Blurbs

blurbs

quotes from writers praising your book, used for promotional purposes

How are blurbs used?

Your publisher will want to put blurbs on your book jacket. The blurb will say something like, “This book is better than cat emojis!” — Coolbeans Writerface. Blurbs are also shared online; you can use them on your website and post them on social media. Many people claim that blurbs do not help books sell unless they are from a majorly famous writer. But blurbs can help create buzz within your publishing house so that your team is more excited to sell your book. And blurbs can help booksellers understand how to sell your book (“I should sell this book to customers who like books by Coolbeans Writerface.”)

How I do get blurbs for my book?

Sometimes your editor will reach out to writers (or their agents and editors) to ask for blurbs for your book. Sometimes your editor will ask you to reach out to writers yourself. The first thing you need to do is brainstorm a list of writers from whom you would like to get a blurb. These are writers who have written books similar to yours in tone, genre, topic, etc. Include writers on your list who are super successful and probably too busy to blurb you (in case your luck is running high) and writers who are well-regarded but have yet to hit it big (in case they might be more willing to take time the time to read and blurb for you). You or your editor will email these writers asking if they are available to blurb your book and telling them the timeframe within which you need the blurb. If they agree to at least read an early copy of your book, they will probably do so with the understanding that if they don’t end up having time to blurb it (which is sometimes a polite way of saying they didn’t like your book after all) they won’t end up blurbing it.

When do I get blurbs for my book?

As soon as ARCs/galleys (early copies of your book) are available, you’ll want to send them out to possible blurbers. Sometimes your editor will want to send out a copy of your manuscript even earlier than this in order to get blurbs for your ARC, but this seems rare.