Tayari's Blog: Blurbation

Posted by TayariJones on March 27, 2007 07:26 PM
Filed under The Writing Life

Jeffrey Ford has got a post up about giving blurbs-- you know, those author-endorsements printed on the backs of books. Ford has an interesting policy-- he gives no more than four a year. That's it. The four first books that deserve his stamp, get it. If your book comes out in November, you probably will have missed the Jeffrey Ford window. He makes a good argument for this policy. He doesn't want to give so many blurbs that his blurbs become meaningless. (I think my mother gave me similar advice about kissing too many boys.)

So that got me to thinking about blurbs. For the most part, I don't do them. I think I am a little too young, too green, to be going around giving other writers my thumbs up. There is one noteable exception: I get such a kick out of giving Pearl blurb-love. There is something Karmic about endorsing the first writer who ever endorsed me.

For my first novel, my editor and I made the list of authors whom we would solicit. It became clear that we had different ideas about the type of endorsements we would see. I managed to get a blurb from LESLIE MARMON SILKO. Since I had written my undergraduate thesis on her work, I was thrilled to pieces. My editor said, "Who?"

As a writer/reader, I look at blurbs to try and figure out the degrees of separation between the writers. Sometimes I look at the collection of gushing quotes and see a pattern. "I see," I might say. "There is a Bay Area thing going on here." A few blurbs leave me seething with jealously: How, how, how, HOW did Bernice McFadden score a blurb from the Almighty Toni Morrison? Ms. Morrison is famously unavailable for such things. I have only seen one other Morrisonian blurb in my whole life. That was A. J. Verdelle's The Good Negress. (No mystery there. It's a Princeton thing.)

So, tell me, good readers. How do you process blurbs? Do they sway you. Have you ever parted with $25 to buy a hardback book because of the praise on the back cover?

(thx, ed)

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There are 7 comments on "Blurbation". If you'd like to leave a comment, click here to jump down to the comments entry form.

Comment #1, by Michael Fischer [TypeKey Profile Page]

Well, I think you hit the nail on the head for me with the Morrison "Princeton" example. A lot of blurbs just strike me as incestuous. I don't take them as seriously as I used to, though I do understand their usefulness...and if any established writer is reading this please don't think that I don't want you blurbing my first book, because I do!;-)

March 27, 2007 08:54 PM

Comment #2, by Michael Fauver [TypeKey Profile Page]

I bought Daniel Handler's "Adverbs" for three completely superficial reasons. 1) The book was just the right size--not too tall, not too wide. 2) The description on the dust jacket was self-aware and hysterical. 3) The blurbs were by Michael Chabon and Dave Eggers.

I won't deny that the names were what caught my eye, but I was more interested in what the authors had to say. I find the language of these mini-"reviews" and promotional materials completely fascinating. Eggers couldn't just write, "Boy, I sure loved this book" He had to write, "Anyone who lives to read gorgeous writing will want to lick this book and sleep with it between their legs."

I read the book and I enjoyed it. But it definitely doesn't come to bed with me at night.

(And btw, I would be happy to be one of the first to receive a blurb from you someday!)

March 28, 2007 08:28 AM

Comment #3, by Michael Fauver [TypeKey Profile Page]

I bought Daniel Handler's "Adverbs" for three completely superficial reasons. 1) The book was just the right size--not too tall, not too wide. 2) The description on the dust jacket was self-aware and hysterical. 3) The blurbs were by Michael Chabon and Dave Eggers.

I won't deny that the names were what caught my eye, but I was more interested in what the authors had to say. I find the language of these mini-"reviews" and promotional materials completely fascinating. Eggers couldn't just write, "Boy, I sure loved this book." He had to write, "Anyone who lives to read gorgeous writing will want to lick this book and sleep with it between their legs."

I read the book and I enjoyed it. But it definitely doesn't come to bed with me at night.

(And btw, I would be happy to be one of the first to receive a blurb from you someday!)

March 28, 2007 08:29 AM

Comment #4, by Ladylee [TypeKey Profile Page]

Wow... I thought it was all a matter of "who you know" and not the quality of the book.

Blurbs don't sway me to pick up a book. I've read too much stuff that sucked, after believing the endorsements. I usually get a book because I've read other books by that author, the first couple of pages draw me in, or if the jacket summary interests me. But otherwise, I thought the whole blurb thing was a matter of connections.

March 28, 2007 08:30 AM

Comment #5, by Jackie [TypeKey Profile Page]

A blurb might make me stop and consider a book, but it isn't enough to make me buy it. They have become a curiosity more than an endorsement of an author.

March 28, 2007 08:53 AM

Comment #6, by Shelley Shockley [TypeKey Profile Page]

I have never purchased a book because of the endorsements. Endorsements and reviews usually do not shape my opinion because I believe they are so very subjective and the reviewers tastes may be totally left or right of mine. Usually if I have heard good things about a book and I want to read it I will buy it, but if I'm wavering I will check it out of the library to read and if its really good I will purchase a copy for my ever growing library.

March 28, 2007 09:44 AM

Comment #7, by Shalema [TypeKey Profile Page]

Sometimes an author's endorcement of a book will convince me to at least give the book a second thought, but not always. There is a certain publisher that uses a T.D. Jakes' quote on all their books. His blurb comments on the publishing house, not a particular book. So sometimes I question if he would indeed recommed everyone of said publishers books.

When attending an author's booksigning/reading I like to know who they read. While attending a Terry McMillan signing/reading for her last book in NYC, she mentioned she was reading Babylon Sisters by Pearl Cleage. So I got the book(my first read by Ms. Cleage) and have become a big fan (many books later).

March 30, 2007 08:15 AM

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