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Today I have a great tour to share with you all. The author of Dog-Ma: The Zen of Slobber, has sent me a great guest post on Covers. I hope you enjoy! Later today I will be posting my review of this book as well, so make sure you stick around to check out what I think of this book.
Getting The Elusive Book Cover Blurb
When I got to the point in the life of my book that I was starting to think about a cover Iknew I needed blurbs to help make the sale. Blurbs provide enticement for thecasual book browser to pick up the book and look at it more closely. Blurbsfrom celebrities are very helpful. When a prospective reader sees a name theyrecognize, they may think “I like this person, so I will probably like the bookthey are endorsing”. It can give the reader a sense of “celebrity six degreesof separation”.
I have a few minor celebrity friends and they were first onmy hit lit for blurbs; a film producer, a marketing genius and a celebritychef. All were dog lovers and I thought each would be a shoe in for ablurb. How much time could it take, Ithought? Read a couple of chapters, write something appropriately insightfuland sign it. Simple?
Not so much. Although my book was very important to me,reading it was not even in the “top 100 things to do” on anyone else’s list. Iimagine it came in somewhere below taking out the trash but above mowing thelawn. It took multiple follow ups and pleading to finally get a couple that Ithought would be good to use. They took some editing and chopping up, but theywould be ok, I thought. Then a fellow author shared a trick with me. Contact afew of my personal favorite authors and ask for a blurb. Authors are a generousgroup and everyone was a first time author once, so they could be willing tohelp.
I dug out my favorite dog-oriented books and searched theinternet for contact information. Thank goodness for Google search. I sent outemail after email, hoping one of them would answer me. To my surprise, one ofthese authors answered me almost immediately stating their willingness to offera blurb. How nice! AND they were pretty famous! I was stoked and wanted more.Late one night and admittedly very tired, I sent out one final email to awriter I really respected and whose book was one of my favorites. I will notname the book or author to protect the innocent. My greatest piece of advice isto never send out email when you are tired (or perhaps have had a glass of wineor two).
I located the author’s web site and his Contact Me page. Iwrote a very flattering request, telling him how much I enjoyed his book and asa newbie author how much I would appreciate his time if he could offer up ablurb for my cover. I no longer have that email but it went something like this:
Dear _________, I am a first time author seeking ablurb for my back cover. I am a huge fan of yours and especially loved __________.It touched me like no other book has. My book title is Dog-Ma, the Zen ofSlobber. It is a humorous tale of my life with nine rowdy dogs. I would love tosend you a copy for a blurb if you have the time to read it and are willing.Thank you.
I waited and waited and never got a response. My book wentto print with several of the earlier blurbs I mentioned and I forgot about myrequest to “famous author”. Finally, several months later, I received thisresponse:
Dear Barbara,I'm actually Mr. _________. Or (insert firstname), more likely. (Mr. ______ is my father.) Mr. ___________ ismy agent and doesn't do blurbs!I'm afraid I'm not taking on any new books to blurb,either, at the moment. Way too busy. But thanks for thinking of me.
In my sleepy stupor,I had addressed my heartfelt letter to the author’s agent, not the author.Super, super, super bonehead error.
Lesson learned.Never send out such an important request when tired. On a brighter note, Mr.Author sent me a follow-up note a few weeks later, apologized for his tersetone in his initial response. And wished me luck with my book. He had actuallynoticed it was live on Amazon and said he will leave a review of the booksometime in the future. Very cool ending to my big ooops moment!
Thanks so much for sharing this great post with us Barbara. Remember I will be posting my review shortly of this great book! This tour is brought to us by Jitterbug PR and Lighting Book Promotions.
About the Author
Barbara grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania with her parents, sister and always a dog, or two or three. She founded three successful businesses in the Pacific Northwest and is a prolific fundraiser for breast cancer research. She and her husband currently live in Southwest Florida with two dogs and copious amounts of dog fur.
Nothing too exciting. I have a Bachelor's degree in English, which means next to nothing when it comes to writing fiction. Still, I took a bunch of creative writing classes and really enjoyed them. Before that, I dabbled in short stories here and there, but wasn't ready to try and make a career out of it. I wrote one screenplay in 2001 that advanced to the second round at Austin (and I'm about ¼ of the way into its novelization). I've always been a voracious reader, and I got really serious after participating in NaNoWriMo in 2006. Since then, I've published a couple of short stories in e-zines and one non-fiction profile in a local magazine. But I'm really just a guy who loves to read fiction and tell a story from time to time.
The book is highly recommended as an enlightening and refreshing read set in the Depression Era of the South.
SOMETHING BLUE by DIANNE CHRISTNER 
