tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post5857996827713949630..comments2023-11-02T06:57:11.400-04:00Comments on BookEnds Literary Agency: Obtaining Cover BlurbsBookEnds, A Literary Agencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06287278822065839469noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-12492397155404199002009-08-15T17:55:59.321-04:002009-08-15T17:55:59.321-04:00Anonymous, the decision whether or not to solicit ...Anonymous, the decision whether or not to solicit blurbs, or put them on the cover, isn't the author's. It's made by the editor and the house in general. <br /><br />And if the authors doing the blurbing are friends...they're probably friends because they like each others's work. Friend or not, I don't know a single author who would agree to blurb a book they thought was terrible; we're aware that it's our name and reputation on the line (and on the cover).<br /><br />I don't mean to sound snippy and hope I don't, but I did want to let you know it's not a matter of an author deciding to have a blurb on the cover of their book and then calling their friends to get them, and the friends giving those blurbs without even glancing at the book.Staciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07969399927758009095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-73341047349812706592009-08-14T05:17:29.713-04:002009-08-14T05:17:29.713-04:00Keith--What a nice story about Piers Anthony! Your...Keith--What a nice story about Piers Anthony! Your book must be very good. I wish you luck with your new agent!kittynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-28612277877274710082009-08-14T00:52:37.578-04:002009-08-14T00:52:37.578-04:00It's still a challenging task. Everybody is ve...It's still a challenging task. Everybody is very, very busy and it's quite a time.....<br />___________________<br />Julie<br /><br /><a href="http://iwaayinternetmarketing.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Increase your brand popularity overnight</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-54872914790298037202009-08-13T23:16:20.784-04:002009-08-13T23:16:20.784-04:00Do the blurbs really sell more books? I guess I a...Do the blurbs really sell more books? I guess I always assumed it was like some of the more explicit cover art - someone somewhere says it sells books, but if that's true, then why don't the established big authors use them?Wendy Quallshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09738672242498685175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-57319682857471520502009-08-13T19:35:16.289-04:002009-08-13T19:35:16.289-04:00I'd often wondered where the quotes come from....I'd often wondered where the quotes come from. Thanks.Sheila Deethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13465615546936319164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-67573643113319338302009-08-13T18:00:29.218-04:002009-08-13T18:00:29.218-04:00One thing it's impossible to stress too hard i...One thing it's impossible to stress too hard is that the newbie authors strugglnig to get blurbs from those higher up the tree, frustrated and intimidated by the rejections and seeming unapproachability, bottle that feeling. And when they're good and famous, and when someone comes to them during their busy schedule and asks them for a blurb: take out that bottle, unstopper it a little, and take a good sniff before you answer.Dan Hollowayhttp://www.danholloway.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-12353975411791566852009-08-13T16:58:51.473-04:002009-08-13T16:58:51.473-04:00I don't understand the importance of bestselle...I don't understand the importance of bestseller blurbs. I've read awful books with glowing cover blurbs and great books with nothing on the cover. As a reader, I pay more attention to the back cover than a bestsellers opinion. As a writer, I can't afford to attend expensive conferences so my chances of connecting with a bestselling author is minimal. <br /><br />How did this get so important in the process? Just curious.CharlieMachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12501690808999123501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-83971813781293464902009-08-13T16:32:54.552-04:002009-08-13T16:32:54.552-04:00@Nancy
I can't speak as a writer doing blurbs...@Nancy<br /><br />I can't speak as a writer doing blurbs, but I can speak as a reader reading the blurbs! I always liked the ones that mentioned one or two specific parts of the book as what they really liked. In fact, the more specific, the better. Made me felt they'd actually read the book and it made me curious to find out just what it was about that particular character, scene, etc. that piqued their interest.<br /><br />Just my opinion though! G'luck!Paige Jeffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15579058823079691230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-81821634998016122942009-08-13T16:25:30.901-04:002009-08-13T16:25:30.901-04:00I actually think LESS of an author who has blurbs ...I actually think LESS of an author who has blurbs from other authors on their books b/c I assume they got their friends to do it. I know a lot of people who agree.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-37023373469107468142009-08-13T15:31:46.246-04:002009-08-13T15:31:46.246-04:00LOL...I hate having to ask for cover blurbs, but I...LOL...I hate having to ask for cover blurbs, but I've learned to do it with the full knowledge that most best selling authors are busy and may not have time to read the book. I won't blurb a book I don't like, though I hate to refuse when asked. Luckily I'm busy enough that I don't always have the time to read something for an author--and I will not blurb a book I've not read.<br /><br />Nancy--a suggestion on writing the blurb. I just had one to do and I was so busy I couldn't come up with anything witty to save my life. What I did was take the short blurb the editor had sent along with the book (essentially the back cover blurb) and pulled a few key words from that. I was able to come up with something that was satisfactory for the editor and the author.Kate Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05486916548114546095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-60870596061434954602009-08-13T12:41:18.887-04:002009-08-13T12:41:18.887-04:00This is great advice...but dang! If querying and l...This is great advice...but dang! If querying and landing an agent is the easy part of the job, God save us. O_oChristinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02200238579836754155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-57227982371505956232009-08-13T12:26:06.612-04:002009-08-13T12:26:06.612-04:00Like Alissa, I've only vaguely thought about t...Like Alissa, I've only vaguely thought about this. (I'm still trying to write a book or two I feel is publishable--haven't even started querying yet.) Good thing to keep in mind, though. My main obstacle right now is that the few authors I do know somewhat work in vastly different genres. Sure, they might like it anyway, but it'd probably look weird for, say, a historical romance author to blurb SF.Kristin Laughtinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01536556357622503501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-23474750868720905752009-08-13T12:03:14.286-04:002009-08-13T12:03:14.286-04:00I had never thought about this process before. Tha...I had never thought about this process before. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, as well as your excellent advice on how to acquire blurbs through networking.Brandi Guthriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16655707567309926694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-21392995390528674272009-08-13T11:45:40.153-04:002009-08-13T11:45:40.153-04:00@Keith: What a great story! It's good to know ...@Keith: What a great story! It's good to know of authors who are willing to accept cold emails like that. Going at it blindly and contacting people who are just too busy (or too famous) could lead to a lot of frustration. But it's great that you've had some success.<br /><br />I like what Debra said about using Twitter to befriend authors ahead of time. At Coral Press, we're really interested in that kind of grassroots online outreach. Hope it works out for you!Coral Presshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01253657911466196414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-25935660628596017872009-08-13T11:04:37.612-04:002009-08-13T11:04:37.612-04:00Great advice. My editor did talk to her contacts a...Great advice. My editor did talk to her contacts about blurbs, but she also asked me if I knew anyone I'd like to approach. Luckily, I'd been active in writing organizations and I knew a few authors. <br /><br />Ironically, the two authors I most wanted to ask had already been contacted by my editor (great minds think alike) but I wonder if they were more agreeable because they knew me and had been excited when I sold.<br /><br />There is this wonderful camaraderie with writers - we want to see each other succeed. And when you watch someone at conference or in a local RWA chapter working on their pitch, honing their craft, trying hard to sell, you want to help them any way you can - because we've all been there.<br /><br />So yes, getting out there, meeting people, letting people in the industry know who you are and what you write is not only fun - it can be invaluable to your career.Angie Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05843918280581285622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-76202933062425875652009-08-13T11:03:14.402-04:002009-08-13T11:03:14.402-04:00Great post.Great post.Dale Bishophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18136056378495563856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-63663356819020427972009-08-13T10:57:21.087-04:002009-08-13T10:57:21.087-04:00I'm finishing up a book TO blurb and I'm t...I'm finishing up a book TO blurb and I'm terrified about actually writing the darn thing. <br /><br />Loved the book, by the way.<br /><br />I've never done this before and have been poring over blurbs on the backs of other books to get a good idea of what they consist of - but I'm still stumped. <br /><br />Any helpful hints on good blurb writing?Nancy Coffelthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01713279271661289911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-5396003595060916212009-08-13T10:28:30.226-04:002009-08-13T10:28:30.226-04:00Very informative post! This was something that nev...Very informative post! This was something that never really crossed my mind. Shows how much I still need to learn!Darahttp://inthewritemind.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-14385320165272403312009-08-13T10:17:12.293-04:002009-08-13T10:17:12.293-04:00I'm hoping to have an agent soon, and am takin...I'm hoping to have an agent soon, and am taking this very seriously. I've gotten to "know" a few best-selling authors on Twitter, and am planning on requesting blurbs from them when the time is right. Networking and planning ahead are incredibly important. I look forward to the day I can help new writers in this fashion as well.Debra Lynn Sheltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08238268767406623274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-26357094421319642492009-08-13T09:59:14.434-04:002009-08-13T09:59:14.434-04:00I didn't realize authors actually read the boo...I didn't realize authors actually read the books first. I just thought they were paid, wrote something vague yet wonderful, and that was it. That's why I never took much stock in what they had to say about a book when I made a decision, even if I was a big fan of their stuff. Glad to see I was wrong.Stinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11415189347501942340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-22376755426006848312009-08-13T09:22:04.680-04:002009-08-13T09:22:04.680-04:00I have only vaguely begun to think about this, but...I have only vaguely begun to think about this, but this is good food for thought.Alissa Grossohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16701189791875707920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-72333289933252026252009-08-13T09:14:11.460-04:002009-08-13T09:14:11.460-04:00This is really helpful - thanks!This is really helpful - thanks!Mirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558405035294107657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-84208833709925716102009-08-13T08:53:42.520-04:002009-08-13T08:53:42.520-04:00As a self-published author, I thought it would be ...As a self-published author, I thought it would be useful if I could get a nice testimonial from a successful author. So I wrote to Piers Anthony via his website and asked if he wouldn't mind reading my book. (His website newsletter often mentions good books that he's read recently.)<br /><br />Piers kindly agreed to read it, but said "I'll read enough to get its measure. If it's hopelessly amateur, I'll let you know." Having been a fan when I was younger, I knew the author didn't mince his words!<br /><br />I sent the book off, and within a week or so Piers had read it -- and liked it! He sounded surprised in his email, saying he "doesn't normally like children's fantasy, but this was an exception." He said other things like "well written, interesting" and finished with "I love it!"<br /><br />In the end I had a number of phrases to pick from out of emails and a short review in his website's July newsletter (see second paragraph at http://www.hipiers.com/09july.html). I was chuffed to bits and, being self-published, was able to alter my back cover to include a few sentences by the successful author.<br /><br />Did it help my sales? Hmm. I'm not aware of ANY orders coming in as a direct result of the review on his website. However, I did get an email and phone call from a film and literary agent, who was also a Piers Anthony fan and had seen the review of my book (ISLAND OF FOG). I've now signed up with that agent and he has a movie producer looking at my novel as we speak!<br /><br />Of course, nothing may come of it. But I thought I'd share this just out of interest. :-)Keith Robinsonhttp://www.unearthlytales.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-15401783605916419002009-08-13T08:51:53.707-04:002009-08-13T08:51:53.707-04:00Thanks for another helpful post.Thanks for another helpful post.Angie Ledbetterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16407006980893727627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-89001444759451248482009-08-13T08:08:46.914-04:002009-08-13T08:08:46.914-04:00Excellent advice.
I'm smack dab in the middle...Excellent advice.<br /><br />I'm smack dab in the middle of this process now, and I'm glad I've been able to develop some relationships at conferences, on-line, at workshops, etc. <br /><br />It's still a challenging task. Everybody is very, very busy and it's quite a time (and reputation) commitment you're asking for.Alan Orloffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03695574442723430347noreply@blogger.com