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Myths and Rumors About Book Cover Blurbs

Would I put a blurb on the back of book that was not positive? What do you think? People often say that they do not trust book blurbs? Readers, book buyers, reviewers even seem to wonder these days why publishers and authors bother. Worse yet, they do something even more peculiar, they believe that any sort of good “blurb” means the author and “blurber” must be friends. Who cares if they are friends for one thing, don’t people help each other all the time? Would you help your author friend if the book they wrote was good? Yes you would. If it wasn’t any good would you write a blurb? No, you’d offer some constructive criticism.

However, I’ll tell you this, friendships are not where most blurbs come from. The common rumor then, or myth if you prefer this sort of thing, is that endorsements, aka “blurbs” are just friends helping friends. I have to stick up for these endorsements though. I wish that critics would reconsider. Do they really think this would work? Maybe in the world of never-never land, but it does not work very well in the private, business world. I do not know many writers that are working hard to be a writer that would risk putting their name on a bad product. People do connect with friends from time to time and do “blurbs” but they absolutely are not entirely about friendships.

Publishers and authors put a lot of time, effort, and research into blurbs. So, I couldn’t disagree more with the suspicions I frequently run into. We find blurbs entirely for the reader to better trust the book, no kidding. It would be much easier not to search and contact “experts” to read book galleys, much easier not to keep them on-task to complete a blurb, not to spend money on galleys and shipping, but we want to prove to readers that the book they hold in their hands is in fact worth reading, that it will improve their lives. They are a way of saying, “it’s not just us telling you the book is good, other people agree to!” As well “blurbs” are one of the more exciting parts of the writing process for many authors, hearing what others have to say is rewarding. I often tell authors to dream BIG, to think of five or six people you’d really be happy to get a blurb from.

Collecting blurbs is a great way to build a reputation for a press. In a world of distrust, anxiety, and entrepreneurism, small independent publishers are going the extra mile for readers, we find trustworthy endorsements to improve our books and increase our trust with our readers.