"I actively dislike pretty much all of the new books I’ve read in my supposed “comparable” categories." -- yes, that's my situation entirely. I know I'm supposed to read contemporary books I my genre, but I can't. I don't like them. I'm trying to fix the genre, not conform to it.
And I do think blurbs are part and parcel of the genrefication of the industry. It is no longer about standing out, but about fitting in. It is about proving that you have followed all the rules. Most blurbs, after all, draw on one of about six standard adjectives. It certainly isn't about what they say. It may in part be about who says them. But it is also about further locating a book in the heart of its genre -- which may be why bookstores base buying decisions on them.
And in the indy world. Well, there are really two indy worlds. There is the world of the authorprenuer, in which people are even more genre driven than the trads, and thus pursue blurbs with the same fervor as the trads. And then there are the misfits, who don't want a blurb to make them fit in, but would welcome one that made them stand out.
Almost all my books so far are independently published collections of my panda 'toons. I once somehow got an actual New Yorker cartoonist to write a blurb (not quite sure how that happened) but mostly write my own blurbs (ha ha! problem solved!) in the voices of my cartoon panda characters.
But seriously, it's rare that I read a blurb that moves me to read a book, and more often than not, the blurb leaves me shaking my head when I turn out not to like the book. It does feel like a bit of a racket.
Thank you for this fine essay. Yes! Paid promotional statements are worthless. Influencers are anathema to me. I gave my TV away years ago because I tired of advertisers telling me what I should buy. I equate that with specious blurbs. As substack writers and readers of fiction, we are always pleased when another writer spontaneously praises a writer's work via a re-stack or in the Notes. It is free and unsolicited and helpful to both readers and writers. I have to say, though, I found this statement quite surprising: "Would having Miller’s blurb on my book propel it into unimaginable notoriety? Probably. But her books are vomitous trash." Yikes! I admit I don't know Miller's work, but could you at least have have added "in my opinion"? ha ha ha
I'm totally in agreement with what you say about book blurb BS. I'm an indie author/illustrator and a fine artist represented by commercial galleries. Some time ago I decided to, besides producing artist books as sculptural art objects, I would also do print-on-demand reproductions of these books. I approach this self-publishing as a fine artist who makes original artwork and also creates art prints in limited or open editions. This decision of mine to treat book publication as artwork isn't going to put me on any bestseller lists, get me an agent or any other acclaim. And that's fine with me! I'd rather be honest and authentic than play blurb bullshit games however lucrative they may promise to be. I want less BS in my life not more.
Well, I suspect you already know how broad my smile was reading this, Jacquie. Thank you.
And, on this personally painful matter, my publishers demanded I beg E L James for a blurb for my recent novella, but in return she wanted me to be her personal gimp for a year. In the end, I just couldn’t justify a whole year!*
That whole influencer thing is a scam, IMHO. The fact that someone has a bunch of followers to whom to pitch your book (or anything else) doesn't make them any kind of knowledgable authority. In fact, it might argue to the contrary. The idea of "social proof" has gotten so out of hand it's ridiculous. It's at the point where when I buy garbage bags at my local hardware store, they bug me to post a review. Seriously? Would anyone even look for reviews before buying garbage bags?
I almost never look for reviews myself, except for electronics or appliances. Who's to say the person reviewing, even if he's being honest, has the same needs, tastes or likes as I do? I'd be interested to know if something burned out a few weeks after it was purchased, or was buggy. That's about it.
And on the subject of books, I've recently read some that were "award-winning" and I couldn't imagine a single thing to recommend about them. They were poorly written and boring. Of course, that's my opinion, which is the whole point. Whose opinion matters to you?
It's an interesting problem and I can't comment on it from a personal perspective because I've never written a novel. I will say, though, that I have some sympathy for aspiring novelists who want commercial success because they are seemingly compelled to play this game. It must be humiliating for them to have to beg an established author to blurb their book. But this seems the way the game is played, for better or worse (likely for worse, I'd say). But that sympathy only extends so far.
I won't linger too long here but I've been thinking about this essay, and ultimately what it can reduce to is a very simple question -- what is the point in writing a story (novel, short story, whatever)? I can't answer that question from a novelists perspective. But I can say that I've been reading fiction for over 25 years, and I can tell when a writer is just churning out easily digestible junk food for cash, and when they are "speaking from the heart" as my mom might have put it. To me, (and here, I'm at far remove) it seems foolish to run after commercial success in what appears to be a dying industry. Last, I sometimes wonder (I suspect you do, as well) if writers these days publish books to signal to the in-group some sort of weird status marker. In other words, for the clout. It's a depressing thought, I know. I prefer the notion of a writer approaching his (or her) work with the respect and care it deserves, even if they fail to hit the mark. Even if no other eyes ever read the words they wrote! Conscientiousness towards one's work is one of the few (and there are very few) redeeming qualities of humanity. It shouldn't be surrendered for anything.
Thank you for this. I didn't know about the context of blurbs. I couldn't agree more with you. Yet another reason for diverging from the path of trad publishing and trying something else. It reminds me of the two days I spent on LinkedIn. Someone I hadn't seen since high school hit me up for a job recommendation. I didn't know them well, even in school, and this was 20 years later! I was disgusted. If that's the kind of thing the LinkedIn community expected, I wasn't in the right place. I got out as fast as I could. I also hate the "rule" about comparing our work to someone else. I can't. I won't. I either feel like a deluded idiot or I have to say nice things about bestsellers in my genre I didn't like and didn't read beyond the first chapter!
👍! The blurbs/ads serve the authors who wrote them more than the book for which it is written. It's the way of the industry, unless you can diy. Well done, JM!
"I actively dislike pretty much all of the new books I’ve read in my supposed “comparable” categories." -- yes, that's my situation entirely. I know I'm supposed to read contemporary books I my genre, but I can't. I don't like them. I'm trying to fix the genre, not conform to it.
And I do think blurbs are part and parcel of the genrefication of the industry. It is no longer about standing out, but about fitting in. It is about proving that you have followed all the rules. Most blurbs, after all, draw on one of about six standard adjectives. It certainly isn't about what they say. It may in part be about who says them. But it is also about further locating a book in the heart of its genre -- which may be why bookstores base buying decisions on them.
And in the indy world. Well, there are really two indy worlds. There is the world of the authorprenuer, in which people are even more genre driven than the trads, and thus pursue blurbs with the same fervor as the trads. And then there are the misfits, who don't want a blurb to make them fit in, but would welcome one that made them stand out.
Almost all my books so far are independently published collections of my panda 'toons. I once somehow got an actual New Yorker cartoonist to write a blurb (not quite sure how that happened) but mostly write my own blurbs (ha ha! problem solved!) in the voices of my cartoon panda characters.
But seriously, it's rare that I read a blurb that moves me to read a book, and more often than not, the blurb leaves me shaking my head when I turn out not to like the book. It does feel like a bit of a racket.
Thank you for this fine essay. Yes! Paid promotional statements are worthless. Influencers are anathema to me. I gave my TV away years ago because I tired of advertisers telling me what I should buy. I equate that with specious blurbs. As substack writers and readers of fiction, we are always pleased when another writer spontaneously praises a writer's work via a re-stack or in the Notes. It is free and unsolicited and helpful to both readers and writers. I have to say, though, I found this statement quite surprising: "Would having Miller’s blurb on my book propel it into unimaginable notoriety? Probably. But her books are vomitous trash." Yikes! I admit I don't know Miller's work, but could you at least have have added "in my opinion"? ha ha ha
I'm totally in agreement with what you say about book blurb BS. I'm an indie author/illustrator and a fine artist represented by commercial galleries. Some time ago I decided to, besides producing artist books as sculptural art objects, I would also do print-on-demand reproductions of these books. I approach this self-publishing as a fine artist who makes original artwork and also creates art prints in limited or open editions. This decision of mine to treat book publication as artwork isn't going to put me on any bestseller lists, get me an agent or any other acclaim. And that's fine with me! I'd rather be honest and authentic than play blurb bullshit games however lucrative they may promise to be. I want less BS in my life not more.
Well, I suspect you already know how broad my smile was reading this, Jacquie. Thank you.
And, on this personally painful matter, my publishers demanded I beg E L James for a blurb for my recent novella, but in return she wanted me to be her personal gimp for a year. In the end, I just couldn’t justify a whole year!*
*may not be true in any sense - much like blurbs.
That whole influencer thing is a scam, IMHO. The fact that someone has a bunch of followers to whom to pitch your book (or anything else) doesn't make them any kind of knowledgable authority. In fact, it might argue to the contrary. The idea of "social proof" has gotten so out of hand it's ridiculous. It's at the point where when I buy garbage bags at my local hardware store, they bug me to post a review. Seriously? Would anyone even look for reviews before buying garbage bags?
I almost never look for reviews myself, except for electronics or appliances. Who's to say the person reviewing, even if he's being honest, has the same needs, tastes or likes as I do? I'd be interested to know if something burned out a few weeks after it was purchased, or was buggy. That's about it.
And on the subject of books, I've recently read some that were "award-winning" and I couldn't imagine a single thing to recommend about them. They were poorly written and boring. Of course, that's my opinion, which is the whole point. Whose opinion matters to you?
It's an interesting problem and I can't comment on it from a personal perspective because I've never written a novel. I will say, though, that I have some sympathy for aspiring novelists who want commercial success because they are seemingly compelled to play this game. It must be humiliating for them to have to beg an established author to blurb their book. But this seems the way the game is played, for better or worse (likely for worse, I'd say). But that sympathy only extends so far.
I won't linger too long here but I've been thinking about this essay, and ultimately what it can reduce to is a very simple question -- what is the point in writing a story (novel, short story, whatever)? I can't answer that question from a novelists perspective. But I can say that I've been reading fiction for over 25 years, and I can tell when a writer is just churning out easily digestible junk food for cash, and when they are "speaking from the heart" as my mom might have put it. To me, (and here, I'm at far remove) it seems foolish to run after commercial success in what appears to be a dying industry. Last, I sometimes wonder (I suspect you do, as well) if writers these days publish books to signal to the in-group some sort of weird status marker. In other words, for the clout. It's a depressing thought, I know. I prefer the notion of a writer approaching his (or her) work with the respect and care it deserves, even if they fail to hit the mark. Even if no other eyes ever read the words they wrote! Conscientiousness towards one's work is one of the few (and there are very few) redeeming qualities of humanity. It shouldn't be surrendered for anything.
I think I read the same article. I doubt I've ever read a blurb.
Thank you for this. I didn't know about the context of blurbs. I couldn't agree more with you. Yet another reason for diverging from the path of trad publishing and trying something else. It reminds me of the two days I spent on LinkedIn. Someone I hadn't seen since high school hit me up for a job recommendation. I didn't know them well, even in school, and this was 20 years later! I was disgusted. If that's the kind of thing the LinkedIn community expected, I wasn't in the right place. I got out as fast as I could. I also hate the "rule" about comparing our work to someone else. I can't. I won't. I either feel like a deluded idiot or I have to say nice things about bestsellers in my genre I didn't like and didn't read beyond the first chapter!
👍! The blurbs/ads serve the authors who wrote them more than the book for which it is written. It's the way of the industry, unless you can diy. Well done, JM!