing Out the Sprint
This is the last video of the sprint, so let me close this out properly.
Three days ago, you came in with a book idea, maybe it was a really clear one, maybe it was foggy, maybe it’s something you’ve been talking about for years, maybe it’s something you’ve never dared to speak aloud, or maybe you even had most of a draft, or even an entire draft, but still felt fuzzy on how to make it truly book-shaped.
By the end of today, you will have three things:
- Your book’s promise — the why behind this book, and what it offers the reader
- Your book’s shape — the journey that you’re leading your readers on, and the idea of the structure that fits that journey
- Your back cover copy — the thing that will guide you every time you sit down to write
These three things will get you so far in terms of writing a draft that actually makes the impact that you hope it will.
How Working Together Changed My Clients
But there’s one more thing I want to say before I let you go. I told you about a few of my clients, and how their books came together, and how their books made change in their audience, but I didn’t tell you how they changed.
I’ve had clients like the doggy daycare owner and the real estate appraiser who came to me lacking the confidence to actually write a book, and after their first call, they both were gung-ho believers that they could do it, and they did. I’ve had clients who came to me with tight deadlines, despairing that they were going to be able to make them, and after we talked things through on our first call, they looked like a weight had lifted off their shoulders, and we made those deadlines.
If you’ve been circling around your book, I hope this sprint has given you clarity, and hopefully some confidence that you absolutely do have what it takes to write this book.
Your Next Steps
The book organizer can walk you through the rest of the steps, but there’s a gap between having that knowledge and implementing it, and having somebody in your court can be the thing that gets you from the big idea to a finished book that moves the needle.
You got more clarity in the last three days than most people get in a year of just sitting down, doing it themselves, circling around their idea, and if you want to go further, let me walk you through your options.
Story Map Intensive picks up exactly where the sprint leaves off. We take your book’s promise, your shape, your back cover copy, and we turn it into a full book blueprint, including chapter summaries and a drafting plan.
Draft + Edit Book Coaching builds on the work that we will do in those Story Map Intensive sessions and continues through the drafting process with a series of interview calls, so we talk through the outline together. Then you take those transcripts, you go write your first draft, and as you write, you turn in chapters to me for developmental feedback, so that you know that you are on the right track.
Ghostwriting packages essentially take that Story Map Intensive plus the interview calls, but instead of you writing the book, I write the book. You offer feedback along the way to make sure that your ideas, your voice, and your vision are 100% captured in the draft.
For some of you, this strategy sprint may be enough to get you through the rest of your draft. Go forth, write, please be in touch along your journey, because I cannot wait to celebrate with you. But if you want a thought partner, I’m here.
I only have two coaching spots left at the moment, so if this is for you, hit reply to one of those emails or head to story-rebel.com/meet to set up a discovery call.
Wherever you go in your book writing journey, thank you for showing up this week, and please keep in touch. I cannot wait to see your book out there in the world.