tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post5565271112453240739..comments2023-07-22T04:51:00.772-07:00Comments on Jennifer Represents...: Logrolling in Our Time*, or, You Can't Take Blurbs With YouLiteraticathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513424208149456614noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-74674679634224709832015-01-26T11:33:48.234-08:002015-01-26T11:33:48.234-08:00Good, good stuff. I once picked up a library book ...Good, good stuff. I once picked up a library book because I noticed Karen Cushman loved it. I ended up loving it, too. That's really the only time I've responded to a blurb.Caroline Starr Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04597510685273079757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-51754030956417485072015-01-21T06:48:14.687-08:002015-01-21T06:48:14.687-08:00As Janet Reid says, writers are woodland creatures...As Janet Reid says, writers are woodland creatures who worry about everything and I admit I have worried about this. I, fortunately, belong to a group with several very successful authors. I'm sure I could prevail upon some of them for blurbs, but boy howdy, do I detest the thought of it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-45702886127544628422015-01-21T06:35:15.862-08:002015-01-21T06:35:15.862-08:00I am a "blurber" in a way (I work for a ...I am a "blurber" in a way (I work for a book review magazine), and I always read the blurbs on books when I'm reading the back cover, etc. They never make or break me buying the book or not, but they do help get a sense of what the book is about, and they prepare me a bit for the reading. I would never not buy a book without blurbs, though, of course, and a book with blurbs will not automatically make me more likely to read it. But I do enjoy reading them to see what others have said. If an author I like has a blurb on the book, I might be more likely to pick up the book and check it out, though, that's for sure.Aimée Jodoinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10064718577605753502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-71640358924740931232015-01-21T06:30:42.420-08:002015-01-21T06:30:42.420-08:00I was asked for the first time last year to provid...I was asked for the first time last year to provide a blurb (as a bookseller) and I went looking up how to structure it, etc. I would have loved this post and am filing it away for the future as well! ^.~<br /><br />If I see a book with blurbs from one--or more!--author I love, I'm more willing to pick it up off the shelf and look into it. I picked up THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS by Rae Carson because Tamora Pierce blurbed it long before the book got good word of mouth among readers of this genre. (And then pushed it on other people and helped begin that word of mouth).<br /><br />I've picked up so many books because Jodi Picoult and/or Jacquelyn Mitchard (Sometimes both at once! Then I KNOW I have a winner) have blurbed them or the blurber is comparing the author to Picoult, etc. I've discovered Michelle Richmond, Lisa Genova, Diane Chamberlain, Laura Moriarty, and Heather Gudenkauf that way, to name five off the top of my head.<br /><br />Then there are books such as CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS, which I bought anyway, but when I saw that authors I enjoy such as Cinda Williams Chima, Cindy Pon, Elana Johnson, and Jaclyn Dolamore ALL blurbed it, I was even more excited to read it right away. [I think I had it on my radar initially because you were representing the author/title!] Same thing with LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD, which I requested to review specifically because of all the heavy-weight contemporary YA blurbers.<br /><br />So blurbs will always make me look harder at the book. Whether or not I pick it up to read falls on the summary or heavy buzz or personal recommendations, but blurbs help...especially if I'm randomly browsing the bookstore!<br /><br />I'm one reader who does like them!<br /><br />And as a bookseller, I agree: I cannot tell you just how many copies of ELEANOR AND PARK we sold because John Green blurbed it!Bonnie @ A Backwards Storyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02988547424004889874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-85814178580870551932015-01-19T10:21:25.430-08:002015-01-19T10:21:25.430-08:00Two other things - having someone famous blurb you...Two other things - having someone famous blurb your book also puts your book in their hands, which means if they like it, they will also share information about it via their networks. Even on a 'non-famous' level, this can be helpful - for example, I review comic books, but if I see one that's stellar, I'll share it via my social network and librarian networks and recommend libraries purchase it. Also, while blurbs mostly live in print on the back of your book, if you have a blurb from a very famous celeb (like your example of Neil Gaiman), definitely include that in your pitches for coverage and chats with journalists outside of publishing/kids books. Especially with newspaper journalists, TV reporters, bloggers,radio, people who cover a of of ground, it can lift it from 'something in the slush pile' to 'something I should look at.'Cathy Camperhttp://www.cathcamper.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-52128199037278890102015-01-18T04:54:50.528-08:002015-01-18T04:54:50.528-08:00Amen!Amen!Jean Feiwelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07508532640063783447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-36410777269473087792015-01-17T17:34:16.088-08:002015-01-17T17:34:16.088-08:00Putting aside my life as a writer and speaking as ...Putting aside my life as a writer and speaking as a reader, I have become very suspicious of blurbs. They are often phrased as cliches as in "a fresh new voice" or "a must read," which I find off-putting. I've also seen back covers covered with blurbs that gave no idea at all of what the book is about. For a non-debut novel, I'd much rather see excerpts from professional reviews of the author's earlier work. I feel as if I'm getting a less biased idea of the quality of the author's work in general that way. Gail Gauthierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01673131515563387968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-20760797773115755952015-01-17T17:12:47.998-08:002015-01-17T17:12:47.998-08:00Perfect timing with this post! I've been tryin...Perfect timing with this post! I've been trying to figure out how to handle both sides of the endorsement coin. This brings a lot of clarity (and help!) to the matter. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15856251875680838724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-27225214970731455882015-01-17T16:58:25.883-08:002015-01-17T16:58:25.883-08:00I think most publishers don't think they are n...I think most publishers don't think they are necessary for younger books. That said, as you say, they couldn't HURT you. If you were to say, HEY, my BFF is *fancy award winning* and she's read the manuscript and she wants to blurb the book -- they'd be delighted, I'm sure! But I think that most authors are not lucky enough to be in this position, and they don't want people chasing phantoms and wasting energy and brainspace. Also, the fact is, you might have only one "chit" you can cash in with this fancy-award-winning friend or colleague. Is THIS the time you want to call in the favor? (Maybe it is... but maybe that blurb would be even better suited for when you are three novels in and poised on the brink of really breaking out...)<br /><br />I don't know. Food for thought. I hope your debut was received fantastically!Literaticathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15513424208149456614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-76546459401116755712015-01-17T16:48:48.862-08:002015-01-17T16:48:48.862-08:00I offered to try to get some blurbs for my debut M...I offered to try to get some blurbs for my debut MG, but my publisher wasn't interested - as you say, they seemed to think they were pretty worthless (even though some of the authors I could have asked were award-winning, if not exactly Neil Gaiman). I, otoh, figure (as you also say) they can never HURT, so why not get one or two? Especially for a debut, when no one's heard of you. I'd have thought it all adds to buzz, even if only a little.<br /><br />(Plus personally I have bought books - or more often been encouraged to take a closer look at a book - because of blurbs in the past.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com