Authors - quit doing this! - Page 3

gmw · 01-10-2014, 06:35 AM

Yes, spelling and grammar problems in the blurb are not a good sign (says he, checking his blurbs for the thousandth time and probably still missing something

).

I will add that some blurb problems aren't always the author's fault. Amazon seems to get it right, but even after repeated requests to BookBaby (my distributor, who, I guess, has little control over what end resellers actually do), my blurb still shows incorrectly on many sites. Some show the three paragraphs as a single big blob of text (which doesn't look good), one even manages to corrupt the en-dashes. And some sites show the "<p>" "</p>" characters that Lightning Source (for my paper books) require to separate the paragraphs. This has meant that I've been sure to stay away from more adventurous things like dialogue in the blurb.

Anna Drake · 01-10-2014, 07:37 AM

After a quick peek at a few blurbs on Amazon, I suspect some of the review quotes found in them are to emphasize that the book is not put out by an indie author but by a traditional press. Indies don't get reviews from the New York Times or other such impressive publications.

I must say, though, it's interesting that the ploy is apparently hacking off readers.

And I'm so glad to hear I'm not alone with my dislike of blurb writing. dngrsone, arjaybe, and gmw thank you for sharing your view of that mad mess called blurbs. I seriously meant that "Ugh."

And Princess-ducky, thanks for your interest. My ad posts have gone out on various Facebook pages and Twitter. But I may try adding a small snippet of blurb into the mix. *shrugs* Can't do much worse.

Alex Bleach · 01-13-2014, 09:11 AM

The worst ones are a list of praise for the author's previous novel, not even the one you have in your hand (if it is a physical copy). Why do publishers feel that is relevant? A preview of the authors previous novel in the back pages is better for the reader.

MichelleLouring · 01-14-2014, 10:29 AM

Though I might be tempted to just place a lot of quotes instead of actually writing a blurb(gah, how can writing such a short piece of text be so difficult?!), I'm completely with you here.
I do not care what reviewers say about the book(last book I read with a glowing review on the cover was so awful I don't know how anyone would actually publish it), I want to know what the book is about.

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01-10-2014, 06:35 AM	#31
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,818 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	Yes, spelling and grammar problems in the blurb are not a good sign (says he, checking his blurbs for the thousandth time and probably still missing something ). I will add that some blurb problems aren't always the author's fault. Amazon seems to get it right, but even after repeated requests to BookBaby (my distributor, who, I guess, has little control over what end resellers actually do), my blurb still shows incorrectly on many sites. Some show the three paragraphs as a single big blob of text (which doesn't look good), one even manages to corrupt the en-dashes. And some sites show the "<p>" "</p>" characters that Lightning Source (for my paper books) require to separate the paragraphs. This has meant that I've been sure to stay away from more adventurous things like dialogue in the blurb.

01-10-2014, 07:37 AM	#32
Anna Drake Zealot Posts: 104 Karma: 2175016 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: rural Illinois, USA Device: Kindle	After a quick peek at a few blurbs on Amazon, I suspect some of the review quotes found in them are to emphasize that the book is not put out by an indie author but by a traditional press. Indies don't get reviews from the New York Times or other such impressive publications. I must say, though, it's interesting that the ploy is apparently hacking off readers. And I'm so glad to hear I'm not alone with my dislike of blurb writing. dngrsone, arjaybe, and gmw thank you for sharing your view of that mad mess called blurbs. I seriously meant that "Ugh." And Princess-ducky, thanks for your interest. My ad posts have gone out on various Facebook pages and Twitter. But I may try adding a small snippet of blurb into the mix. shrugs Can't do much worse.

01-13-2014, 09:11 AM	#33
Alex Bleach Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 532396 Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: UK Device: PC - PDF & Kindle Desktop	The worst ones are a list of praise for the author's previous novel, not even the one you have in your hand (if it is a physical copy). Why do publishers feel that is relevant? A preview of the authors previous novel in the back pages is better for the reader.

01-14-2014, 10:29 AM	#34
MichelleLouring Owl Lady Posts: 34 Karma: 23716 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Denmark Device: Android Tablet	Though I might be tempted to just place a lot of quotes instead of actually writing a blurb(gah, how can writing such a short piece of text be so difficult?!), I'm completely with you here. I do not care what reviewers say about the book(last book I read with a glowing review on the cover was so awful I don't know how anyone would actually publish it), I want to know what the book is about.

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