Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Blurbs, which are short celebrity endorsements or excerpts from a review that appear on a book’s cover, are viewed by publishers as an important element in promoting a book. But are they as valuable as we’ve been lead to believe?
What makes a blurb effective?
- The celebrity is not only well-known but also influential. If a notorious politician, who had to resign due to illegal behavior, suggests I read the latest political memoir, I’m unlikely to hand over $25 to buy a copy. But if a political figure I admire (um, can’t think of one at the moment) writes a compelling blurb, I might consider reading the book.
- The blurb writer actually knows something about the book’s category and is a logical person to write an endorsement. Should John Grisham write a blurb for a YA romance, I wouldn’t give much credence to his thoughts on the book. But if John Grisham wrote an endorsement for a debut legal thriller, that would hold much more meaning.
- The endorsement offers something specific about the book. I’m bored by such common blurb phrases as “couldn’t put it down,” “kept me up late into the night,” “compelling,” engaging,” etc. Many endorsements might just as well consist of “blah, blah, blah, signed, Famous Author.”
Let’s take a look at snippets from longer reviews/blurbs for JoJo Moyes’s Me Before You.
“A hilarious, heartbreaking, riveting novel . . . I will stake my reputation on this book.”
—Anne Lamott, People
“When I finished this novel, I didn’t want to review it: I wanted to reread it. . . . an affair to remember.”
—New York Times Book Review
“An unlikely love story . . . To be devoured like candy, between tears.”
—O, The Oprah Magazine
“Funny and moving but never predictable.”
—USA Today (****)
“Masterful . . . a heartbreaker in the best sense . . . Me Before You is achingly hard to read at moments, and yet such a joy.”
—New York Daily News
“Funny, surprising and heartbreaking, populated with characters who are affecting and amusing . . . This is a thought-provoking, thoroughly entertaining novel that captures the complexity of love.”
—People Magazine
Which, if any, of these blurbs is the most arresting to you? Which would cause you to consider reading the book?
Here’s one for another Moyes’s novel, One Plus One:
“Safety advisory: If you’re planning to read Jojo Moyes’s One Plus One on your summer vacation, slather on plenty of SPF 50. Once you start the book, you probably won’t look up again until you’re the last one left on the beach…[a] wonderful new novel.”
—The Washington Post
To me, that’s another version of “I couldn’t put the book down.” Yawn. But it does lead to my next point. A blurb is effective if:
- The endorser seems to have actually read the book. Vague endorsements full of laudatory words but no details within the book that the blurber highlights suggest to me that the book might not have been read. That’s what I think of as a cheat. Influencers shouldn’t lend their names to books they haven’t read and actually liked. Each endorser who does so devalues endorsements.
Here are two endorsements for The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown:
“The Boys in the Boat is not only a great and inspiring true story; it is a fascinating work of history.”
–Nathaniel Philbrick, author of Mayflower and In the Heart of the Sea
“For years I’ve stared and wondered about the old wooden boat resting on the top rack of the UW boathouse. I knew the names of the men that rowed it but never really knew who they were. After reading this book, I feel like I got to relive their journey and witness what it was truly like earning a seat in that Pocock shell. The passion and determination showed by Joe and the rest of the boys in the boat are what every rower aspires to. I will never look at that wooden boat the same again.”
– Mary Whipple, Olympic gold medal–winning coxswain, women’s eight-oared crew, 2008 and 2012
The first one is nice but vague. Nothing noteworthy in it. Did the guy read the book? I can’t tell.
But the second one is heartfelt and specific. The kind of endorsement that can make a reader dive into the book.
- An effective endorsement is one that doesn’t oversell. When a blurb compares the author to Shakespeare, I’m not buying it–neither the blurb nor the book.
A funny blog post on overwrought endorsements appeared on The Guardian’s website. Check this link to read it. The blogger challenges readers to try their hand at overdone blurbs by writing one for The DaVinci Code.
This one left me in stitches…so to speak:
“The DaVinci Code didn’t make me miss my train, it made me step in front of it, so engrossed was I by its intricate spell. When the doctors pieced me back together, they explained that I would need extensive reconstructive surgery before I’d stop scaring kids. I told them I wanted my new body to be modelled on the description of Robert Langdon and bless them, they complied.
I am now 80% tweed.”
I actually had other points I wanted to make about blurbs (like statistics on how effective blurbs are at selling books), but really, I can’t top The DaVinci blurb. So I’m just stopping here. Now it’s your turn.
Tell us, in your opinion, which of the Me Before You blurbs is the best and why?
Can you recall a blurb that caused you to read a book? If so, what about the blurb convinced you–something in it, or the person who wrote it?
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Andrew Budek-Schmeisser
What an interesting topic for an essay, Janet; I am looking forward to reading the comments on the morrow.
* My first reaction to the bulk of blurbs regarding “Me Before You” is contrarian. When the expression ‘heartbreaking’ appears, I’m done, for two reasons.
1) It’s a novel…however we may think our characters as real, they’re not. The story arc is manufactured for effect. ‘Moving’ would be as far as I would go; anything more is hyperbole.
2) I deal with heartbreak on a daily basis, in my own life. Today pushed the limits a bit harder than I would have liked, limits of pain and fear, and yes, heartbreak. For example, I fear for the dogs, these small brave souls, that are in my care. And however defiant I am, however tough I wish to paint myself, I can’t stay much longer to guard them, barring a miracle. That is heartbreak. A reviewer telling me “read this, it’s joyous and it’s heartbreaking” gets a cynical “yeah, right”, and a turn of the page.
* I’ll admit that my specific reaction comes from an extreme viewpoint, but I think – well, I hope, so I won’t feel like a fool – that there’s a kernel of validity, that restraint is a good thing, and that gushing with praise is mawkish, or maudlin. But I may be wrong; I’ve been a fool before, and I’m willing to be so labeled again.
* All that said, I don’t read endorsing blurbs. They really tell me very little, except for an individual’s emotional reaction to a book, condensed to the minimum as advertising. When I buy a book on Amazon, and there’s a long list of endorsements…I skip them.
* I do pay attention to expository negative reviews, and have often bought books on their strength. It’s easy to praise, but if someone takes the time to offer thought-out criticism, there’s something of substance in the object thereof. I’ve found some gems that were still in the rough, and rightly called out as such…but gems nonetheless. (An example is Jim Bailey’s memoir of his WW2 service in the RAF, “The Sky Suspended”. The negative reviewers wanted action and heroism fitting the genre, and what they got was self-effacing thoughtfulness about the meaning of it all. It’s a lovely book.)
Janet Grant
Andrew, sadly, thoughtful endorsements aren’t what we ordinarily get. Instead, hyperbole is the order of the day. I mean, how many sleepless nights due to an extraordinary reading experience can we all bear? Yet almost every book has at least one blurb promising us sleeplessness.
Jenni Brummett
Andrew, I dislike reviews or blurbs that gush. Restraint is much more powerful.
Carol Ashby
If I knew the reviewer personally, the comment about the book making them want to reread it instead of review it would make me most interested in the book. I’ve felt that way at the end of a really good novel.
Perhaps I am a bit unusual in this, but I haven’t been impressed by the opinion of someone who is famous in a celebrity sense since I was a teenager. Endorsements by celebrities have no effect at all on whether I would buy a work of fiction. If I don’t know a person well enough myself to have them calibrated, it’s impossible to know whether their likes and dislikes have any similarity to my own. It’s also impossible to know if the endorsement is merely an act of friendship rather than an unbiased assessment of the quality of the work. An endorsement by a person I know can sway my decision to read something or not if I know we have similar tastes.
For nonfiction, endorsement by someone I know to be a true expert in a field would incline me to take a look at a book, but it wouldn’t make me buy it without scanning some of it to see if it might deserve the praise first.
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser
I agree with you, Carol – celebrity endorsements don’t do anything for me, except to (possibly) impress me negatively. To wit – why did the publisher feel it was necessary to have the athlete/actress/anarchist (happily enjoying his or her five minutes of fame) endorse the book?It’s a blatant stab at name recognition, so I think it fairly begs the question – what’s lacking in the book that made this effort needed?
* It’s kind of like a blind date…the more the friend who set you up ‘talks up’ the guy with whom you’ll be going out…would that not make you a bit suspicious as to what is WRONG with the dude?
Janet Grant
I understand your perspective, Andrew and Carol, but the reality is that people are impressed with fame. Hence all the sports figures being featured in TV ads. Publishers, knowing how influential a famous name can be, wants to entice that person’s fans to buy the book, which might well be a perfectly laudable book, but by an “unknown” person. Letting someone’s limelight shine on a person who currently has no spotlight can work to sell books.
Shirlee Abbott
*I keep a running list of books to read by my computers at home and work where I note recommendations from articles and blogs of people I trust and admire (many books on my list come from this blog community). I never bought I book based on its blurbs. It falls in the same category as hiring advice I got long ago: don’t judge people by the references they supply; track down someone else who knew them–the references are cherry-picked to be glowing.
*No one will include a blurb that says, “it starts out well but gets lost in the middle, and I gave up on it at chapter 12.” Even if it is true.
Janet Grant
Shirlee, the same concept works with the snippets of book reviews. Only the sweetest, most succinct tidbits are used, even though the reviewer might well have pointed out the book’s weaknesses in another section of the review.
These are, after all, ads in miniature.
Jackie Layton
Because I love beach vacations, and because I pack books before clothes, this was my favorite blurb. I could picture myself buying and packing the book and then reading it on the beach. I have bought books before trips before and savored the feeling of knowing I’d be reading it on the beach. By now I guess it’s obvious The Washington Post blurb appealed to me the most.
Thanks for sharing!
Janet Grant
Jackie, well, it truly was a blurb targeted to beach readers. And it worked to good effect with you!
Thanks for pointing out the merit in the review.
Jeanne Takenaka
I will say first off, that I have never bought a book based on its blurbs. Recommendations by friends have played a much larger role in books I’ve purchased
*That being said, I see a dichotomy here, in our community. Publishers want blurbs by celebrities and experts, but most of the commenters here seem to put little stock in the blurbs influencing their purchases. I understand why publishers want famous names on the cover, but do these names sell more books? I’m just curious.
*I’ve talked with a multi-published author about this subject and she has written blurbs for books. She is very particular about the ones she writes for because she believes her name/reputation are at stake. If she offers glowing words for a book that doesn’t meet her standards (morality, writing, etc), people are going to think differently about her, if that makes sense.
*If I had to pick a review from up above, I think I’d select the NYT Book Review one. 🙂
*Thanks for the thought-provoking post, Janet!
Janet Grant
Jeanne, you’ve targeted a truth: a study was done to discover how influential blurbs were to book buyers, and one percent of buyers said they bought the book because of a blurb.
Word of mouth still is one of the most effective ways to generate book sales.
I liked the NYT review too. Reviewers can become quite jaundice; so it was refreshing to read about someone wanting to dive back into the book rather than write a review.
Jackie Layton
Janet, I’m more tempted to read a book a friend recommends than reading a blurb. Do you think Goodreads works on the theory that word of mouth recommendations encourage readers to buy books?
Janet Grant
Jackie, Goodreads is all about word of mouth.
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser
The most compelling blurb (which did not appear on the cover) read – “This is a book which cannot be lightly set aside. It should be thrown with great force.”
Janet Grant
That’s great! Tells us all we need to know.
Becky Jones
Anne Lamott’s “staking [her] reputation on this book” meant the most to me. Once you achieve her level of celebrity, you must be just inundated with requests. I imagine there’s the potential for diluting your brand if you bless a bunch of stuff that’s subpar.
My mom told me that there are some authors’ whose taste is golden (for her). She puts big faith into whatever they endorse.
So, whether or not blurbing works all the time…whether or not it’s just a bunch of literary back-scratching…I think if entices even a subset of readers some of the time, maybe that’s why it’s pretty important to publishers. And, maybe to book buyers, too?
Sheila King
Becky, I agree. To me that endorsement held the most weight.
Call me cynical, but I picture celebrities reading only if they are covered in bandages from the lastest facelift and their cable went out.
Becky
🙂
Sheila, you paint quite a picture to make your point!
Janet Grant
Becky, that endorsement bore a lot of weight for me too. I don’t see Anne Lamott doing a lot of staking her reputation on books she’s read.
For me, Lamott’s endorsement caught my eye. Then, as I read the others, I grew more interested because I saw it having the same sort of effect on everyone.
The part that surprises me is that what could be a mawkish fiction idea has touches of humor. I like that.
I confess that the blurbs have almost convinced me to read the book.
Jenni Brummett
I agree with you, Becky. Anne is opinionated and talented and she’s not going to endorse a book unless she really wants to.
Norma Brumbaugh
Interesting and somewhat confusing. Before I read this post, I was under the impression that a new author wants endorsements from well-known or accomplished writers as a way to sell more books. Personally, I find blurbs useful but also distracting. Even comments seem to be that way. They influence me to think a particular way. By in large, I read the negatives first (with comments). Even on this blog, I have learned to avoid reading comments until I have formulated what I wish to say in order to be authentic and not influenced by others’ opinions. Back to the blurbs, they have a useful place by providing a snapshot for those who know little about the book in question. The creative blurb does carry a punch with pizzazz. And I like that!
Janet Grant
Norma, sometimes the endorsements a debut author can gather do their most important work before the book even garners a contract–they show everyone at the publishing house the people the author is connected to. It’s kind of works like LinkedIn. A publisher is unlikely to decide to produce the book based solely on endorsements, but it’s an important plus, and can be the final argument that pushes the publisher into saying yes to the project.
Jenni Brummett
Janet, thanks for this additional information.
This means the endorsements are a part of the proposal then, right?
Janet Grant
Jenni, sometimes, if the author is willing to read the manuscript and offer an endorsement before finding a publisher, the endorsement itself can be part of the proposal. Sometimes an author will commit to reading the manuscript with an endorsement as the end goal after a contract is in place. But authors often reserve the right not to endorse after reading the manuscript. If the author will read it, you would mention that person in your proposal as someone who has made that commitment.
Norma Brumbaugh
Unrelated Side Note: Today Andrew is a guest blogger on my blog. He speaks of his illness in light of God and God’s purpose. Click on my name if you wish to read it. (Thanks again, Andrew)
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser
Thank you, Norma. It’s an honour.
Shelli Littleton
I liked the New York Times Review … I didn’t want to review it, I wanted to reread it. Wanting to reread a book says a lot. I will read book blurbs … because they are short. But I won’t read a book because of them. And long reviews cause me stress … too long. 🙂 I’d rather read the book, I think. What makes me read a book is … a recommendation from a friend who likes the same type books as I do. Or the excitement to read a friend’s work. It’s really the level of trust in the person recommending it.
Janet Grant
It is pretty much about trust, isn’t it, Shelli.
I confess that a starred Publishers Weekly review can cause me to read a book (after reading the review itself, of course). I’ve come to trust their reviewers, and I know how rare starred reviews are. For me, it’s like finding a movie critic whose tastes are similar to mine.
Kristen Joy Wilks
Both the Ann Lamot blurb where she said she would stake her reputation on the book and the reviewers blurb where he said that he didn’t want to review it he wanted to reread it were compelling to me. I once read a book that Dee Henderson wrote a blurb for just because of the blurb. I was disappointed as the book was nothing like Dee Henderson’s stuff.
Janet Grant
Kristen, and that’s the danger in authors lending their names to material that isn’t similar to their writing. We assume that the endorser is giving a thumbs up to a book in the same category as the blurb writer’s genre.
Of course, sometimes an author writes an endorsement in an obviously different category. For example, Debbie Macomber endorsed one of my client’s nonfiction books that had a knitting theme running through it. But Debbie is very well known for her love of knitting.
But authors need to endorse only what fits in their brand. They sometimes forget that (or didn’t it). Those endorsements lead to disappointment for the people who read the book based on the blurb.
Jennifer in Texas... at Shelli Littleton's house!
I like the Anne Lamott blurb. A recommendation from a person of her literary stature carries significant weight, and her readers know it.
A blurb will make me open the book and read a page or two, but it’s that page or two that makes me buy the book. Not the blurb. The blurb is the appetizer.
But if a celebrity says “read this!”? Mehhh, notsomuch.
Unless that person were someone I held in respect, like an athlete or a person like JK Rowling, who very quietly puts her considerable fortune to work for others, or Bobby Hull, who also very quietly did a lot of good.
Janet Grant
I like your description of the blurb as an appetizer. That’s a good way to put it.
I’m jealous you’re getting to spend time with Shelli, by the way!
Sylvia M.
I had a recent conversation with someone on the topic of book endorsements. Here’s my take. I pay attention to endorsements if an author, whose work I like, is the endorser. That being said, I have been very disappointed several times when reading a book that several of my favorite authors have endorsed. I wondered why. The conclusion I came to was that I expected the book to match the endorser’s own style of writing, platform, and author voice. I finish the book and think, “This doesn’t sound at all like the style of (insert favorite author’s name here). Why did they endorse this book? Favorite author writes fantastic, sizzling, character-driven historicals, rich in period detail. This book I just read is historical, yes, but the main characters are wooden, these people have almost no feelings, everything is told rather than shown, and nothing happens. It’s very boring! Why did favorite author endorse this?” Just because one author writes in the same genre as another doesn’t mean they should be chosen to do the endorsing, in my opinion. I’ve about stopped paying attention to author endorsements because of this. I think they don’t want to hurt a fellow author’s feelings, so they just write something pleasant.
Janet Grant
Sylvia, well-known authors are in an awkward place. Beginning writers desperately want to acquire endorsements to help convince a publisher to produce their work and to convince readers to try reading someone new.
If the author knows the new writer, it’s doubly hard to say no.
And the writing community can accuse established authors of shutting out new voices by not offering endorsements.
So there’s lots of pressure to do a blurb.
But authors have to guard their reputations (and their time). If you offer too many endorsements, your name is everywhere and loses its punch. If you endorse ho-hum books, you lose your voice of authority.
If you miss your own deadlines or sacrifice promoting your books to read books and write endorsements, that’s poor stewardship.
It’s a tricky business.
Some of my clients, who frequently receive endorsement requests, refer everyone to me, as part of a protocol we’ve set up. I make the decision rather than the author.
Sometimes an agents job is to be the bad guy. And that’s a good thing.
Richard Mabry
Janet, while I agree with a lot of what you’ve said (including the fact that word-of-mouth sells lots more books than cover blurbs), I still treasure this one written by the late Dr. Michael Palmer, a NYT best-selling author, despite his using one of the phrases you dislike. Michael told me he was going to go to his farm in New Hampshire for the weekend, and would try to read one of my novels in view of an endorsement. (I never, ever ask for one–just for the opportunity). Michael sent me not one, but six blurbs, but the one that spoke to me was, “A two-day, non-stop read. I put the book down only to get some sleep.” This “I couldn’t put it down” seemed more real, because I knew the circumstances. That having been said, I agree those words are sort of like boilerplate in some book blurbs.
Janet Grant
Richard, when a NYT best-selling author writes any blurb, it’s noteworthy, but six…That’s worthy of framing them.
What I like about the “unputdownable” quote is that he actually took time out to sleep. 🙂 He described his reading journey, and that made it very real to me.
Richard Mabry
Janet, interesting that you should say that. When she saw them, my wife, Kay, printed out Michael’s words and insisted I put them on my bulletin board so I could read them when I was sort of “down.”
Jenny Leo
Re celebrities, what would be far more valuable than an endorsement would be a photograph of said celebrity carrying a copy of the book (title clearly showing, of course), or better yet, reading it while waiting around on a movie set or backstage. Wasn’t there a Christian book that got a huge sales boost when President Reagan was photographed carrying it onto Air Force One? Or is that an apocryphal story?
Janet Grant
Jenny, a visual does tend to have more oomph than a verbal endorsement. But the visual might appear on social media for a moment but then disappear. The verbal blurb, on the back of the book (or on Amazon) probably is longer lasting.
I don’t recall the President Reagan photo, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
Kiersti
The New York Times review stuck out to me…if I wanted to reread a book right after finishing it, that would be one special book! I liked that twist on a typical review.
I think the book blurbs that mean the most to me are when I see (or hear!) an author I LOVE highly recommending a new author. While it hasn’t always held true, I have definitely found some new authors to love that way…some within this community. 🙂
D Holcombe
As the owner if an independent bookstore for over 34 years, I have often found that names help in identifying what literary community or sub-category an author is from. When a new book comes in by an unknown author, the first thing I do is look at who wrote the endorsements on the back cover. I do not bother with the content of the blurb – I only care about who the endorsers are. This is especially helpful with non-fiction. Last week I got in a new book by an author. The endorsements were written Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, and Phyllis Tickle. From seeing those three names I already knew that the author was going to be left of center theologically, that his book about the Bible would present more questions than answers, and that he would challenge the reader to rethink the way in which they engage scripture. The first two chapters confirmed all three presumptions. Conversely, if I get in a new book and it is endorsed by Beth Moore, then I already know quite a bit about the author without even opening the book up. Readers do the same thing. I think who writes the blurb is far more informative and important than the content of their endorsement.
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser
Wow, that makes sense, and I would never in a million years have thought of it.
* And, for Janet, this begs a question…my WIP “Travels With The Dude” is a novel about Viet Nam, and a number of veterans like that which they have thus far read. Would they, identified as veterans with their units and tours served, be effective endorsers (if they were willing to commit)?
Janet Grant
Andrew, one or two such endorsements would provide “authenticity” endorsements. (Much as the rower did for Boys in the Boat.) But you need to balance those types of endorsements with, say, a high-ranking officer and writers of military fiction.
Janet Grant
Thanks for offering a bookstore owner’s perspective. I suspect I’d do the same if I ran a store. Endorsements are indeed useful in identifying where an author fits in the theological and category charts.
Roanne King
Janet,
The blurb usually only influences me as a second method of convincing me to buy a book. I wouldn’t buy just any book simply because it was endorsed by an author I admire or a trusted entity in the opinion of books. As an author, I was hoping you’d also cover the topic of “how” to get a blurb review to start with. But as a reader I would say the NYT “reread” comment is the most impactful. This is because it is what I would want someone to say about my books. Seriously, if Francnie Rivers said she wanted to reread my novel instead of review it, I would be elated regardless of if anyone else decided to read it!
Roanne King
Janet,
The blurb usually only influences me as a second method of convincing me to buy a book. I wouldn’t buy just any book simply because it was endorsed by an author I admire or a trusted entity in the opinion of books. As an author, I was hoping you’d also cover the topic of “how” to get a blurb review to start with. But as a reader I would say the NYT “reread” comment is the most impactful. This is because it is what I would want someone to say about my books. Seriously, if Francine Rivers said she wanted to reread my novel instead of review it, I would be elated regardless of if anyone else decided to read it!