Love this idea of including blurbs in the realm of criticism/advocacy, per Morrison, and for breaking out of silos. Part of what has contributed to blurb meaninglessness to me is how frequently they are just word salad, w/ no real evidence of serious engagement with the text. I do think it's possible to be serious in a sentence or two. And then of course there's the problem of "like-with-like," which makes the backs of books often seem like extensions of the algorithms many of us are trying to disrupt. Your essay thoughtfully grapples with all of this, and presents an exciting alternative...
Having just written a piece on blurbs myself yesterday, and read all of the recent pieces out there, I appreciate your take on this--and the fact that you've put thought into an actual solution that seems entirely reasonable. Thanks for writing.
I think I speak for all the discerning readers who’ve fallen under your sway when I say that your blurbs count for something. In fact I bought Gone to the Wolves only after spying your name on the eye-catching dust jacket. I’m happy to say you didn’t steer me wrong. But I’ve been burned in the past and am generally wary of blurbs, for some of the reasons you’ve listed here. I’m hopeful that’ll change.
How timely, as I begin the search for my own blurbers! It feels stressful and weird, and I don't like it. But anything to do with book promotion feels scary. I wish I could be one of those hermit authors who become very famous because they hide out in a mountain somewhere and refuse to give interviews.
Thank you for this piece. As a very new ~out in the wild~ writer, I appreciate your thought process and vulnerability into the inside minds of blurbs within distinguished writers. As a reader, I very much appreciate a blurb. However, whenever I choose my books at random, wandering around bookstores, 90% percent of the time I end up choosing books that authors I already adore/admire/follow have written blurbs on. All this to say- thank you authors for blurbs, and thank you Kristin for opening our eyes to seeing the process in a refreshed way.
I would like to take this opportunity to raise another point (or "open another can of worms" as we might say in Spanish) and discuss fandom and its silent work. Fandoms don't usually write blurbs - although in the Spanish fandom of horror, fantasy and science fiction there are people who do because they are known for their helpfulness and personal prestige based on their behavior. But fandoms do support writers and small presses with their reviews on social media of books and writing, their fanfic, their fanpics, and their respectful personal messages to the author thanking them and applauding their work. Perhaps fandom support is something that could be added when considering moving beyond one's personal comfort zone in writing blurbs. It's a bit of a stretch, but I believe the previous work of the blurb and the subsequent work of the fan can join hands at some point to promote great authors, some new and some wonderful yet unknown outside their personal silo.
As a reader, I try new books and authors based on the blurbs of authors whose taste I trust. I would definitely be in favor of supporting more works in translation or books from small presses, for example, but it would be nice if there were a simpler way to find out just what books are being blurbed by those I trust. I have bought a few books based on your blurbs, and with success. If somewhere out there in the land of the internet, more lists of authors recommendations were readily available I’d probably be reading more widely and taking more chances.
Love this idea of including blurbs in the realm of criticism/advocacy, per Morrison, and for breaking out of silos. Part of what has contributed to blurb meaninglessness to me is how frequently they are just word salad, w/ no real evidence of serious engagement with the text. I do think it's possible to be serious in a sentence or two. And then of course there's the problem of "like-with-like," which makes the backs of books often seem like extensions of the algorithms many of us are trying to disrupt. Your essay thoughtfully grapples with all of this, and presents an exciting alternative...
Having just written a piece on blurbs myself yesterday, and read all of the recent pieces out there, I appreciate your take on this--and the fact that you've put thought into an actual solution that seems entirely reasonable. Thanks for writing.
I think I speak for all the discerning readers who’ve fallen under your sway when I say that your blurbs count for something. In fact I bought Gone to the Wolves only after spying your name on the eye-catching dust jacket. I’m happy to say you didn’t steer me wrong. But I’ve been burned in the past and am generally wary of blurbs, for some of the reasons you’ve listed here. I’m hopeful that’ll change.
How timely, as I begin the search for my own blurbers! It feels stressful and weird, and I don't like it. But anything to do with book promotion feels scary. I wish I could be one of those hermit authors who become very famous because they hide out in a mountain somewhere and refuse to give interviews.
Thank you for this piece. As a very new ~out in the wild~ writer, I appreciate your thought process and vulnerability into the inside minds of blurbs within distinguished writers. As a reader, I very much appreciate a blurb. However, whenever I choose my books at random, wandering around bookstores, 90% percent of the time I end up choosing books that authors I already adore/admire/follow have written blurbs on. All this to say- thank you authors for blurbs, and thank you Kristin for opening our eyes to seeing the process in a refreshed way.
I didn’t realize there was such a place for blurb writing... interesting! Love reading your takes and will follow.
I would like to take this opportunity to raise another point (or "open another can of worms" as we might say in Spanish) and discuss fandom and its silent work. Fandoms don't usually write blurbs - although in the Spanish fandom of horror, fantasy and science fiction there are people who do because they are known for their helpfulness and personal prestige based on their behavior. But fandoms do support writers and small presses with their reviews on social media of books and writing, their fanfic, their fanpics, and their respectful personal messages to the author thanking them and applauding their work. Perhaps fandom support is something that could be added when considering moving beyond one's personal comfort zone in writing blurbs. It's a bit of a stretch, but I believe the previous work of the blurb and the subsequent work of the fan can join hands at some point to promote great authors, some new and some wonderful yet unknown outside their personal silo.
As a reader, I try new books and authors based on the blurbs of authors whose taste I trust. I would definitely be in favor of supporting more works in translation or books from small presses, for example, but it would be nice if there were a simpler way to find out just what books are being blurbed by those I trust. I have bought a few books based on your blurbs, and with success. If somewhere out there in the land of the internet, more lists of authors recommendations were readily available I’d probably be reading more widely and taking more chances.