Easy Romance Butter Blurb Fix
Make Your Attraction Specific
Super quick: We’ve currently opened up January slots for our last set of Blurb Only Salons before switching to Butter Beginnings in February. Only students who have taken the Butter Blurb Master Class or the Bestseller Magic Course are allowed to join us, so now’s the time to add one or both of these courses to your writer toolbox if you haven’t already.
If I had to name one of the easiest fixes for many romance blurbs, it would be asking this question:
Why is your specific romantic interest specifically attractive to your specific main character?
In both the Bestseller Magic Course and the Butter Blurb Master Class, we cover the importance of giving your romantic interests specific attractive or arousing traits that make them stand out.
If you haven’t taken either yet, here’s the basic gist:
There are thousands of ridiculously sexy, unfairly hot heroes in romance. To stand out, it’s important to show what makes your ridiculously sexy and unfairly hot hero specifically attractive to your main character.
The Specific Attraction Why-Hole in Romance Blurbs
A common problem I see in blurbs that don’t necessarily grab you is a vague attraction, which is somehow supposed to underpin the blurb’s entire situation and emotional arc:
"The heroine can’t resist the hot hero for reasons vaguely summed up as “for some reason.” Now, she’s stuck in forced proximity with him and terrified of getting her heart broken, which leaves the reader wondering… 'But why, tho?'—or worse, they don’t wonder at all and just move on to another blurb that actually grabs them."
To be clear, your MC’s reason for liking their romantic interest doesn’t have to be the best reason ever. It just has to be more than a surface-level detail that tells us nothing about the romantic interest.
Bonus points if you can hint at why this might be a True-Love Match.
One of my favorite examples comes from Lucy Score’s blurb for By a Thread:
So maybe her colorful, annoying, inexplicably alluring personality brightens up the magazine’s offices that have felt like a prison for the past year. Maybe I like that she argues with me in front of the editorial staff. And maybe my after-hours fantasies are haunted by those brown eyes and that sharp tongue.
The hero doesn’t just say he’s attracted to the MC because she challenges him. We get a deliciously specific paragraph that shows this opposite romantic interest reluctantly attracting Score’s hero.
Ask Yourself This:
Does your audience know (or could they reasonably guess) why at least one of yur MCs is specifically attracted to their love interest after reading your blurb?
The easiest way to fix a vague or unspecific romantic interest is to clarify what each MC needs and why the romantic interest specifically meets that need.
Specific Attraction Examples That Work1:
A cold Darcy needs to be melted to access his emotions (By a Thread by Lucy Score).
A date-starved co-ed needs lessons from her brother’s playboy best friend (Puck Block by SJ Sylvis).
A suffering, innocent Cinderella needs help and/or protection from a monster with a beautiful veneer who happens to know all of her fantasies (Poisonous Kiss by Jagger Cole).
He’s the only one who can teach her (Camera Shy by Kay Cove and Puck Block—yes, it doubles down on specific reasons).
The wolf who cruelly rejected her for secret2 reasons (that, of course, she and the reader would like to know) is the only one who can unbreak her heart and protect her from her abusive ex (The Runaway Mate by Kira Nightingale).
The Specific (not vague) Attraction is What Hooks and Converts Readers
Every blurb is an opportunity to grab your reader’s attention and convince them to one-click. So, when you make the attraction specific, you’re giving readers something to care about—and a reason to fall for your characters before they’ve even started the book.
So, make 2025 the year your blurbs attract and convert more readers:
Butter Blurb Master Class: Craft irresistible book descriptions that make readers one-click without hesitation.
Bestseller Magic (Universal Fantasy™ Course): On sale through January! Learn how to create book descriptions, characters and situations that addict readers and make them clamor for more.
And don’t forget…
Butter Beginnings Master Class (Coming Feb 2025): Pre-sale now for $47. Craft beginnings that hook and compel readers to read all the way to The End.
I haven’t actually read any of these books, save for By a Thread. I just appreciated their blurbs.
Secret is a great, Buttery word and a terrific alternative to “for some reason.”
If you have to be vague, be specifically vague. It’s a secret. Maybe they’ll finally find out the real reason their romantic interest is [insert enticing action here]. You’ll have to read to find out.