One of the more important benefits of blurbs (and reviews) is that they
impress publishers, which means that your book will get a bigger, better
push. Several seasons ago, an unpublished writer submitted a crime fiction
manuscript and included "endorsements" from several "gold standard," usually
non-blurbing authors, including, AIR, John le Carre and Joe Wambaugh. The
book was purchased for a lot of loot. Then it was discovered that the blurbs
were fakes. Contract broken. No loot. No debut. The conclusion: blurbs trump
content. A few glowing words from even a frequent, one might say compulsive
blurber like Stephen King can do wonders in getting a career launched
properly in this country. King's Entertainment Weekly essay a few years ago,
in which he praised the "undiscovered" Lisa Gardner, is a striking case in
point.
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