Karen Foley
Lynn Raye Harris
Ellen Hartman
Diana Holquist
Samantha Hunter
Shirley Jump
Dee Tenorio
Jeannie Watt
Welcome Guest Blogger Abby Gaines!
Great book...shame about the blurb
More than a title, more than a cover pic, a book’s back cover blurb can make my heart beat faster and my desire to own this book, right now, grow so great it must instantly be assuaged.
After I’ve bought the book, if I don’t have time to read it right away, I’ll read the blurb over and over, in snatched moments, reminding myself of the enjoyment to come.
What makes for a great blurb? The hint of a character with a genuine problem that I can sympathize with is a good start. (“Samantha Steen can’t find any shoes to match her wedding dress” probably wouldn’t cut it. “When her future mother-in-law is found stabbed with one of the stiletto shoes chosen to match Samantha Steen’s wedding dress, Sam suspects her perfect wedding is in trouble” just might...)
The great thing about a problem is that it means a challenge for the character. When I read a blurb, I want to be satisfied that the characters will face a big enough challenge to keep me interested through the whole book. That’s easy with a mystery or a thriller – the question is usually who did it, and / or why, and / or how will they be stopped. But it’s not so easy with a romance novel. Let’s face it, we all know how the story’s going to end.
Thankfully, professional blurb writers are paid to distill the essence of romance novel into a must-read blurb, and very often they succeed. Here’s the start of the back cover blurb from Kathleen O’Brien’s book Texas Baby: “He’s engaged to another woman...she’s pregnant with another man’s baby.” Okay, I’m hooked! More than enough challenge there to keep me happy.
But what happens when good blurbs go bad? Have you ever read a blurb, bought the book, then found yourself reading what seems an entirely different story from the one you were promised?
Or realized that the tempting morsel revealed in the blurb, the very morsel that convinced you to hand over five or ten bucks for the book, was in fact the story’s climax? So now, instead of turning the pages at breakneck speed to see what happens, you’re meandering through chapters of suspense rendered meaningless because the blurb already gave away the secret. Aaargh!
Almost as bad is when a blurb just doesn’t do a great story justice. One of my favorite authors is Sophie Kinsella, whose Shopaholic series is hilarious. I bought the first book on a friend’s recommendation—if I’d relied on the blurb, the book would have stayed on the shelf in the store.
So far, with my own books, I’ve been fortunate with blurbs—to my mind, they’ve told enough about the story to hook a reader, without giving too much away. I can’t take any credit for this—I don’t have any say. I don’t know what would happen if I hated the blurb for one of my books. I guess I’d just cry myself to sleep J.
What kind of blurb convinces you to buy a book? Can anyone recommend a great story with a bad blurb that you managed to get past? Or warn us about a blurb that gives away too much, so we know not to read the back cover? If you’re registered at Cigars and you comment on this blog, you’ll go into the draw to win a copy of The Diaper Diaries (Superromance), which I think has the best blurb of all my books to date.
And if you’re out shopping, look out for Teaming Up, my August release in the Harlequin NASCAR series. Its blurb warns the reader there’s a big secret, but thankfully doesn’t give it away. Yay!
Abby
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Welcome Abby!
Thanks so much for coming by -- this is a GREAT blog topic. Blurbs are so huge to readers, at least, they are to me. I know I have probably put down a lot of books based on the blurbs.
I can honestly say I have always been thrilled with my own blurbs, Untouched and Pick Me Up were probably my favorites, but sometimes you'll come across a Blaze blurb that's far too focused on the sex. Kathleen O'Reilley's Sex, Straight Up, is the best recent example. I found the blurb didn't communicate what (to me) was the most wonderful part of the book, how touching and deep the romance was (a 9/11 hero widower and the heroine the first women he feels anything for since losing his wife), that the blurb and the title really didn't portray the book well at all, I felt. I think that's a danger Blaze books suffer, is that the titles and blurbs and the teasers are often so geared to focus on the sexual nature of the books, don't always give the real deal on how much STORY is in the pages. Granted, Blaze is a sexy line, but they are still romance, and I always like the blurb to reflect that.
The other bad blurb experience I had recently was with Jim Butcher's fourth book in The Dresden Files. I wasn't quite to the end of the third book when I picked up the fourth, and read the blurb, which gave away a huge spoiler about how the third book ended -- I nearly threw it across the book aisle in the store. That was so aggravating. I wasn't sure I wanted to read on, just because I was so irritated they would do that, but I did because I figure Butcher wasn't responsible and it's harder to put down a series.
What's also annoying are the books in certain genres that don't give you blurbs at all. Some "bigger" authors and best sellers, they have a picture of the author on the back and no blurb. I am very wary about buying their books, regardless of how big they are. Just because they are popular doesn't mean I'll love that book. I want to know what it's about, since I'm buying the book, not the author.
Sorry, I guess that was my blurb rant! LOL I am off to the NYS State Fair for the day, but will check in tonight -- hope you have a wonderful day!
Sam
Abby, welcome to Cigars!!
Abby, welcome to Cigars!! It's great to have you here, and I know this is a big issue with many authors.
Sam, I agree with you that sometimes the Blaze blurbs emphasize the sexual aspect of the story and overlook the more emotional aspect or the exciting plot. I've been very happy with my back cover blurbs, but I have a friend who writes historicals for Kensington who was bitterly disappointed with her most recent blurb. The write-up was very generic and cliched and overlooked what she felt were the unique aspects of the story that made it so different from other historicals. For myself, it usually takes more than the back cover description to get me to buy the book. While it will definitely peak my interest, I always read the inside cover excerpt, and the first couple of pages. If I'm still intrigued, then I buy the book! I've spoken before about The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran, which will remain on my keeper shelf, and I think it's a good example to use here. I absolutely love this book, but if I had only read the back cover blurb, I probably would not have purchased it because it sounds so depressing. It was the excerpt posted on the publisher's website that lured me in (I think they posted the first 4-5 pages). I was hooked from the first paragraph, and although the book is intensely emotional, it isn't depressing. It was like a rich, decadent dessert and I loved every morsel!
Great topic, Abby!
Hi!
Hi, Abby! I agree with some of the blurb problems you and Sam mentioned--I personally like the blurb to give me enough story info to entice me to go on. I seem to always read blurbs, but sadly I don't always rely on them to give me a good sense for the story anymore--sometimes they do, but sometimes they're skewed for the reasons you mentioned, and I find that the first few pages of the book do a better job of giving me a feel for the story and for the writer's style.
Sadly I have a terrible memory, so I'm blanking on examples, but if any come to mind, I'll be back :)
Congrats on Teaming Up and a good blurb!
Welcome Abby
I agree with what your said about blurps on books. The blurp on the back is what determines to me wheather to buy the book or not. Most of the time the blurps are about right but sometimes if seems the book is totally different then the book. This is very annoying.
Blurbs
Welcome Abby!!
I had a similar thing happen to Sam's Dresden example with Laurell K. Hamilton. When her Anita Blake series was still young, I was on one book and then found a copy of the next book and skimmed the back. That's how I first found out Anita and Jean-Claude had slept together. Arrrgh!! How frustrating!
And, again like Sam (what am I, her clone?? LOL), I hate that some books have no blurb! Sometims a HC will only have a photo or praise for previous novels on the back, but the inside of the dust jacket will give you the blurb.
But with a PB, you don't even get that! And some authors are so prolific and have their stuff rerelased with a change in title, that you might end up with something you've already read!
I'm reading Sherry Thomas' Private Arrangements right now. While the back blurb isn't bad, it is not something I would have picked up if friends hadn't raved about it. The back blurb is too cliched. But the book itself is great. So you never know!
ani
Hi, Abby :)
omg, I have to say, I love your blog post and feel just about the same as you do about blurbs *bg*
If I'm browsing the bookstore to try something new, a blurb is what will get me... especially if I've never read from that author before. And, I do the same thing you do, rereading blurbs while it waits there until I can read the whole book, lol
I absolutely hate it when books are nothing like the blurbs on the back... I'll be reading the story and flip back to the blurb hating that they are nothing alike :( Ugh, and I've read about two where the names are not even correct, grr.
I love blurbs that mentions a secret... but doesn't give away the secret *eg* I just can't wait to find out what it is :)
Right now I'm reading Dark and Dangerous by Jeanne Adams... the story is very good :), but the blurb is just okay. It's not one of those 'Oooh-ahh' blurbs :)
~Ali
http://simplyali.blogspot.com
Series, etc
Oh, yeah, I never thought about the next book in a series giving the last book's ending away in its back cover blurb. That might difficult to avoid sometimes, I guess. (Note to self: if I'm already hooked on a series, don't read the blurb from the next book!).
Sam, I guess you're right that the Blaze blurbs might focus more on the sex than the story...not to mention the covers...
Fedora, I often skim the first page or two of the book in the store, too, if the blurb is inconclusive!
Ani, thanks for the heads-up re Private Arrangements.
Ali, ditto re Dark and Dangerous.
Abby
and another problem...the acknowledgements
On the subject of giving away secrets...sometimes you have to be careful about reading the acknowledgements at the start of the book. I read Plain Truth, by Jodi Picoult, which is the story of an abandoned baby found dead, and the trial of the mother for murder. But an expert thanked in the acknowledgements makes it very obvious how the baby died. It was incredibly annoying to know the big conclusion from the start of the book. In this case, the acknowledgements should have been given at the end, IMHO.
Abby
hi and welcome Abby, I
hi and welcome Abby,
I always read the blurb and go by that when buying or wanting to read a book from the library. I also get recommends from excerpts, etc. but when they are not handy I go from the blurb.
I have never yet come across a blurb that gave something away I did not want to know at that time, thankfully.
excerpts and recommendations
Buddy, I like excerpts, too. I find these days I increasingly go to authors' websites to read their excerpts.
Estella, there's nothing like a good recommendation,is there! Though sometimes when I recommend a book to someone, I overhype it so much, there's no chance it can live up to expectations...oops!
I very seldom read the back
I very seldom read the back blurbs on a book. I buy by author or recommendation from a friend or website.
When the blurb gives away too much...
I usually buy on author name or on a friend's recommendation...but if I haven't read anything by an author, I won't buy on title or the cover--I'll read the blurb to make that decision.
But blurb-reading can be sooooh frustrating...
I remember reading The Spy Wore Red (fabulous story) by Wendy Rosnau and all I can say is that book's main secret which comes out at the climax of the story would have been so much more of a surprise if it hadn't been revealed in the blurb. The book drives toward a point that had already been revealed before I even started reading!
Just reading the comments above has been interesting. I've got both Private Arrangements AND Duke of Shadows sitting in my TBR pile. They both just got moved up a whole lot of places...which just goes to show that nothing beats a reader recommendation.
Tessa
Welcome to Cigars, Abby! I
Welcome to Cigars, Abby! I am a back blurb reader. Actually a back blurb can make or break my decision to buy. I've read some most excellent books with bad blurbs, though, so I try to make it only one of the factors in my buy decision. I think that back blurbs must be incredibly hard to write.
Hi Abby
I remember a Nora Roberts book where there was no blurb. She might be a super selling author but I'm not going to just buy a book because her name is on it. I don't remember the author or book but some years ago I bought a book and found out it was a time travel story but the blurb never mentioned this at all.
Nora Roberts
Many of her new books (PB) no longer have a blurb, just the photo. Since I hang out at her BB, it's easy enough for me to find out ahead of time what the book is going to be about but not everyone does that. And why should they?
As you say, Maureen, just because someone is a super selling author it doesn't mean you'd be attracted to that particular book.
And the little inside cover excerpt isn't always enough to go on either.
:-(
I really dislike that about
I really dislike that about some books. I always look for a blurb and when a book doesn't have one, I tend to put it off or I don't buy it. :(
Kristen
Great topic!
Abby, the best thing about a book is the cover picture and the BLURB! I love spending hours in the bookstore or online reading blurbs of books that might interest me. Great blog topic!
Kristen
just back from out of town
Sorry I didn't reply to the latest comments before now, but I've been out of town...
Tessa, I hate that feeling that I'm wasting my time reading a story because I know what's going to happen...
Jeannie, hi, nice to see you! I agree, writing a good blurb must be a very difficult job.
Maureen and Godessani, I agree, no-blurb is not a good thing, no matter how famous the writer is. I need to get some clue as to what the story is about before I'll hand over my hard-earned cash!
Kristen, the problem with standing in the store reading blurbs is that I end up spending much more of the aforementioned hard-earned cash than I planned...
Abby
Winner!
The winner for Abby's book is
aliciaeflores1!!!!
Abby will be in contact soon about mailing your prize! Congrats!
Sam
omg, Thank you, thank you!!
omg, Thank you, thank you!! *bg*
~Ali
http://simplyali.blogspot.com
Woo Hoo!!
Congrats to Aliciaeflores1!!