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Does an endorsement from a well-known or best selling author make you buy a book just because they have a blurb on another’s author’s book?
Avon Romance Editor May Chen thinks so. The majority of readers who have commented on this at various blogs and other sites also feel the same. I would have to say I am in the minority on this subject because an author’s blurb has never made me buy a book. I used to choose my books first by the cover and then by the synopsis on the back of the book. And if I have an author I prefer over the other, I will go ahead and buy.
I really don’t mind seeing these author blurbs on covers and inside books because it is interesting to see what an author has read. There are two books I have just finished that were blurbed by well known authors and it makes me wonder how these books will sell based on this. These two books are by first time authors and already one has shot up the book chart. Could it be a because of Stephenie Meyer’s blurb?
The Young Adult book Wings by Aprilynne Pike from Harper Teen that came out this month is about a young teenage girl who learns that she is a fairy. I decided to read the book because the storyline looked interesting, and I have been on this big Young Adult kick lately. Wings is the number one Children’s Chapter Books on the New York Times Best Selling list. Right at the top center of the cover is a blurb from Stephenie Meyer that says:
“Wings is a remarkable debut.” – Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight Saga.
When I first read that blub I quickly came to the conclusion that because of Stephenie Wings would do very well. Natasha from Maw Books also thought the same thing because she posted on Twitter:
"Meyer's blurb & support of Pike for WINGS took her straight to #1. She can blurb for me anytime!"
From those five words by Meyer, I wondered if Wings was truly a remarkable debut. Wings is about Laurel who is fifteen-years-old and has been homeschooled all her life. Her parents finally decide to enroll her in high school. Laurel is not too keen on the idea of being in such a public place. She is bit of a loner who is afraid of fitting in. She can only eat certain foods and longs to be outside. But things go pretty well for her when she meets David, a friendly guy who enjoys science and wants to be Laurel’s friend. Soon there is a romance in the making with David. Then one morning Laurel wakes up and finds a bump on her back that turns in a flower! David is there to help Laurel figure out what she is. Poor Laurel is more plant than human and is actually a faerie. Along with David and a male faerie Tamani, she learns who she really is and why she was left on her parent’s doorsteps when she was a baby. Laurel’s father has also become sick and is dying. It looks like some nasty trolls are behind it because they want to own the land that belongs to Laurel’s family. This land is a gateway to the faerie land and these trolls must be stopped.
As for a debut, I would say Wings is a nice read. It is perfect for ages twelve and up and the budding romance between Laurel and David is sweet and tender. Laurel and David make a great team and the action and confrontation with the trolls isn’t too violent, except for one scene where Tamani, who is also a possible love interest for Laurel, defeats the trolls by twisting their heads off.
Is Wings remarkable? Perhaps not on the same level as Meyer’s Twilight series or Melissa Marr’s own faery series, but I can say that Aprilynne does have an engaging voice and has written a book teens and perhaps some adults will enjoy. I give Wings a B.
Wings is the case where an author blurb is almost on the money. Unfortunately there are some author blurbs I find to be misleading. So is the case of new Avon author Lavinia Kent with her June release, A Talent for Sin.
There is a blurb from Lisa Kleypas on the cover. The blurb says:
“I was captivated by every page.”- Lisa Kleypas. There is also an extended blurb on Lavinia’s website:
“I was captivated by every page of A Talent For Sin by Lavinia Kent, a masterfully written book that brims with style and vitality. Anyone who loves the romance genre should treat themselves to the spectacular work of Lavinia Kent—it is a sexy and emotional experience that will sweep you off your feet!”
When I read the synopsis for A Talent For Sin, I was hooked. It is about a thirty-one year old three times married widow who is having a luscious love affair with a man seven years younger than she is. I am all for the older woman/younger man love stories. And what makes this one even better is that that the younger man, Lord Peter St. Johns loves Lady Violet Carrington desperately that nothing else but marriage will do for him.
Violet doesn’t want to get married. She has been there three times and all these marriages were less than ideal. She also can’t have children and to marry a man like Peter who is younger and needs heirs is unacceptable. Violet has quite the reputation for taking lovers and living life by her own rules. But Peter won’t be denied and will have Violet as his wife.
Can we saw swoon? This is exactly the type of romance I want to read! I was riveted for the first one-hundred pages, but then the story quickly changed to one that made me go “huh?”. A Talent for Sin became clichéd. Violet has a brother who owes money to a nasty fellow. He was the reason Violet ended up marrying her much older first husband because of the debts he owed. Violet has a younger sister who is a twit and tries to seduce Peter. Violet keeps telling Peter to lay off the marriage proposals, but she still wants his body. Peter walks around moping because his love won’t marry him. But they still have some hot sex everywhere they can. Violet decides to sacrifice herself to save her sister from a horrible marriage because her brother is a dimwit with money and feels he is owed something. My last straw was when Violet decides the only way to save her family’s good name is for Peter to marry her twit of a sister! UGH.
I wonder if Lisa only read the first one-hundred pages like I did? If so, then I can see why she would be captivated and felt that A Talent For Sin is an emotional experience. Unfortunately the remaining two-hundred plus pages were a big let down. I give A Talent For Sin a C+.
With that in mind, I wonder if an author is given a book to read and blurb what happens if that author didn’t like the book. Do they try and find something positive to say? It looks like when a new author arrives on the scene, a blurb from an author the public adores can really help the new author's book sales.
How many of you buy books based on author blurbs? Was there ever a case where you bought a book because of it and the book wasn’t the one for you? How about the opposite?
Friday, May 29, 2009
Author Blurbs and Their Selling Power
Posted by Katiebabs a.k.a KB at 8:57 AM
Labels: Power of author blurbs
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29 comments:
I don't pay any attention to author blurbs--even when I know the blurb-ing (heh) author's work, that doesn't mean her/his tastes have anything to do with mine.
Other people's mileage may vary, etc. *shrug*
You're right, Meyer's name does have a lot of selling power right now and that's why it's there, not because Meyer was really moved by a book. Though I am a Twilight fan I am not a fan of Meyer. I know that's rather twisted but it's true. So her blurb on a book is a turn off for me. There's one on the cover of my copy of City of Glass and I hate that.
I know I bought Colleen Gleason's The Rest Falls Away a while ago because JR Ward blurbed it..but I no longer pay attention to those. I would rather read a book based on a review that I trust. (although I am glad I bought Colleen Gleason because that is one of my fav series!!)
I can't say that I don't read the blurbs but I just don't rely on it for me to buy a book. I read a blurb once that stated the author was a combination of Diana Gabaldon and Karen Moning. I read the book because the synopsis was intriguing but when I finished the story I thought, nah, no way does this come in the vicinity of Moning or Gabaldon's work. But that was my opinion...
Sometimes a cover might capture my attention to find out more about a book, sometimes it is the buzz but often it is the synopsis, and the feeling it gives me, that makes me decide to buy a book or not.
For me blurbs have the opposite effect especially when the blurbs are deliberately misleading such as the same quote from the same author on every book. You know that the blurber has only read one of the books yet the publisher insists on carrying forward that single blurb on every new book as if it was the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. I really dislike that kind of manipulation and I have not purchased some books because of it. Other than that I am neutral. A good review by someone opinion I trust wins hands down in my choice of book pruchases.
I pay ZERO attention to author recommendations. What does send me out buying books is reviews by other book lovers like me in the world of blogging. If I find a reviewer has the same taste as I do in books we've both read, I figure the chances are good I will like books they recommend that I haven't gotten to you. Since I began blogging that has been the case BETTER than 90% of the time. Reading blogger reviews is costing me a fortune in book purchases, but I love it! AND it's more than doubled the "new to me" authors I've discovered I love- all because of book blog reviews.
:o)
ruminating on your post made me realize how cynical i am! i just realized i don't believe ANY of those blurbs - i take them with a grain of salt, like you said katie, what happens when they don't really like the book? do they try to find *something* positive to say? it's just meaningless to me.
I rarely pay attention to blurbs. I guess I'm jaded and have been burned too many times. I was also interested to read Wings based on the Meyer blurb but I was left wondering what the deal was. I didn't think there was anything special about the book. I doubt the book would have gone anywhere (certainly not the bestseller list) without the blurb so I guess it did make a difference.
Then I read on the author's blog that she's friends with Stephenie Meyer and used to be her critique partner and it kind of made sense why Meyer decided to blurb her. I'd take a friend like that any day! I was surprised that Meyer didn't talk about the book on her blog if she's a big fan of it. Call me cynical like lustyreader, I felt misled on that one.
Author blurbs succeed in snagging the casual reader. My sister has been known to try a new-to-her authors when she sees an author she already likes blurbing the book. Of course she doesn't buy - she's a hardcore library user. But it does and can work.
I tend to ignore them, especially for Avon books - since I find the blurbing over there really incestuous. All the Avon authors blurb each other. They also used to group blog together and consider each other "friends." So yeah, color me unmoved when Teresa Medieros is blurbing Eloisa James.
Blurbing holds no sway when it comes to my own reading choices - but as a library buyer, I do notice them because like I said, casual readers notice them. For me personal? Blurbs from authors from TOTALLY different publishing houses tend to hold more sway. That said, it still ain't much.
Maybe I'm naive about these things, but I don't think authors agree to write a blurb before reading a book. If they don't like it, they don't endorse it. So I take them at face value.
Jill, I know plenty of authors who've agreed to blurb books before reading them. I also know authors who will trade blurbs and reviews. Just look at goodreads and amazon and you'll see author friends reviewing each other's books all the time. Stephen King even wrote an article about this recently.
The more I've gotten involved in this industry the more I've realized just how incestuous and "who you know" it is. That's why when I see a big blurb on a book I'll do some digging;is the blurbing author someone who blurbs a lot? Did they review the book? Did they blog or tweet the book?
Another thing, I don't know if blurbs sell books to readers, but they seem to help with bookstores and libraries like Wendy said. If the bookstore is excited about the book they'll put it in a good place and that gets readers to notice.
I believe most authors read whichever books they blurb--the first time.
However, I doubt that when you read "I'll buy any book with Linda Howard's name on it!--Elizabeth Lowell" that blurb can be any sort of guarantee that EL has even come within striking distance of the LH's book the blurb is on.
Seriously, how more of a generic endorsement can that be?
Author blurbs mean nothing to me. I usually don't notice them. If I do happen to see them, it's only after I've started reading the book.
Many blurbs are vague and generic and lead me to believe the commenting author didn't read the whole book. And when it's an author from the same genre AND the same publisher, the endorsement means even less to me.
Yes, I really am that cynical.
I don't pay as much attention to what the author blurbs say, as much as who is blurbing it -- because that usually gives me a good idea of what genre/tone the book will take, and whether I'd be a good fit.
For example, they aren't going to ask Mary Janice Davidson to blurb a dark suspense novel. A J.R. Ward blurb on a Julia Quinn novel might let us know that Ward likes Quinn (but since I don't know what else Ward likes, that would be useless info to me) and I think would be really misleading, as well.
Authors that have blurbed my books include Gena Showalter, Nalini Singh, Marjorie Liu -- and that makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? It's not what they say as much as who is saying it, because people who know and love Gena, Nalini, and Marjorie are supposed to realize that here is another author writing similar types of paranormals: lots or world-building, a little darker, and so on.
And it's not as if WHAT they say doesn't count, and mine have said wonderful things -- but blurbs primarily work as a sort of, "if you like X, you might like Y" type of thing, because you're never going to see the blurb that goes, "This book is in a genre similar to mine, but it really sucks." So take the positive aspect as a given, because publishers are trying to sell you the book -- and the person blurbing it as a guide to what kind of book it is.
The less well known the person who writes the blurb is (or the more subgenres they write in) the more important the actual blurb will be. So Midwest Book Review on a suspense novel might say, "Riveting!" and combined with title/cover, that just means "we want you to buy this riveting suspense novel!" Of course you might not find it riveting ... but you know what it was SUPPOSED to be ... and they got you to pick it up, didn't they? ;-)
Meh. I don't care about author blurbs. Although I glance at them when I pick a book up.
I particularly hate when blurbs say something like: "A must read for fans of my work." Which is what the Christine Feehan blurb said on Nalini Singh's books for like the first two or three. Now, I hate Christine Feehan books, but I ADORE Nalini's books. But I was aggravated every time I read that blurb.
Also, just because you like a writer doesn't mean they have good taste. I wouldn't assume that a blurb that I don't agree with -- something like the "fascinated by every page" -- is a lie, or that it means the author didn't read the book, any more than I would assume that a blogger/reviewer who had a different opinion of the book didn't read it. Does every author read the books they blurb? Probably not. But some do, and the blurbs are genuine expression of their reactions to a book.
But it's impossible to know which blurb is genuine, and no one is going to put a negative blurb on the cover. It's a sales tool, and so it deserves to be looked at with cynicism...but it doesn't mean blurbs are useless. They do try to tell you what kind of book they are selling; whether the book lives up to it is a matter of personal taste.
...which is why excerpts are always nice.
What an interesting conversation!
By way of full disclosure, I am Aprilynne's husband. I'm glad you enjoyed her book! I won't comment further on that portion of the blog, as I am trying to keep a promise to myself to just leave reviewers alone. But your blurb conversation is especially interesting to me--and so I will comment on that, with the caveat that these opinions are mine, not Aprilynne's.
Stephenie has blurbed several books now. One, early in her career and I can't even remember what it was called. She also blurbed Shannon Hale's Austenland. And as one commenter already pointed out, City of Glass received a blurb from Stephenie, too. Cassandra Clare (who actually got in touch with Stephenie through Aprilynne) was already a bestseller (as well as a series, which is a tougher list), and Austenland had stiffer competition as an mainstream novel (not YA). So the blurb itself is clearly only part of the battle. Wise marketing is wise marketing, no matter whose blurb you get.
I have been interested to observe just how much of a two-edged sword Stephenie's blurb has been for Aprilynne. She is very appreciative of her friend's kindness and support. And I have no doubt that the blurb has brought in more readers than it has turned away, because Wings is like Twilight in many ways. But it has definitely turned away some readers, including some who would probably enjoy the differences!
As the first book in a series, Wings may have listed simply on the strength of Harper's marketing--after all, Harper bought the series, not the blurb. Wicked Lovely listed at debut on the strength of Harper's marketing. It stayed there on its own merits, of course, but marketing is a considerable force. So it's easy to "blame" Aprilynne's success on the blurb, but this may actually take away from the success she has won on marketing--and on the book's merits. We'll never know. But we do know that her New York Times rank improved after the first week of sales, when word of mouth was more in operation, and she's still at #4 on the list as of tomorrow--no mean feat when you're competing against Miley Cyrus and the Twilight Director's Notebook.
I think Stephenie's blurb also raised a lot of people's expectations beyond what they would have been under other circumstances. Some reviewers end up rating Wings much lower than they would have, because they allowed the Twilight hype to bleed over into a book that is actually targeted to a slightly younger audience. It's a debut novel. I just finished reading a late draft of the sequel two days ago, and while I think Wings is a lovely book, my wife has honed her craft for the sequel, and hopefully will continue to do so. When Twilight debuted, a lot of reviewers noted that Stephenie's book was good, but clearly a first novel--the same applies here.
So do blurbs sell books? Well, they can apparently help. But what really sells books is publishers, marketing, and, ultimately, booksellers... I bet there are some booksellers out there hand-selling my wife's book only because she's a really nice person who they've met and enjoyed! That's not exactly a testament to the literary merits of the book! And yet, that's part of the process, part of the way the industry works. Same with blurbs. Should authors only endorse books similar to their own? Not at all! But their blurb seems most likely to sell to their audience, so from a marketing perspective, you pursue some overlap--which may be why you felt so misled in your second instance.
Sorry for my pedantic interruption. It's something I've been thinking about. I'm happy for my wife's success, and grateful to Stephenie for the role she played in it, but my personal opinion is that the lessons Aprilynne learned from Stephenie, about writing and about the industry, have done more to sell Wings than Stephenie's blurb ever could. And I think the marketing people at Harper deserve a ton of credit, too.
They mean nothing to me. But if I read a book that sucks eggs and see that another author endorsed it, maybe gonna reflect bad for the other author for me.
Only thing it might be useful for, maybe, is if the author endorsing is a writer who writes a certain genre, then I think maybe the book is of the same type of genre.
Kenny, did ya start that "policy" of yours recently, or does browbeating Amazon reviewers to change their star ratings not count?
Hahah, that incident was regrettable, "Amazon Reviewer," and yes, it is part of why I'm trying to be more sensitive. Convincing people to change their ratings was never my intent, which you almost certainly know if you followed that conversation very far. But I'm not going to leave the internet or stop speaking my mind just because my wife is a very minor celebrity. And the guy who accused Aprilynne of plagiarism was totally out of line and I stand by my comment on that review.
Anyhow, let's not derail the conversation, yeah? This post is primarily about blurbs, not meddling husbands or sour-grapes reviewers. d^_~b
I think it depends on the author and what she/he promoted last time. I'm in the same boat as AL. I'll believe them the first time... maybe...
I think I was born a skeptic. The most gushing the blurb the more likely I'm to ignore it. The scientist in me wants to confirm it with another independent source and that's not so easy.
I have bought a book based on a blurb. Oh heck, I've bought more than one book based on a blurb. Sometimes it has been worth it, sometimes not. There is one paranormal romance author who seems to blurb for jewelry or something because I see her name on lots of books. Those have been the books that blew chunks, so if I see her name as a blurb, I run in the opposite direction.
I'm reading the Noble Dead series right now, epic fantasy, and I may never forget the cover blurb for the fist book, promising a mix of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lord of the Rings...which made me go HUH? when I finished the book. Because it seemed absolutely nothing like either of those two very famous scenarios.
I can honestly say that was the first time a cover blurb has sealed the deal for me on a book. I usually do not even look at them, even if it's an author whose work I enjoy. If they truly read the book and liked it, there's still the fact that we all get different things from a book, therefore rendering a blurb pretty useless to me. How can an author liking some book help me? Because they're giving a blurb in good part because their name will help grab some attention.
Now, if I'm in a casual atmosphere, like on my blog, here, etc. and an author comes on talking about how much she liked so and so's work/book/series, I would pay more attention because they're doing so in a more rleaxed environment, acting as any other normal reader would, sharing book info.
Great post, KB! I don't make a habit of buying books because of author blurbs, but it does happen. Actually, I just bought City of Bones because of Meyers' blurb on the cover (placed only slightly less prominently than the title), "The Mortal Instruments series is a story world that I love to live in. Beautiful!" That being said, I didn't pick it up initially because of the blurb--I picked it up because the cover is fab. The quote was a little extra that pushed me into actually purchasing it (PS-I'm not liking the book that much so far. Oh well).
There have been a few other books I've bought because of author blurbs, but most of the time I don't even register the quotes on book covers. More often, I'll be reading a book and suddenly notice a quote and be like, "Oh, Christina Dodd likes this book too! That's cool." I definitely buy according to cover art and synopses first.
I've viewed author quotes with a healthy dose of skepticism ever since I read Jenny Crusie's 'Confessions of a Reformed Quote Whore'. They definitely don't influence my buying decisions.
I rarely even look at the blurbs on the books I buy and NEVER do they influence me to buy a book.
"I wonder if an author is given a book to read and blurb what happens if that author didn’t like the book. Do they try and find something positive to say?"
If I've been given a book for blurb purposes and I don't like it, I don't blurb it. I've declined to blurb more than a few books, and it didn't matter if the book was by an author under my publishing imprint (so I disagree with the person who implied Avon authors are all incestuous with blurbs).
When I first started out, I did blurb a couple books that now I probably wouldn't. Not because I gave a pity quote on something I didn't like, but because they were outside my readership. My readers are romantic uf/pr, so recommending a horror novel, frex, might be inadvertently misleading. That was something I didn't realize early on - that many readers expect the novel an author blurbs to be similar in tone/genre to the author's own works. Live and learn.
There may be authors who blurb dishonestly, but I'd like to believe those are the minority, not the majority.
Still, to me, back cover descriptions and the first few pages are the biggest selling points for a book. If those don't interest me, a blurb, no matter how flattering, won't make me buy a book.
Might have hit "post" twice. If so, sorry! :)
This is how much attention I pay to blurbs:
Sherrilyn Kenyon once blurbed herself, on a book by her pseudonym. I had to read an explanation of the joke in the Author's Note to even notice.
But on the other side of the coin, my BFF looks at blurbs. It's only one step out of her decision making process, but it's there. Along with hot man-titty covers.
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