|
I don't really see why people are so exercised about the idea of trying to sell a book, when that is pretty much what a publisher is for.
Bestseller - a lot of other people liked it
Award - either a lot of other people liked it or a jury who ought to know what they're talking about liked it
Review quotes - these people who ought to know what they're talking about liked it
Blurbs - these people who ought to know what they're talking about liked it
Now a major motion picture - someone thought it was worth making into a film
That's all, ultimately, factual information that might make me believe the book is worth my time. Anyone can say "my book is great", and I'm not going to put much weight on that, but if you have someone else saying "your book is great" I might start to listen. I'm not blindly trusting, but it's a bit more weight on the scales.
I do agree with the original comment about the actual book description being crowded out by the promotional material, with special bonus marks when the review quotes aren't even for this book, but I generally think it's a plus to have that information.
The interesting thing about the article referenced above is that it was apparently on the authors to gather the blurbs at Simon & Schuster.
|