What draws you in?

How to entice someone to buy your book?

I wish I knew the answer to that question.  I’ve been thinking a lot about the book description that will be published along with the book.  The book description is a summary on the back of the book and is what readers will find on places like Amazon.com.  It has to be enticing enough for them to want to spend money on your work without giving too much away.  If you tell them too much then why would they buy the book to begin with? 

I’ve spent a good portion of the day on Amazon looking at the summaries for some of the books that I have purchased and LOVED.  I was trying to remember what it was that caught my attention.  Why did I decide to spend my money on that book?  After a long internal debate, mostly about how I’ve spent a whole lot of money on books in the last couple of years, I’ve decided that what really catches my interest is the uncertainty of the story.  What is the author not telling me?  How will I feel after reading the book?  How will I feel while reading the book?  Will I laugh?  Will I cry?  Will I be able to relate to the characters?  Will I fall in love with the story?

So, now I need to write the description for my book.  What do I want to tell the readers?  What about my book will interest them enough to want to take a chance on an unknown author?  Just because a publishing company picked up my manuscript and decided to give me a shot doesn’t guarantee that people (outside of my family anyway) will buy my book. 

I am open for suggestions… what is it that you are generally drawn to in a book?  Keep in mind that this is a young-adult romance.  It’s nothing like Fifty Shades of Gray.  I would compare it to the more recent publications of authors like Jamie McGuire, Rebecca Donovan, Colleen Hoover, etc.  I am speaking purely genre here.  I would never compare myself to them in writing style – they are all amazing authors with amazing fan bases.  If I even come close to the successes they have then I would be a very lucky person. 

So, give me your thoughts.  What is it that draws your attention to a book?