How To Get the Best Blurbs for Your Book

I've worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs on their books and the one aspect they tend to be most focused on—more than cover, title or even book content—is who's going to endorse their book.

And this makes sense. Entrepreneurs know that recommendations from luminaries in their field is the best “social proof” that exists. These recommendations from luminaries can be on the cover or in the book’s first few pages, as well as on social media and the book’s Amazon pages, which makes them important for how a book is perceived.

Here are the three ways to go about it.

1. Be realistic

As a publisher, I’ve witnessed more writers than I can count obsess over getting a household name that they have a distant connection to as a blurber. As a writer, I’ve done the same thing.

The problem is that household names have a plethora of authors they know well who are probably asking for blurbs. The friend of a friend, or person they met once, is going to be considered last, if ever considered at all.

Does this mean that if you aren’t close to a bold-faced name, you’re doomed? Absolutely not. Your blurber doesn't have to be famous.

A person who’s established in your field can mean just as much as a household name. After all, the blurb is there to give the author credibility and if readers are interested in a topic, they may be more impressed by an endorsement from a big fish in a little pond than from someone whose name is everywhere.

There are also signifiers of success that can impress potential readers who aren’t familiar with the blurber’s name. “New York Times bestselling author,” “TEDx speaker,” “professor” and the like all say a lot in just a few words.

2. Remember, you're asking a big favor

As an author, I can’t tell you the number of blurb requests I’ve received from people who clearly haven’t read any of my books. Those requests always read like the person believes it would be a great opportunity for me to recommend their book — but as an author, I also understand.

When we’re terribly excited about our books, it’s easy to convince ourselves that the rest of the world is as well. But they’re not. If they’re an author, they’re probably terribly excited about their own book.

It’s important to keep in mind that asking a busy person to read your entire book is a major request (and anyone being asked to write a blurb is busy). Because of that, you need to make sure you ask in an appropriate way.

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