Tea and Tales Podcast
Jessie Cunniffe
Blurb Writer
S1: E19
Jessie Cunniffe* is a professional blurb writer and book blurb coach from Sydney, Australia. A passionate advocate of the indie author community, Jessie has dedicated herself to taking the pain out of blurb-writing with her custom blurb services and two signature courses: Book Blurb Magic and The Spicy Blurb Playbook. When she’s not writing or dreaming up the next BBM product, Jessie can be found journaling, exploring new ocean pools, and playing her guitar. She has been a contributor to the arts pages of one of Australia’s most highly respected newspapers for the past decade. On the occasion that Jessie manages to snatch some reading time, she’s probably buried in P. G. Wodehouse or Agatha Christie.
*Pronounced ‘k-NIFF’
1. What inspired you to start writing blurbs for authors?
I knew I wanted to write for a living, but because of my day job, I had to do shorter projects. The first thing that came to mind was blurbs, but even then I didn’t realise just how much most authors hate them! So I kind of fell into it by accident.
2. How long have you been writing blurbs?
Five years! It’s gone so fast.
3. Do you only write blurbs for Indie authors or any author?
I predominantly write blurbs for indie/self-publishing authors, but I have also worked with querying authors who are looking for help with the blurb part of their query letters. Sometimes this is the difference between crickets and full/partial requests!
4. Do you only write blurbs or do you provide other services as well? Eg. synopsis writing etc.
I specialise in blurbs, but I am also super passionate about email marketing/newsletters for creatives, as getting good at email was what really enabled me to go full time with BBM. Since 2023, I’ve been running my very popular Email Content Secrets course once a year. You have to be on my email list to get it though!
5. Where did you learn to create blurbs for novels?
I taught myself from studying hundreds and hundreds of blurbs, and asking myself what worked and what didn’t. It was a lot of trial and error, but so satisfying to find the ‘formula’ that brings everything together…it honestly feels like cracking a secret code.
6. What is the difference between a book blurb and a query blurb?
Full disclaimer: I’m not a query letter expert! But my understanding is that your book blurb makes up the bulk of a query letter — however you will also be including things like comp titles, word count, etc. as well (this can vary from agent to publisher as well, so make sure you do your own research!). The book blurb on its own is the description that appears on your book’s back cover and/or online.
7. When should you as an author write your blurb?
Interesting question! It can be really great to write your blurb before you write your book, as a roadmap to write to — then you can just tweak it at the end in case things change. But for most authors, blurb writing happens once the final copyedit is done.
8. Do you write blurbs for any genres or are there only certain ones you’ll take on?
I write blurbs for every genre!
9. Are there any other social media links, websites, or other places to learn about you that we should add?
10. What is the one piece of advice you can give to authors when writing their blurbs?
Remember that a blurb is not a summary! Stop trying to cram your whole story (sans spoilers) into the blurb and focus on getting readers invested in your inciting incident instead.