Back-of-the-book blurbs: Why to get them, how to get them.
A publishing/promo tip
In the emerging writer community, I am hearing confusion about “blurbs.”
I take “blurbs” to mean the testimonials we (are fortunate enough to) have more established, preferably famous writers given us, attesting to the brilliance of our book. As I understand it, some writers who are putting together their first book refer to a “blurb” as the description on the back of the book.
The former publishing intern in me calls that piece: “jacket copy.”
For these purposes, please understand “blurb” to mean a testimonial.
One reader asked about blurbs: “Seems like a hassle. Are they worth it?”
I didn’t find blurbs to be a hassle. Nerve-wracking to request? Certainly. Below, we will discuss “How to.”
Once you have your blurbs, place them on the back of the book—whatever the hassle.
The first place a reader looks is the front cover.
We’re gonna talk about front covers next week.
The second place a reader looks is the back cover.
The first reason a reader buys a book is a recommendation from a trusted reader-friend.
The second is familiarity with the author's work, or simply author name recognition.
Lacking the above, readers go off the blurbs.
How to get them blurbs.
“Why should anything be easy?”
—Anybody’s Yiddishite grandmother
In my writing life, second to waiting for the first feedback I ever received from a critique group, asking for blurbs was the most nerve-wracking. Me? Ask Dorothy Allison? The chutzpah!
It’s gonna take some chutzpah.
It takes believing in your book enough to request a blurb from the preeminent author(s) in your field.
In my case, that meant asking Dorothy Allison. (The a good ask-time is six to eight months prior to your book going up for pre-order. These are busy people.)
I found Ms. Allison’s agent, sent him an email with my standard query letter adjusted to request a blurb. He replied, asking for my first 10 pages and a one-page synopsis. He forwarded the request, which came back with a, “Yes.” I mailed off the ARC. (Advanced Reader’s Copy; or: galleys. I will write about those in a time-TBD post.)
On a number of levels far sadder than Ms. Allison not being able to ultimately blurb As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back, she had to bow out. As her tragedy relates to my comparably minor request: by the time I heard she was no longer able to participate, I was over my fear of asking for blurbs: Sue William Silverman, Andrea J. Buchanan, Anna Quinn, Anne Leigh Parrish, Ronit Plank. And Jamie Ford.
I contacted Jamie Ford because the hotel on which he based Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet—which remains one of my favorite novels—is located in Seattle’s International District. Each week, when my younger son was kicking ass and taking names at his Kung fu class, I strolled past Panama Hotel on my way to the Japanese import & grocery store, Uwajimaya, to buy onigiri for dinner.
Each time I passed the Panama, thoughts of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet choked me up—and that story is exactly what I wrote to Jamie as the opening graph of the blurb-adjusted request I sent him. Right down to the onigiri.
TMI?
Perhaps.
A rare novel that shows how easily childhood trauma can be internalized, normalized, and distort our coming-of-age. Alle C. Hall puts us inside that headspace then takes us by the hand and walks us through a maze of globe-trotting dissociation to a better, more hopeful place. An outstanding debut.”
It’s perfect. And endless “thank you” goes out to Jamie.
Bonus: shortened to, “A rare novel. An outstanding debut,” Jamie’s blurb looked oh-so-great on my site and Amazon pages, as well as on all sorts of letters to: media, bookstores, conference committees, schools where I might teach, and other potential blurters.
So, go for it. If you’ve signed with an agent, or even attempted to, you have the requisite:
Query letter
opening paragraph adjusted to honestly express enthusiasm for their work;
if someone is referring you, put “Referred by (famous writer)” in the subject heading.
Word documents to attach:
10 pages: as little as you can get away with and still give a taste of what you have to offer;
a one-page, single-spaced synopsis for the remainder of the book; and