Book Rescue: The Secret to Selling More Books (S1E2)

About this video

In Book Rescue S1E2, sponsored by Fiverr, Dale works again with author Robert G. Cope, this time course-correcting his book descriptions after a previous episode fixed keywords and the fact he could assign 10 different categories to his ebook and to his print book. Dale says readers judge a book by its cover and then scrutinize the description, so the description — copywriting, the art of selling through the description — must show rather than tell. Copywriting expert Brian Meeks, author of ‘Mastering Amazon Descriptions,’ critiques Robert’s original synopsis of the Knight Academy book about Jason Gardner and others as a detailed synopsis rather than a sales description: too much minutiae, like a too-large slice of cheesecake, and presented as a single giant block of text nobody reads. Meeks rewrites it with short lines and blank lines so the first lines above Amazon’s ‘read more’ fold end on a question — ‘But was he ready for the Knight Academy?’ — using an unexplained old man trope and curiosity to force a click. The rest lists Jason at 14 years old with three problems, adds magical dangers, soldiers of Osiris and an ancient relic without explaining them, and ends with a call to action: ‘You’ll love this YA urban fantasy… get it now.’ Meeks describes using hooks and open loops, and claims this method can create descriptions that convert at one in eight to one in ten. Dale also gets Robert professional author photos via Fiverr, reviews Robert’s rewrites of all five book descriptions, and dedicates the episode to Robert’s dog Scooby, who had bone cancer and died.

Key takeaways

• A book description should show, not tell — it is copywriting meant to sell, not a full synopsis with minutiae
• Avoid a single giant block of text; use short lines with blank lines so the visible portion above ‘read more’ ends on a question
• Use hooks and open loops — unexplained elements like the old man, soldiers of Osiris and an ancient relic — to force curiosity and clicks
• End with an explicit call to action; Meeks claims this template can convert at one in eight to one in ten
• Robert applied the advice across all five of his book descriptions after a prior fix to keywords and using 10 categories for ebook and print

Episode details: published October 6, 2021 · 17:53 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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