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BLURB: A brief noise that embarrasses everyone.
\n— Tom’s Glossary of Book Publishing Terms<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\nA curious aspect of book publishing is that publishers have never quite figured out what the best way is to sell books. Not only is the industry cursed with a byzantine distribution system, but publishers routinely repeat the stale promotional techniques of past decades without thinking too hard about whether they are actually effective.<\/p>\n
Take the case of blurbs. Publishers chase after blurbs for the back covers of their books mainly because everyone else is doing it, and a blurb-free cover will therefore look like some kind of failure. But do people really put any weight into blurbs? My guess is that they usually don’t, but occasionally a blurb will hit the right note, excite someone’s curiosity, and help make a sale. But does this happen more often than would be the case if the back cover real estate were put to other uses?<\/p>\n
Part of the reason readers distrust blurbs is that they know instinctively that they are the product of a process that at its worst is corrupt and deceitful. Consider the letter that Stephen J. Dubner (co-author of Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything<\/em>) received from a book\u2019s editor, containing this amusing passage<\/a>:<\/p>\n
If you find [redacted] and [redacted]\u2019s ideas as compelling and inspiring as we do, a quote from you that we could print on the jacket would make a world of difference. I would be happy to help craft a quote if you prefer. My contact info is below.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
When an editor goes looking for an author to put his name underneath a quote written by the editor or others at the publishing house you know the blurb system is broken.<\/p>\n