Author: marcelbeacon
Date:   01-27-04 12:26

A response on the Simpsons thread – Bernard mentioning that his publisher tried to get Matt Groening to write a blurb for his book – got me wondering....is it the Publisher's repsonsibility to track down appropriate blurbs for one's book, or does this task mostly fall into the agent's/author's lap? If so, how does one go about stalking – er – contacting well-known (I would assume) people who may not necessarily appreciate being hassled to write blurbs for NON well-known people?

Anyone have any interesting blurb stories they'd like to share – i.e. landing someone you NEVER thought you'd be able to get; being told to piss off by someone you WANTED TO get, etc?

Sorry if this has been covered before, but I'm fairly new in these here parts....

Author: Iris
Date:   01-27-04 12:28

You're right: it's been covered. You can search all posts by using the search button at the top.

Author: Gary Kessler
Date:   01-27-04 12:30

A good publisher will shoulder the responsibility--any publisher will be grateful for what the author provides him/herself.

Author: Brian
Date:   01-27-04 14:07

I've gone out of my way to try and get good blurbs - in fact, I received four on my own for my first novel...I've also contacted (on my own) some very credible people in the field I'm writing in...simply googling these people until I find an e-mail address, then sending a well-written query for a blurb usually works.

Brian

Author: Claire
Date:   01-27-04 14:13

Hi Brian,

Can you elaborate a little bit more? What does a "query for a blurb" look like? When you refer to "credible people in the field" do you mean nonwriters who are experts in your field, or do you mean writers? How soon after the sale did you start blurb hunting?

Any advice, words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated.

Author: Brian
Date:   01-27-04 14:24

Claire,

A query for a blurb would go something like this: "My name is such-and-such, and Random House (using an example here) is publishing my first novel in May 2004. The novel is about (one line summary here) and it would mean a great deal for me if you'd be opening to reading the book and possibly blurbing it.

Then I write a little about my credentials - a line or two - and why I think this person would be important for a blurb.

My novel is about a particular sport, so I queried a couple of people in that field who are well known, and they agreed to blurb it for me.

I started pretty much right away after the sale. I have four blurbs on my own and all are on the advance reader's copy. Others should be coming in soon.

Brian

Author: Claire
Date:   01-27-04 14:35

Thanks Brian,

Did you also request author blurbs the same way?

Did you use the word "blurb" in your blurb query?

When you started requesting blurbs, your book was in manuscript-- did you wait then to get galleys in order to send it out?

Also, am I being dumb? Are ARCs and galleys the same thing, or are those two different steps?

One more question, were your blurbees complete strangers, or was there some kind of personal connection.

Thanks so much.

Author: Gary Kessler
Date:   01-27-04 14:54

Galleys and ARCs (advance review copies) may physically be the same--but the separate words denote separate purposes. Galleys are for production review; ARCs are for sending off for review before final copies have been produced.

Author: Claire
Date:   01-27-04 15:13

Thanks Gary-- so how do you get blurbs onto the ARCs? I'm assuming you're not sending an unbound manuscript in a box to a famous author.

I guess I just thought of another question. If you request a blurb yourself, does the publishing house send to that person, or do you?

Sorry for all the dumb questions. I've just ordered the two books referenced on this thread so maybe they'll answer most of my questions.

Author: Gary Kessler
Date:   01-27-04 15:22

Claire: An ARC would be bound. Any blurbs you already had and wanted to include would go in a cover letter--most effectively a cover letter from your publisher. Sending of an ARC, by the way, is done to get the blurbs.

On getting blurbs, I go back up to my first response on these. The publishing house should be getting the blurbs--while being happy if the author has already done so. When you are at the stage of sending out ARCs--and you have a good publisher--the ARCs and the requests should really be going out from the publisher's marketing department.

Author: Bernard Shakey
Date:   01-27-04 15:29

Follow up point: Some ARCs will include blurbs printed on the back cover. For instance in the case of my forthcoming book the blurb solicitation process was done prior to the printing of the ARCs, which allowed blurbs to be included on the ARCs themselves.

We (meaning me, my agent, my editor, and my publisher, i.e., the guy at the head of the imprint) each solicited blurbs from several people five months before the book's pub date, by sending these people the manuscript (bound), along with a cover letter. We solicited 25 people, ranging from experts on the topic to celebrities (yep -- celebrity-worship infects everything), and ended up getting eight blurbs.

Author: Brian
Date:   01-27-04 16:03

My publishing house put together some bound galleys before the ARC's came out and sent these to selected people. The four blurbs I received initially came from personal connections, and these blurbs went on the ARC's.

Author: Gary Kessler
Date:   01-27-04 16:10

Actually, any copy prepared and sent out before publication is, by definition, an ARC (advance review copy).

Author: Sassified
Date:   01-27-04 18:58

Not dumb questions. I love this stuff.

Author: Claire
Date:   01-27-04 19:49

Thanks Brian and Gary. A little clearer now.

Author: Brian
Date:   01-27-04 20:57

Actually, the official advance review copy is different than what was initially sent out to people who 'blurbed' the book...there is a difference, a slight difference, but a difference nonetheless.

Author: christa
Date:   01-28-04 07:42

I've been given a few blurbs too, all acquired in different ways. My agent blurb-queried a few "hollywood types" while I queried the "writer-types". All of the "writer-types" I queried were people to whom I felt a close connection as a writer, so it was easy for me to approach them. I wouldn't have had much of a chance with the "Hollywood tyes" without an agent's letterhead.

One thing I did: I went to a book signing in a nearby city to see an author I admired. When she autographed her book for me we chatted a bit (about her, not my book) and I left.
A couple of weeks later I emailed her and asked her for a burb. She remembered me and I got the blurb.

I got a lucky break for one blurb: someone with whom I went to high school with was a producer for a well-known late night talk show host. My former class-mate and I had met up at a couple of high school reunions over the years and remained on friendly terms, so when I queried him for a blurb he was happy to oblige. Nobody knows who he is and could probably care less, but to put "...producer of the Biggie-Nite-Show" under his name was pretty powerful.

Author: Claire
Date:   01-28-04 08:04

So ideally, I would have a few blurbs ready to go before the ARCs go out?

Christa-- when you say, "a close connection" do you mean that you have a personal connection or do you mean that they were writers who wrote on similar subjects or whom you admired?

Author: marcelbeacon
Date:   01-28-04 08:14

Thanks for all the great responses, folks – on blurbs as well as ARC's, galleys, etc. Glad it's deviated a little into that area as well.

Simply put, this site kicks arse.

Author: christa
Date:   01-28-04 08:19

What I meant by "personal connection", Claire, is that I felt I shared a "kindred spirit", if you will. I felt either a similarity in who we are as writers or what we write. Barabara Kingsover is next on my list--ha--I'll need a bit of luck for that to happen. My "aquaintance" whose hand I shook at the book signing said she herself queried Kingsolver and was turned down. She did get one from Joyce Carol Oates, though.
Her advice was to just do it. Just try, because you'll never know who might say yes.

And yes, IMO, it would be ideal if you had a few blurbs on the review copies.

Author: Claire
Date:   01-28-04 08:57

Christa, what kind of writing do you do, and when is your book coming out? Do you mind if I email you privately?
Mine is women's fiction and it's coming out spring 2005.

Author: christa
Date:   01-28-04 09:20

Feel free to email me any time, Claire! My book is out--came out May '03--published with a "little" then-traditional publisher. My agent is preparing it for a reprint and/or sequel with a bigger house (hence the further blurb search).

Author: Colette
Date:   02-12-04 05:31

So is it a bad idea to request blurbs prior to finding a publisher?