We haven’t done one of those for a while and the questions have been piling up.
E asks:
But, I also have a question- often, book covers have a “review snippet” from another author. For instance, { “I stayed up all night reading it!” – Nan Harrison} or something similar.
Are authors paid to do these reviews for each other? Or are they just favors and goodwill between writers?
Those are called blurbs or cover quotes. They are free, done as a favor to other authors.
For example:
This quote is from Patricia Briggs. It says:
Splendid… An edgy dark fantasy touched with just the right amount of humor.
Quotes accomplish several things.
1) They help to categorize the book.
People tend to blurb within their own genre. If you see a Dean Koontz quote on the book, it’s likely to be a dark thriller with horror overtones. If you see Terry Pratchett book, it’s probably a fantasy with a touch of satire. If Terry Pratchett blurbed a dark horror, it might be a little bit odd and his fans might get fussy. They expected something similar to what Mr. Pratchett wrote, and they got a macabre smorgasbord of blood and murder instead.
That’s why sometimes I will pass on blurbing something, even if I love it. I indulge in Harlequin Presents once in a while – I love the overblown emotional drama – but can you image my quote on “The Greek Billionaire’s Meek Secretary Mistress?” The lot of you might skin me alive.
2) They advertise the book to the quoter’s existing audience.
if Patty Briggs likes this book, maybe her fans might too.
…There is a glut of paranormal romance/urban-fantasy-with-kick-ass-girl books on the market these days and I don’t care for and won’t buy a couple of the really popular/prolific authors out right now–a fact that the bot refuses to acknowledge. Magic Bites caught my eye, though, because you got a nice quote from Patricia Briggs and I love her stuff…
…I bought your books was because I couldn’t stand the thought of waiting several more months for Bone Crossed (I lost track of time reading Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson books too and desperately needed something to help tide me over … only to find myself in the same situation all over again with your Kate Daniels series…
…I picked up your books because Amazon suggested them to me while I was buying Patty’s latest book and I saw that she gave you a good review, particularly of your humor…
Sometimes it even manages to advertise the book to a not-yet-existing audience:
…Mostly, I wanted a book that had a strong female protagonist, instead of squirreling them away into supporting roles only. So I browsed, and the cover of ‘Magic Bites’ stood out to me. But there was only that sole book on the shelf, so I was leery about buying at first. And then I saw a reccomendation from Patricia Briggs, a name that also meant nothing to me. But looking for her name, I found many, many titles with her name…
3) They get the quoter’s name out there.
Blurbs work both ways. They help the person whose book is being blurbed by introducing their work to an existing audience but they also advertise the quoter’s name.
…After reading Magic strikes (although I am German I prefer to read the original English books) I started with the “Mercy Thompson” novels from Patricia Briggs and now I am reading the first “The Hollows” book from Kim Harrison…
A kind of audience cross-pollination occurs that helps both authors.
So how do you go about getting blurbs?
This is a touchy subject among authors.
Many publishing houses take care of the blurbing on their end. They know that the authors tend to obsess and Ace, for example, won’t tell you where they’re sending the book Why? Because when it comes to blurbs, authors tend to be their own worst enemies.
Think about it. Suppose you know that you dream-author is reading your work. Would he like it? Would he not like it? What if he doesn’t like it? It’s been a month. Maybe I should email him and ask him about it. (NO. No, you really, really shouldn’t.)
There are a number of reasons why an author may pass on blurbing a book. First, often I’d love to blurb, but I have no time. I had to pass on a book from a friend a few months ago, because I was so burned out, reading any UF made me want to vomit. I just couldn’t do it. I liked her, liked the first draft of the book, would’ve blurbed if I could, but picking up the book actually made me angry. I owed her better than that and so I apologized and declined. It wasn’t her, it was me, and she handled it with a huge mountain of class.
Second, I may like the book but it’s too far outside of the audience. Third, I may not like the writing. Fourth, the book might push a touchy subject.
It is really, really hard to get rape as plot device past me. It’s a horrific event that leaves lasting scars, and in some authors tend to treat it in a trivial manner, using it as a cheap ploy to get instant sympathy for the heroine. She was raped, and now she is mad at all men and afraid of intimacy, so she kicks much ass, but really she is just a scared girl inside, and when she will find the right man… Bleh. I’ve read enough actual accounts of surviving the rape and dealing with its aftermath. If the author trivializes it, I will not blurb the book. If it’s handled well, I will definitely keep reading, but if it’s turned into a cliche, I’m done. A friend of mine has a similar issue with forced seduction. Any hint of the hero saying no means yes, and she is done.
Fifth, I may not like the author personally. If you were an ass to me, trashed our books, called me or my husband a hack, and then six months later your book lands on my doorstep, I won’t blurb it. Why would you you want my name on your book? You think I write trash.
Or we met at a convention and you are rude to me. Again, why would you want my name on your book? You don’t respect me. I owe you nothing.
Or you come up to me at convention or a signing and say, “Hi, I’m Jane Doe.” Before I get, “Nice to meet you” out of my mouth, you jump in and say, “I want you to blurb my book.” Instant no. Honestly, the best way to handle networking is to actually have a conversation with the author and then, after the convention is over, contact their agent and explain that you’ve met at a con and you would be thrilled if the author would look at your work.
As they say, publishing is a small sandbox. Don’t pee in it.
So there are many reasons why someone’s book doesn’t get a blurb. Most authors are cool about it but occasionally the rare few take it very personally. Especially if they know you. It can get very uncomfortable, because chances are you will run into each other at a con and might sit on the same panel and the resentment over unblurbed book will be hanging between the two of you.
That’s part of the reason why, if you scroll down to the footer, you will see that Gordon and I do not respond to blurb requests. We ask that the person who wants the quote contact our agent. This way, if we don’t have time, Nancy will simply apologize on our behalf and it’s not personal.
There, more than you ever wanted to know about blurbing. 
Ive always wondered how that works! Especially now because I was one of those that found Briggs the same way as listed above…I was being impatient for your next Kate book, and while staring at the cover of Magic Bites, saw the Briggs quote and wondered if I should branch out into another series to tide me over! I also was trying to find any series with female leads that didnt turn into a complete sex-fest right from the beginning and figured if Briggs was even close to being similar in style to your books I would enjoy it. And I did!
Good info!
P.S.
I really respect your statement that “It is really, really hard to get rape as plot device past me.”
For all the reasons you stated above, I avoid books with this plot device and appreciate you not recommending those with a blurb.
Thanks for sharing! I am always intrigued by the blurbs. But I do swear that sometimes it feels like the blurber didn’t really even read the book. And sometimes I think it might be a hindrance. For example, there are a few authors in the PNR genre that I just don’t like the way they write, — at all. So why would I want to read a book that that particular author recommends? I think it’s a catch 22. I usually try to decide for myself from the description of the book and other reader reviews.
Patrica Briggs is great. She is having a signing at Powell’s on the 31st. I am excited to get to meet her.
Patty Briggs is GREAT! I love Mercy (and Adam
) I can’t wait for tomorrow I’ll be at the store bright and early with my money in hand 
Patty Briggs is AWESOME!!!
You know you’ve made it when someone with her talent is willing to blurb your book. I can’t remember the reason why I first picked up your books but if there was a Patricia Briggs blurb on the cover it’s highly likely that was the reason.
Now, Ilona, if you’d like me to be so overcome by fandomness that I actually swoon (which I’ve never done before in my life), you’ll tell me you’ve also been blurbed (sounds kinda gross) by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, or JV Jones. ^^
No. I haven’t. They do not write in my genre.
I hoped that people became our fans based on the quality of writing, not who blurbed it.
You made me feel like for you to have a fan moment, I have to get other writers to validate my writing, because the writing alone is not enough and the entirety of our work is worth less than a Big Name Author’s quote.
I’m sorry Ilona, that wasn’t what I meant to do.
Trust me on this – even with Patty Briggs recommendation, if you’re writing was just so-so, I wouldn’tve stuck with it past the first book.
I may be a book junkie, but that doesn’t mean I’m read junk books.
urgh … corrections.
“your” not “you’re”
and
“doesn’t mean I read”, not “doesn’t mean I’m read”.
LOL, welcome to my misspelling club. I make a post., I fix. I fix. I fix. I fix. I fix. 20 minutes later I find another typo.
Ilona, dear author, if it were in my power I’d ensure you got 95% of the net profits from your books, plus a bonus for every book you finished of a month long holiday to a destination of your choice.
Rather, think of it this way: I’d never have heard of your good works if Bob from accounting hadn’t initially told me. It was unfortunate for Bob I then promoted you to equal status with him. Fortunately the rate at which Bob and your good self both finish your projects meant the budget available to the accounting section was able to accommodate the both of you. For some time now my company has been enriched by the good work of all my employees.
I’ve recently developed a concern for the ongoing smooth running of the company. One your underlings, a fae sort of person who has been photographed dancing naked in snow on the roof of the office, has developed a fixation on one of the lead female underlings of Bob’s workgroup.
Ok, I’m getting off track, think I’ll stop there.
I have a little story for you about the weirdest of all my misspelling incidents….
Picture me sitting in my final High School Certificate exam for the subject of English Studies, 2 hours in length. I start writing down a response to one of the questions and write the word ‘their’ as part of the response.
I finish answering the question but experience a incredibly strong sense of wrongness. My gaze zings back to ‘their’ and squints accusing at it. “That doesn’t look right”. I checked that I’m using the correct there / their / they’re. “Nope, it’s the right one.”
“…but it doesn’t _look_ right”, I say to myself.
Out of a 2 hour long exam I waste just over 30 minutes freaking out that I’ve spelt ‘their’ wrong.
:/
Okay, let me put it that way: you have a project at work and you busted your butt and Big Boss sees it. You’re so proud. The Big Boss looks at the project and says, “Did Bob from Accounting say it was good?”
You are my Big Boss.
i’d be afraid for any author i know personally to blurb my book… i’d expect a
“oh no, i can’t… um, our beta fish just died and we’ve entered an amish period of mourning for seven weeks. i will be spending the next couple of months in quiet solitude, mulching the dead fish into the compost pile so he may give back to the earth. we will not even reading street signs as that will be a violation of our religious tenets. in fact, as soon as i send this email, i will be setting this piece of technology on fire in our back yard as a ritual sacrifice for atone for my sin of plenty.
perhaps once this period of mourning is done, i will be able to find a few minutes to peruse the novel however since beta fish only live for about six months and we have about 30 of them, we expect this period of mourning to continue unabated. thank you however for thinking of me.”
i should write hallmark cards. :::nods:::
Heh. Well, if you ever need a blurb, this author will give you one.
you are adorable.
:::squishes::::
dear reader,
this writer can make coffee, japanese curry and kalua pig. recipes are in the back. :::grins:::
i cannot wait for april :::cheers:::
MMMMM. kalua pig. I need to make some of that soon. It is soooooo good.
i have a cheat method… although really, it’s never fully kalua pig until the next day with cabbage and rice
I totally agree with your sentiment on rape. It’s not at all trivial. There are authors who deal with the brutality of rape in a respectful manner as a devastating event. Buy just using it as an excuse to kick ass and be bitter turns me right off. Forced seduction always feels just a lame way to get the character to do something out of character and it never fails to pull me out of the story.
I think you covered that very well, no questions lol. I found you on Amazon, was looking for a new book, very unhappy with the series I was reading and saw Amazon suggestions. I read reader comments, which seriously helps with my choices, and bought your books. So glad I did.
I expect rape, murder, and any violent crime to be handled carefully in books. There should be a realistic view of what happened. Forget cliches, an author needs to look at the way a particular character would handle this stiuation then deal with how they write it. And finally an understanding that these things happen in Real Life, There are real survivors out there, and the one thing I have heard many of them say is “If you write about it, don’t pretty it up, it is a horrible thing, not some thing you get over in a day.” It is something that I think should not be a fall back on plot device, any more than having the main protagonist having to deal with the mutilated body of their loved ones. Because of the frequency of this crime in the USA it is realixtic for it to sometimes appear,when it does treat it with kid gloves. Yeah it is a hot point for a lot of us…and something I as a reader will question when tossed into a book.
thanks for your insight, that was really interesting!
Really interesting to hear from a writer’s point of view. I actually do look to see where the reviews come from, as a lot of these authors are totally new to me. Sometimes, it’s a help and sometimes it is misleading and the book is unadulterated pants!.
Cannot remember what led me to Magic Bites? I think I just got lucky link hopping on Amazon.
Whatever, it is reassuring that integrity comes into it. ( totally agree with the sexual crimes as a device debate)
Thank you for the inight. I have to confess that is how I got into the Kate Daniels series. I saw the cover and thought, “Cool cover! Why is there a lion on it?” Then I saw the quote from Patricia Briggs and thought that I should give it a try. Now I am hooked and obsessed like everyone else…
I found your books partially through Amazon recommending them, and partially because of the Patricia Briggs blurb. Having read and loved the first two Mercy Thompson books, I was looking for more paranormal fantasy to read, and decided to give “Magic Bites” a try, since it was blurbed by Briggs and recommended to me by Amazon. I was instantly hooked, and now love your books even more than the Mercy Thompson ones. I merely really want “Silver Borne”, I would do pretty much anything that wasn’t downright illegal to get my hands on “Magic Bleeds”.
Thank you for your answer.
I understand now why there are quotes on the covers. It’s really nice to you to take the time to explain!!
not to say harharhar I knew that, but I kinda figured what that was for. Thanks for clearing it up. They really do help sometimes with the deciding factor of me getting the book, and may lead me to read other authors. I’m more of a shelf hunter that reads summary after summary type of person though, but my eye will catch it sooner or later. On the topic of rape cliches and storylines, rape is a very destructive, earth shattering event to write about, and I can’t imagine alot of happy endings with it. I say that if it HAS to be included for character development, write it well.
*No cliches Allowed*
I also picked up the Kate Daniels series after seeing Patricia Brigg’s blurb on it. I had been considering it for a while and that cinched it. I then purchased Lisa Shearin’s series because of your blurb on it. I had never really looked at the books b/c I tend to gravitate more towards more modern urban fantasy and her series looked more like a more traditional fantasy series then I read your blurb and decided to give it a roll and was very happy that I did. I have noticed that if one of my favorite authors blurbs a book I will often like the book, however if there is something more like a publishers blurb that says “Fans of (fill in the blank) and (fill in the blank) take note!” it is slightly less likely that I will like the book. Ahhh the science of the book purchase…
I started reading you guys because of the Patty Briggs blurb. I am glad I listened to her.
I also find cover quotes very helpful, especially to let me know what subgenre a specific work is. Urban fantasy crosses over with paranormal romance crosses over with soft sci fi, and knowing that it’s similar to Author X helps narrow it down. There’s a particular author that’s very popular, whose work is politely described as “dark and edgy” and that I describe as “effing creepy”, and I love seeing their cover quotes. It’s like little red flags saying “This book will give you nightmares!” Heh.
“Forced seduction” doesn’t mean “rape”? *scratches head* Isn’t that like saying “passed on to a better place” doesn’t mean “dead”? From my experience with rape survivor friends, their rapists often used similar “forced seduction” tactics that I’ve read in bad romances. It’s bad enough having to read a poorly done description of such a traumatizing, life altering event, but then to have the author act as though this was heroic? I recently stopped reading one of my favorite authors whose work I loved, who by her blog is a very friendly, good-natured person, because I couldn’t stomach her male lead’s abusive sexual treatment of the female lead.
My publishing house asked for a list of authors I thought might be interested in my book. In that list I also included some adult urban fantasy authors because I know adults crossover to Y.A. I suspect my publisher will ignore those. Who is blurbing it? No clue. One close friend will probably offer up her comments, but beyond that I am blissfully unaware. Ignorance is bliss in this case.
You hit one of my pet peeves, Ilona — folks who introduce themselves and then ask for a blurb (introduction to my editor, agent, want to know how much my advance was, etc). Grrrr…. At least buy me some coffee before you try to shake me down.
I never ever ever want to be an author. I am not tactful.
Thanks for the insight!
And usually anything reccommended by Tamora Pierce I like, so I always notice her blurbs.
Thanks for the explanation – I love the behind-the-scenes tidbits you hand out.
I too bought Magic Bites partly on the strength of Briggs’ blurb. I sometimes go back to my favorite books to see who else has blurbed and then try those authors. (If it is a favorite author, I generally don’t pay attention to the blurbs until I’m hunting for new material.) I also purchase based on the banners and recommendations on your website.
So thanks for all the entertainment of YOUR books and the ones you’ve steered me towards.
Sometimes blurbing may cause unexpected and unwanted results. An author whose work I now love had a book blurbed by… Harriet Klausner. If your blurb hadn’t been there too I’d have dropped the book like a hot brick.
(I discovered your work through a thread on PI-type protagonists in fantasy in rasfw, went on to do a little Googling and voila! I’m here for the long haul.)
I’ve been a Nalini Singh fan for awhile and found you in “Must Love Hellhounds”. I was so intrigued by the world and the characters that I didn’t want to finish the short story until I had a better idea of what was going on. In August and September I read nothing but the Kate books and then “The Edge”. I don’t think I’ve ever bought a book because of the blurbs, but I’ve picked up many new favorite authors because they were in an anthology with one of my current favorites. Thanks for the insight into the publishing world. It’s really interesting.
That is exactly how I found Ilona and Gordon – via Nalini and “Must Love Hellhounds”. And I am with you on anthologies as well, I find them to be a good place to find a new author.
Between your posts and Charlie Stross’ CMAP posts it’s been a neat look into the publishing industry these past couple weeks.
Thank you! I love these insights into publishing
Another question that occurred to me: How much do you get for books in foreign languages?
I don’t know if you blurbed the Missing Millionaires Pregnant Mistress’s Warrior Sister I would totally read it. No skinning alive. Promise
Thank you for your detailed explanation and presentation on blurb quotes, I’ve been curious about how they work. It’s fascinating reading about these inside works of the publishing business.
I would like to ask about covers. Before they start designing the cover are you asked on the main characters’ physical attributes, other important details of the story? Or they disgn the covera nd ask your input afterwards? And how much say do you have concerning how the cover looks like?
Thank you,
Stella
Funny story… I discovered your books because of the Patricia Briggs blurb!!! And I’m sooo glad I did!