Sometimes I’ll read the blurbs from other authors on the covers and backs of books, and sometimes I won’t. It’s usually such a small part of my decision whether or not to buy a book that I’ve never considered the time and effort it must take to ask someone for a blurb and/or be the person who provides the blurb. I figured they just appeared out of thin air! (Joking, mostly.)
But it’s apparently a lot of time and a lot of effort, so much so that the entire publishing industry hates them—the other descriptors used in this Esquire story are “dread,” “excruciating,” and “anxiety-riddled.” I love reading about the worst parts of other industries that are not my own, and this was a rollercoaster. We should ban book blurbs! But, also, I’ll never not read one ever again. —LT
