Book Blurb Booboos
Or Nine Ways To
Avoid the No-Sales Book Blues
By Carolyn
Howard-Johnson
Subscribers to my
Sharing with Writers newsletter sometimes ask me questions for the
"Q&A a la Ann Landers" section. One of my favorites was on blurbs
(also called endorsements!). They are so important to the health of our books
that I got excited anew!
THE AUTHOR ASKED
Do you accumulate quotes
as people mention your book?
How do you use
them?
AND I SAID, OR
PRACTICALLY BLURTED!
Oh, how I love this
topic. Until recently I didn’t ask for quotes from really famous authors, so
I’m eager to keep new or emerging authors from making that same mistake.
Also—even with a background in journalism and publicity—I didn't have any
blurbs put on the back of my first novel because I thought my publisher would
do that for me. They didn't! Those were my two biggest blurb booboos! And I
made them because the book business is very different from industries that seem
similar, industries that I have experience in like PR, journalism, and
marketing.
Other than those two
biggies here are some tips I’ve gleaned since my booboo days.
Keep positive comments
(from any source). They can be about
our expertise or about our books. In The
Frugal Book Promoter (http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo),
I suggest that authors begin to keep folders that will eventually make up the
innards of their media kits very early on. I tell how to do it in detail, but
for the purpose of blurbs, you just need a folder titled BLURBS or PRAISE—and
then remember to pop the quotes into it as they occur. That’s actually the hard
part. It’s hard to remember to pay attention so we can identify positive
comments that can be converted to blurbs. Hard to get up the courage to ask
permission to use them.
Here’s how we can use
blurbs:
1. Vary the blurb you
use in your e-mail signature or the credit line of your freelance articles.
(There is more on the importance of using e-mail signature and articles to
promote in The Frugal Book Promoter,
too!)
2. Put your blurbs on a
special page in your media kit titled something like "Praise for The Frugal Book Promoter."
Actually, I sometimes use a page that says, “Unsolicited Praise for The Frugal Book Promoter" because
the word "unsolicited" carries so much more clout.
3. Blurbs may sometimes
be used in a query letter.
4. Use blurbs on your postcards, bookmarks, even business
cards. (You do use postcards for special events, don’t you? )
5. Put blurbs on the
poster you take with you to book signings.
6. Use a blurb as a
footer on your stationery.
7. Use one or more
blurbs on handouts you give when you speak or appear at book fairs or signings.
8. One author who writes
books for business people even has a blurb printed on her checks.
9. When you publish your
book in another format or in another edition, put a page of your favorite
blurbs either at the very front of the book or in the backmatter. This may
sound brassy to you, but it’s often done
by the most prestigious publishers.
Gee,
I think you get the idea. Blurbs, even if they aren't from the most famous
people, help sell books. But please
don’t avoid asking for famous blurbs. I asked Dan Poynter to endorse
the second edition of The Frugal
Book Promoter and he was back with a blurb within the day. That is the kind
of a validation that no one should hesitate to stick their necks out for.
CONTACT CAROLYN
/ The Frugal Book Promoter: http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo
/ Web site: http://www.HowToDoItFrugally.com
/ E-mail: CarolynHowardJ@AOL.com
/ Facebook: http://Facebook.com/carolynhowardjohnson
/ Twitter: http://Twitter.com/FrugalBookPromo
/ Pinterest: http://Pinterest.com/chowardjohnson
/ Web site: http://www.HowToDoItFrugally.com
/ E-mail: CarolynHowardJ@AOL.com
/ Facebook: http://Facebook.com/carolynhowardjohnson
/ Twitter: http://Twitter.com/FrugalBookPromo
/ Pinterest: http://Pinterest.com/chowardjohnson
