Who is this guide for?
Authors who need to write a description of their book as the basis for cover copy and web pages. The principles here can be applied to almost any type of copywriting, but the focus is on supporting you on your journey to publication.
MYTH #1
“Copywriting is a skill required by marketing but not directly applicable elsewhere.”
Copywriting is simply writing to persuade, which we do all the time.
When you write an email to a colleague that you want them to act on, you choose the subject line and structure and write the email to encourage them to reply. Writing a book description is pure copywriting.
MYTH #2
“Academic audiences prefer and respond better to a more formal style of writing”
When we ask academics what information they want from us, most will say something like:
“Please get straight to the point and keep it short. If we need more detail, we’ll go online to find it. We simply don’t have the time to read much, and our inboxes are overflowing.”
Academics are also consumers, and we all respond in the same way to information when we’re bombarded.
MYTH #3
“Authors are the experts and in the best position to judge how their own book description should be written”
You may be an expert in your field, but
it's your publisher's job to help you
communicate your work to potential buyers.
Publishers have experience and insight into topics such as SEO and how people engage with website and email content. Your expertise in highlighting powerful keywords and examples is essential. Together, we can create the best possible copy for your book.
Our favourite definition of excellent copy:
“Copy that I read from start to finish without even realising it’s copy”
To achieve this, it must be relevant, succinct, feel authentic, be personal but professional and have a natural momentum (or flow) to make reading it quick and easy.
This guide is designed to give tips on good practice on all aspects of copywriting within academic publishing to help you write copy that readers will want to read.