Comments on: Don’t Panic About Blurbs

By: Summer

Summer — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:23:28 +0000

Um….I picked up Magic or Madness because of the blurb…..I’ve picked up a LOT of books because of Phillip Pullman/Holly Black blurbs…(I’m kinda embarrassed now..)

By: Beli-wa

Beli-wa — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:33:56 +0000

Actually i picked up the book Skinned (Robin Wasserman) because it had Scott’s quote in it lol. Although lemme tell you this much: I would buy the hard cover of city of bones(I’ve been meaning to read it…)just to see your blurb on it. Actually i would never buy the paperback BECAUSE stephanie meyers’s blurb is on it. I hate herr. and all things twilight of course… because they ruined amps for meh. I will never enjoy Scott’s book Peeps the same way EVER again!! :’(
haha. hahaha.

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:39:13 +0000

As a new author who been fretting about having to do this I thank you for the infomation

By: Blurbs « Twenty Palaces

Blurbs « Twenty Palaces — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:10:01 +0000

[...] her blog, Justine Larbalestier talked a bit about blurbs, how she got hers, whether they matter, and how much people should fret over them (her conclusion: [...]

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:14:56 +0000

Thanks for the answers!

BTW I am influenced by blurbs in the following instance: if i am interested enough in the book to pull it off the shelf and investigate, but wouldn’t be interested enough to actually get it, i may change my mind if there’s an all-time-favorite author blurb. i also figure that if Bob Someone’s blurb was put on a book, the people-in-charge must think the book will appeal to Bob Someone’s fans… so if i like Bob someone I’ll take a look.

Well, that’s my two cents!

By: Australian Online Bookshop

Australian Online Bookshop — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:48:31 +0000

I think the cover is what makes most people pick the book up in the first place. Blurbs are great but i don’t think they have a whole lot of imapct on the decision to purchase.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:01:09 +0000

I had the impression that blurbs were a mandatory thing, i.e. the publisher made you round them up no matter what.

I don’t like them. I especially hate books with no plot summary anywhere and nothing but blurbs to sell it. The one time I bought a book based on a blurb I was brutally disappointed in it, and in the blurber for thinking it was good.

By: Chris S.

Chris S. — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:44:30 +0000

A blurb by a much-loved author has never made me buy a book straight off the shelf, but it has made me read a few pages. If I like what’s inside, I feel doubly happy. Not only do I have a new book, but also my opinion of the blurbing writer is confirmed.

Sadly, however, if the book is substandard, my opinion of the blurbing author’s taste is dented. Not unforgivably (more fender-bender than three-car-pileup), but dented.

By: wandering-dreamer

wandering-dreamer — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:44:56 +0000

I remember I actually picked up a book at Boarders because I saw a blurb by Tamora Pierce on it and then found out I had actually already read the book! XD But if an author I like talks about a book on their site (I know that Scott used to do interviews with other authors about new books) then I will definitely keep an eye out for it. My friends don’t read as much as I do so I can’t get recommendations from them, my family doesn’t read the same stuff I do, so it’s onto the people who write stuff I like!

By: lindsay eland

lindsay eland — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:50:29 +0000

Wonderful Post! And thanks for the reassurance…my book is blurb-less and I’ve been freaking out a tad…or maybe it’s a tad bit too much!

Thanks!

By: Heidi R. Kling

Heidi R. Kling — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:03:48 +0000

Another excellent post. Thank you. =)

By: john cash

john cash — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:06:04 +0000

Perhaps there was a blurb of text taken from the story, perhaps not. But I read the first page to make up my mind about books. I fell for Reason after her first three sentences.

By: Dawn C.

Dawn C. — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:14:35 +0000

To be honest, I would be less likely to read your book if Stephanie Meyer blurbed it. I do read blurbs though. I think it can be interesting, especially after reading the book, to look at them to see if you agree or disagree with their assessment. Some author’s opinions would sway me if I was undecided also; I bought Emma Bull’s War For The Oaks on the strength of Neil Gaiman’s opinion and I am glad I did.

By: Tasha

Tasha — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:14 +0000

I dunno, I actually made a friend of mine pick up a book that was blurbed by both Scott Westerfeld and Neil Gaimon, it must be pretty good, lol.

If a blurb is going to make me pick up a book, it’s probably going to be a set of blurbs from authors that I already respect as having good taste.

By: Ellen

Ellen — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:01:19 +0000

“If Stephenie Meyer or Stephen King [...] loves your book and wants to tell the world about it that is a Very Good Thing.”
If both of them love it, you might be Suzanne Collins >.>

By: Ben O.

Ben O. — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:42:23 +0000

I actually pay a bit of attention to blurbs – not so much the blurb itself, but who is doing the blurbing (although if the blurb says “In the tradition of…”, that’s usually the kiss of death).

If the blurber (is that a word?) is from an author whose writing I really enjoy, it usually tips the scales a bit. However, if the blurber is someone I regard as an arrant hack (names withheld to protect the guilty!), then the chances of a purchase generally decline. Blurbs from newspapers, websites, Publishers Weekly, etc. don’t really sway me one way or the other (unless its from Locus, which can be a plus). But all in all, blurbs are pretty minor consideration.

By: Lizzy-wa

Lizzy-wa — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:37:01 +0000

justine-la! oh my goodness i am soooooooooo hopefully coming to see you on tuesday! joyousness! hehehe

-lizzy-wa

By: Mary Elizabeth S.

Mary Elizabeth S. — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:56:06 +0000

The only time a blurb sways my buying is if I am considering two books and torn over which to get. If they are on otherwise equal footing (as in, I want them both) and one of them has a blurb by an author I like, then I may be more inclined towards that book. But if I’m just browsing, or feel uncertain about a book, then a blurb won’t make much difference.

Part of why I don’t pay much mind to blurbs is because book preferences are such an individual thing. No two people are going to like all the same books. Even if I liked what an author writes, that doesn’t mean I’ll like what they read. And even if I have liked books they’ve blurbed in the past, that doesn’t necessarily mean I will like this one, too. So if it’s not a book I already know I’m interested in, then I’m not very likely to base my purchase on a tiny, one sentence blurb.

I do, however, enjoy checking out blurbs after the fact. It’s fun to see if one of my favorite authors liked the same book I just read and liked.

~Mary

By: Justine

Justine — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:45:27 +0000

I’ve always gotten my own blurbs. I know a few people who’ve had their agent or publisher get blurbs for them. But I think authors doing it is most common.

If I could go back in time I’d've saved myself the agony and not asked for any blurbs.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:34:53 +0000

So is getting blurbs entirely the author’s responsibility or will publishers also do this?

I know I’m not supposed to worry about it but I’m just wondering…