I thought that this month I would talk about blurbs. If this is something you have absolutely no interest in, please feel free to skip ahead.
I bring this up because at any given time I might have 6-10 books on the nightstand waiting for a blurb. Yes, even a decidedly not A-list author like me gets asked a lot to blurb. (A blurb, in case you're not sure, is the little one- or two-sentence tag that appears on the cover or back and is designed to make you want to read the book. Or, more truthfully, to make you want to buy the book.)
There's disagreement in the book biz as to whether blurbs drive sales. Most people would say no. Have you ever bought a book solely due to a blurb? But blurbs have other purposes, particularly in the early stages when publishers are sending advance readers copies (ARCS) to booksellers, librarians, and other industry professionals, trying to entice them to read the book and maybe stock it in their store, or acquire it for their library system.
I used to blurb as much as I could, especially for debuts, because getting blurbs is hard. And, from what I've heard, it's only gotten harder in the past couple years because authors are so burned out. Recently, I've been blurbing less because it takes time away from writing, and from reading solely for pleasure, and because I suspect I've become the fall-back blurber for a number of editors. The person you send a book to because they're old reliable, but will drop from the cover if they get something from a more famous author. I don't blame the book's author, and not even the editor, really (it's just the business), but I've come to value my time a little more.
I say this, but there is FOMO when you see pictures of the latest ARCs on everyone's feed in Instagram and you wonder if you've slipped in the ranks, not to have been sent a copy. But at this stage of my life, I know you can't do everything and it's important to choose wisely where you put your precious, limited attention.
Are authors paid to blurb? Not that I've ever heard.
What happens if you don't like a book? Industry etiquette is that if editors don't hear from you, they know that the book was probably not for you. Occasionally, an editor will follow up with a quick "can we expect to hear from you?" and then it gets a bit more tricky.
How do you get the coveted cover blurb spot? This will go to the most famous author to blurb the book, so it's out of your control. I will admit to trying to come up with the most irresistible, sound-bite-y blurb in the hopes of getting higher in the pecking order. It's worked, once or twice.
Last silly thing, my blurbs seem to resonate more with British editors than American ones. I think all the cover blurbs I've had have all been British editions.
Want to tell me your thoughts on blurbs? Any author's blurb in particular set your heart a-racing? Your favorite blurb? Your least favorite blurb? Please email me at almakatsubooks2@gmail.com and not by replying to this email, if possible. Thanks for reading!
Proud momma: The Fervor was on Goodreads' list of 116 essential books to read for Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage month.
IN OTHER BOOK NEWS: THE TRIAL
Do you remember the anti-monopoly trial in 2022, held IRL Penguin Random House's attempted purchase of Simon & Schuster? This wrap by Elle Griffin of the book about that case, The Trial, shares some familiar truths about the book publishing industry. I've raised some of these already but taken together, it paints a very bleak picture of publishing indeed. If you want to break into publishing or are curious about how your reading habits influence how books are acquired and treated on pub day, this is a must-read.
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