Second Most Important Sales Tool: Flap Copy

Flap copy is the advertising copy on the inside covers of a book. According to a recent Publishing Trends article, it is the second most important selling point for books, especially fiction.

Yet, often, it is an editorial assistant who writes the copy.

In this interesting series of articles Publishing Trends reports on a case study of an FSG adult debut novel, Come Sunday by Isla Morley.

Some interesting conclusions:

• Character & Promo. For readers under 18, focus on character details and brief promotional statements or quotes. Don’t make them work hard to figure out what the book is about; “cut to the chase.”
• Catalog v. Flap Copy. FSG editor Sarah Crichton distinguishes between catalog copy and flap copy: “The catalogue copy has to appeal to potential reviewers and booksellers, whereas with the flap copy, this is your one chance to speak directly to the buyers and readers.”
• No Magic Formula. Peter Hildick-Smith, of the Codex Group who conducted the study said, its still hard to predict which copy will do better. “Part of that is the crucial interplay between title/cover and copy, and part of it is the fact that one person can’t perceive anothers’ intuitive response to a creative message.”

• Read full results of the flap copy study.
• Read full text of flap copy for Come Sunday by Isla Morley.
• Read comments on writing Morely’s flap copy.

It's Here.

Someone recently asked, “What is flap copy?”

Flap copy is the blurb that appears on the flap of the dust jacket for a book. It’s written like a “hook,” trying to persuade the reader that they will enjoy reading this book, so go buy it! Sometimes, it’s referred to as jacket copy.

It is the second most important marketing tool for a book, so you probably want to monitor what the publisher writes and suggest revisions as needed. Sometimes, writers also play around writing flap copy as a way to help focus a story. It’s also good to think about marketability before you send the mss off to an editor.

The last Harry Potter book, as published in the US, was remarkable for the absence of any flap copy. They didn’t need to persuade the reader to read the book with teases about the story. Those who would read Harry Potter were going to do it anyway.

It's Here.