What are Book Blurbs? And Are They Evil?
Diary #6: The Gift (and Burden) of the Book Blurbing System
Hello, Protagonists! In this post, you’ll find:
🤓 What I’m Reading This Week
💛 Author Diary #6: Book Blurbs
What are they?
How do authors get blurbs?
Is the system evil?!
🤓 What I’m Reading This Week
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott - (non-fiction) - I am wrapping up this inspirational classic that has been quoted by writers and on Ted Lasso, alike. This is our March Book Club Pick!
Reminder: Our Book Club meeting is March 23, 2025 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT
Details & Discussion Qs here.
💛 Author Diary #6: Book Blurbs
What is a blurb?
a. the description of the story on the back of the book or jacket flap
b. an endorsement of the book by another author
c. a cute alien pet that looks like a gumdrop
🙋🏻♀️ 🙋🏻♀️ 🙋🏻♀️
If you answered b, you’re correct!
As an author, getting an endorsement from another author whom you admire is such an amazing feeling. It patches over your insecurities, your fears that this little thing you wrote might go out into the world unseen and unacknowledged. It validates your identity as a writer, because a fellow writer has confirmed that you not only know what you’re doing, but also you’ve done a fantastic job of it.
And guess what??
I just received the nicest, best blurb EVER for The Incredible Kindness of Paper!
From Ethan Joella, author of The Same Bright Stars and A Little Hope:
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like The Incredible Kindness of Paper. It gripped me from the very beginning with its beautiful prose and heartfelt characters. It’s touching and whimsical, and it’s exactly what the world needs right now.
When my editor emailed this blurb to me, I cried. (yes, I do that a lot).
I felt so seen! I don’t know Ethan Joella—I’ve read and loved his books, but we have never met—so what a gift of kindness he gave by taking the time to read my novel, seeing it for exactly what I meant it to be, and then giving such a beautiful endorsement!
💛 💛 💛
(If this poll doesn’t work for you because of the weird Substack glitch they never seem to fix, you can leave your vote in the Comments section.)
How Do Authors Get Blurbs?
After you’ve turned in your finished manuscript and it’s ready to go to copyedits, your editor will often say, “Let’s brainstorm about who you might want to get blurbs from.”
This is a fun moment! You start to compile a dream list of your favorite authors. You also include writers you know personally.
Sometimes, your editor or agent will split up the list with you, and each of you will reach out to different authors (depending on who has a connection with them—for example, maybe your editor is colleagues or friends with their editor.)
Most of the time, though, the author reaches out to those on their list.
It’s sort of like querying, actually, but to other authors.
First, you look on the author’s website to see if they are open for blurb requests.
If so, they will usually include an email address for you to use (or they will say to send requests to their agent).
You write a nice email that includes:
why you’re writing (to see if they have time and interest in reading your upcoming book, and potentially to blurb it if they enjoy it)
what your book is about
why you chose them (is your book similar to theirs? or have they blurbed similar books in the past or expressed interest in this genre on their social media?)
Then you wait.
Mostly, you’ll get polite passes. Do not take it personally! Authors are usually neck deep in writing, and reading entire books for the purposes of blurbing takes a lot of time they don’t have to spare. It’s not you, really!
But sometimes, you’ll get a response like, “Ooh, this sounds interesting! I’d love to try to read it.”
This is not a guarantee for a blurb, remember. The author might end up buried under an unexpected deadline, or personal life might intervene. But the great news is that they think your book sounds interesting, and you should feel pleased and pat yourself on the back for that. (We writers need all the validation we can get, haha). And if they do end up reading and giving you a blurb, that’s like the cherry on top of the sundae!
Is the Book Blurb System Inherently Evil?
Recently, the head of Simon & Schuster’s flagship imprint announced that they would no longer ask authors to get blurbs for their books.
Sean Manning, Publisher at Simon & Schuster:
I believe the insistence on blurbs has become incredibly damaging to what should be our industry’s ultimate goal: producing books of the highest possible quality.
It takes a lot of time to produce great books, and trying to get blurbs is not a good use of anyone’s time. Instead, authors who are soliciting them could be writing their next book; agents could be trying to find new books; editors could be improving books through revisions; and the solicited authors could be reading books they actually want to read that will benefit their work—rather than reading books they feel they have to read as a courtesy to their editor, their agent, a writer friend or a former student. What’s worse, this kind of favor trading creates an incestuous and unmeritocratic literary ecosystem that often rewards connections over talent.
He goes on to declare:
I’ve decided that beginning in 2025, the Simon & Schuster flagship imprint will no longer require authors to obtain blurbs for their books….
There will no longer be the fear that if we don’t secure the right blurbs or enough blurbs or even any blurbs, it will jeopardize a book’s chances for commercial and critical success. In fact, several of our recent bestsellers have been blurb-less… proving that readers don’t need the shorthand of blurbs to find great books; they can be trusted to judge quality for themselves.
The reactions from writers ranged from Hell Yes! to We are screwed.
Some authors felt freed:
Asking for blurbs is nerve-wracking!
On the other hand, turning down blurb requests is heartbreaking.
Other authors were cynical:
They felt that famous authors would continue to get glorious blurbs, because they are friends with other famous authors who would do favors for each other.
In the meantime, debuts and midlist authors would have no shot at blurbs, because their editors will no longer be expected to help them.
Blurbs are both blessing and burden
I am torn! After all, I just received such a beautiful endorsement for The Incredible Kindness of Paper from an author who I have never met, who decided to give a blurb because he was genuinely moved by my writing. I love the supportive spirit of the author community, and I recognize what a gift that blurb was.
And yet, I also find that I have to turn down nearly all the blurb requests that I receive, because I get so many, and I would never have time to write my own books if I said yes to those requests. It really does hurt my soul every time I have to say no, and if blurbing as a practice stopped, it would relieve me of having to disappoint other writers.
What do you think—Are You For or Against Blurbs?
» note: This post is part of my year-long Author Diary series where I take you behind the scenes, from idea to publication of a book.
Want more?
Diary #1: How do Book Auctions Work?
Diary #2: The Secret Behind Book Cover Design
Diary #3: First Pass Pages and Why the Font in Books Matters
Diary #4: What are ARCs? And Why Does It Take So Long to Publish a Book?
Diary #5: How Authors Make Money: Advances, Royalties, Foreign Rights, Translations & More
As a reader, I rarely pay attention to blurbs! The only exception is if I find myself at the bookstore, admiring a book I've never come across before. Then I might take a look at the blurbs.
As an aspiring author, I think it'd be good to make blurbs optional, and let authors and agents choose whether they want to ask for them or not.
I’ve never bought a book because of a blurb. I can see their importance, but it seems daunting to ask for blurbs. What if you’re new to the industry and don’t know any well-established authors whom you could ask?