As someone who is in the midst of this right now for my second book, asking for blurbs is the worst part of the writing process, IMHO. But if you don't have any, it looks strange, so it seems to be a necessary evil. But as a writer who is also a reader, I take them with a grain of salt. Many I read are for writers by writers that I know are good friends so I discount their remarks quite a bit. I'm always disappointed when I read a glowing blurb and the book actually is fairly so-so.
1. As in a query letter, make your blurb request personal. Why do you want the author to blurb your book (beyond trading on their name and trying to appeal to their audience)? What personally do you like about their books such that they (and their audience) will like your book.
2. The blurbers should have he same readership as your book because that's what you want.
3. The reason blurbs matter to booksellers, I think, is not in what they say but in that they show someone at the publisher cares about the books. If the publisher put in the time and effort to get the blurbs, they presumably will put in the time and effort to do other things that will help sales. No blurbs = no one cares, so why should the retailer take copies? In other words, blurbs are the missing brown M&Ms of publishing.
Love all this info ... and I'm curious to hear from others from the reader's perspective .... do you read blurbs? Do they influence you buying or reading the book? I can relate to Kate's description of "gleaning vibes" from them but I don't typically read them ... or if I do, it's after I'm already reading the book ... But, I am also someone who doesn't ever really read reviews of stuff before going there/buying it ....
It can be so awkward! Asking for favours of other writers who you know are time poor and have a stack of other books-to-be-blurbed. Or, ending up with a stack of books on your desk that you don't have time to read, or may, ahem, really not like. Even if they were written by one of your friends. My worst experience was for my third thriller. One of the other writers at my publisher's annual party turned to me and said, "I was asked to write a blurb for your book, but I couldn't because I really hated it." Ouuuuuuuch!
This are helpful tips! But what about the trend of publishers wanting the author to line up committed blurbers in the proposal stage before the book is actually done? As This has happened to me before and now it’s happening again when I don’t know other authors in this new genre (memoir).
This is such a timely post because I finished my begging for blurbs a few months ago and offered some of my own to some authors I've always loved to read. An amazing gift came for me this week from one of the authors - cookies with MY book cover detailed on them. It was so thoughtful and brought me to tears. Such a lovely thank you - I may need to step up my game, lol! I always like to add a personal touch with my notes to authors when I ask though - either that I adore their books or admire them and would be honored. I also put in that I understand if they are too busy - most are always on deadline so it's easier for them to say no if they need to without feeling bad.
When I worked at an academic publisher in London, we called these quotes 'puffs' (what a great word!), and then the 'blurb' was the copy for the back cover and promo material, which is how I still think of it. Publishing jargon, eh?
Something pretty gross happened to me the other day re blurbs. Someone from a publisher (a big, well known one!) asked me for a blurb for a book - and then when I said I didn't have time to read the book before their deadline, he said, to cut time short, he could 'write me a dummy blurb and I could approve it.' I was SHOOK and did not reply.
A great breakdown on blurbs. My publisher did ask (via a great big questionnaire thingy) for a list of potential authors who might write a blurb for my book, but I write picture books and I'm not sure how much they're used for PBs?? ... I added some names anyway, so it'll be interesting to see what happens.
Kate, thank you for all your insight. ~ I might be totally wrong on this one. But there are many books who aren't endorsed by other writers and the backcover still needs a blurb. Is this correct?
Thanks! I'm in the blurb gathering process right now for a book and this affirmed that I'm doing what I need to be doing. (FYI to others: many publishers I've worked with now call these "endorsements" rather than blurbs.)
As a debut author pitching, a book agent mentor had me get a few blurbs for my query — it’s a fashion essay collection so a famous stylist among them looks good and taught me not to be nervous when the actual book is published. With that said, I’m still seeking an agent so it’s not a total slam dunk.
I endorse this, 100%. So well put, Kate. Asking for blurbs is very annoying and especially when no one answers you. But when someone says yes, the sun comes out, puppies and kittens dance, and there’s a bowl of Snickers miniatures nearby.
Kate: Would you consider writing an article on blurbing for WriterCon Magazine (which is also distributed by Substack)? We can do a post swap or something if you like, but I think our readers would benefit from this. I don't mind if it's a rework of this post. Length is 1000-2000 words. Let me know what you think!
As someone who is in the midst of this right now for my second book, asking for blurbs is the worst part of the writing process, IMHO. But if you don't have any, it looks strange, so it seems to be a necessary evil. But as a writer who is also a reader, I take them with a grain of salt. Many I read are for writers by writers that I know are good friends so I discount their remarks quite a bit. I'm always disappointed when I read a glowing blurb and the book actually is fairly so-so.
I would add three things:
1. As in a query letter, make your blurb request personal. Why do you want the author to blurb your book (beyond trading on their name and trying to appeal to their audience)? What personally do you like about their books such that they (and their audience) will like your book.
2. The blurbers should have he same readership as your book because that's what you want.
3. The reason blurbs matter to booksellers, I think, is not in what they say but in that they show someone at the publisher cares about the books. If the publisher put in the time and effort to get the blurbs, they presumably will put in the time and effort to do other things that will help sales. No blurbs = no one cares, so why should the retailer take copies? In other words, blurbs are the missing brown M&Ms of publishing.
Love all this info ... and I'm curious to hear from others from the reader's perspective .... do you read blurbs? Do they influence you buying or reading the book? I can relate to Kate's description of "gleaning vibes" from them but I don't typically read them ... or if I do, it's after I'm already reading the book ... But, I am also someone who doesn't ever really read reviews of stuff before going there/buying it ....
It can be so awkward! Asking for favours of other writers who you know are time poor and have a stack of other books-to-be-blurbed. Or, ending up with a stack of books on your desk that you don't have time to read, or may, ahem, really not like. Even if they were written by one of your friends. My worst experience was for my third thriller. One of the other writers at my publisher's annual party turned to me and said, "I was asked to write a blurb for your book, but I couldn't because I really hated it." Ouuuuuuuch!
This are helpful tips! But what about the trend of publishers wanting the author to line up committed blurbers in the proposal stage before the book is actually done? As This has happened to me before and now it’s happening again when I don’t know other authors in this new genre (memoir).
This is such a timely post because I finished my begging for blurbs a few months ago and offered some of my own to some authors I've always loved to read. An amazing gift came for me this week from one of the authors - cookies with MY book cover detailed on them. It was so thoughtful and brought me to tears. Such a lovely thank you - I may need to step up my game, lol! I always like to add a personal touch with my notes to authors when I ask though - either that I adore their books or admire them and would be honored. I also put in that I understand if they are too busy - most are always on deadline so it's easier for them to say no if they need to without feeling bad.
When I worked at an academic publisher in London, we called these quotes 'puffs' (what a great word!), and then the 'blurb' was the copy for the back cover and promo material, which is how I still think of it. Publishing jargon, eh?
Something pretty gross happened to me the other day re blurbs. Someone from a publisher (a big, well known one!) asked me for a blurb for a book - and then when I said I didn't have time to read the book before their deadline, he said, to cut time short, he could 'write me a dummy blurb and I could approve it.' I was SHOOK and did not reply.
A great breakdown on blurbs. My publisher did ask (via a great big questionnaire thingy) for a list of potential authors who might write a blurb for my book, but I write picture books and I'm not sure how much they're used for PBs?? ... I added some names anyway, so it'll be interesting to see what happens.
So helpful, thank you! I am writing my first blurb and this helped me figure out the right framing and what is most important about blurbs:)
Kate, thank you for all your insight. ~ I might be totally wrong on this one. But there are many books who aren't endorsed by other writers and the backcover still needs a blurb. Is this correct?
Thanks! I'm in the blurb gathering process right now for a book and this affirmed that I'm doing what I need to be doing. (FYI to others: many publishers I've worked with now call these "endorsements" rather than blurbs.)
As a debut author pitching, a book agent mentor had me get a few blurbs for my query — it’s a fashion essay collection so a famous stylist among them looks good and taught me not to be nervous when the actual book is published. With that said, I’m still seeking an agent so it’s not a total slam dunk.
I endorse this, 100%. So well put, Kate. Asking for blurbs is very annoying and especially when no one answers you. But when someone says yes, the sun comes out, puppies and kittens dance, and there’s a bowl of Snickers miniatures nearby.
As a reader, blurbs have the sum total of zero influence on whether I buy a book, even if said blurb is by an author I admire.
Kate: Would you consider writing an article on blurbing for WriterCon Magazine (which is also distributed by Substack)? We can do a post swap or something if you like, but I think our readers would benefit from this. I don't mind if it's a rework of this post. Length is 1000-2000 words. Let me know what you think!