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Your cover and blurb get readers to click on your book. Whether they buy it, though, is often decided in the sample. On Amazon it is called Look Inside, other shops simply call it a sample, and on social media you might share an excerpt yourself. In this article you will learn how to optimise your sample so browsers become readers.
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Why the sample matters so much
Many readers read the first pages before buying a book by an author they do not know. That makes the sample your most important sales argument after the cover and blurb. It shows whether readers like your style, whether the characters interest them and whether the story delivers what the blurb promises.
At the same time the sample is limited. Shops only show part of the beginning of your book. Every page that is not part of the story takes away space you could use to win readers over.
Step 1: Slim down the front matter
Before the story starts there are often many pages: title page, copyright page, dedication, content notes, table of contents, map, cast list, foreword. All of that eats into the sample.
- Acknowledgements, About the Author and Also By belong at the back.
- In an ebook the table of contents is accessible through the navigation, and for novels it can often be kept short or moved to the back.
- Content notes should be at the front so readers find them before reading. But keep them short, or point to a list at the back of the book or on your website. More in Trigger Warnings in Dark Romance.
- Maps and cast lists are popular in romantasy. Consider whether they really need to come before chapter one.
Step 2: Sharpen the opening
The first pages have to do the most important work. Check your opening with these questions:
- Is there a hook? The first line and first paragraphs should raise a question, set a mood or show a character in an exciting situation.
- Do readers get to know the main character? Readers need to sense quickly who they are dealing with and what this character wants.
- Does the tone fit the genre? A dark romance should feel dark from the start, a romcom funny from the start.
- Is there too much backstory? Long explanations about the world, family and past slow the opening down. Better to scatter background information bit by bit.
More tips in How to Write the First Chapter.
Step 3: Check the prologue
A prologue can spark curiosity, for example with a scene from the future or from the antagonist’s point of view. But it can also use up the sample without showing the main character. Ask yourself whether the prologue grabs readers more than your first chapter. If not, shorten it or cut it.
Step 4: Match the sample to the blurb
The blurb makes a promise, the sample has to keep it. If the blurb announces a sizzling enemies to lovers story, readers should at least experience the first encounter or noticeable tension between the characters in the sample. If the love interest only appears in chapter five, the promise stays open in the sample.
Step 5: Check for errors
Typos and clunky sentences on the first pages look especially unprofessional. Many readers draw conclusions about the whole book from them. A thorough edit and proofread pay off at the beginning in particular.
Step 6: Test the formatting
Look at your sample yourself after publication, ideally on different devices. Blank pages, misplaced headings or incorrectly displayed special characters stand out immediately there.
Using the sample for marketing
- On your website: offer the first chapter as a sample. If you are in Kindle Unlimited, check the exclusivity rules.
- In your newsletter: an exclusive excerpt before release day builds anticipation.
- On social media: short quotes, an exciting dialogue or a scene excerpt often work better on Instagram and TikTok than long texts.
- At the end of another book: a sample of the next book at the end of yours leads readers straight on.
Common mistakes
- Too much front matter: the sample ends before the story really begins.
- A slow start: the first pages describe the weather, waking up or backstory.
- A mismatch with the blurb: the promised genre or dynamic cannot be felt in the sample.
- Errors on page one: a typo in the first paragraph costs trust.
FAQ: book samples
How much does Amazon show in the sample?
Amazon automatically shows part of the beginning of your book. Exactly how much is up to Amazon. What you mainly control is how much of it is taken up by the actual story.
Should the sample end on a cliffhanger?
You cannot always decide where the sample ends. But strong chapter endings in the first chapters increase the chance that readers have to stop at an exciting point. See How to Write Cliffhangers.
Can I change the sample after publication?
Yes. When you update your book file, the sample changes too. That is a good opportunity to revise a weak opening.
Conclusion
The sample often decides the sale. Slim down the front matter, start with a strong hook and make sure the first pages deliver what the cover and blurb promise. Then a Look Inside turns into a purchase.
Keep reading
Do your first pages convince?
In an edit we check whether your opening hooks readers and delivers what your cover and blurb promise. Try our sample edit: 20 pages for €99, exactly the part that goes into your sample.
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