Book jackets have been enticing potential readers for nearly 200 years with copy that amuses and intrigues. Here, a veteran blurb writer reveals their secrets
he chances are that you have read more blurbs on books than actual books. Perhaps you have even glanced at one I wrote: I’ve been a copywriter in publishing for 25 years, crafting those miniature stories that aim to distil a book’s magic and connect with readers. Part compression, part come-on, blurbs can also, as I found when I wrote a book about them, open up a world of literary history and wordy joy. Here are some things I discovered.
Horror blurbs, especially those on the night-black Pan paperbacks found in holiday cottages, are their own special brand of nonsense, whether summoning up killer crabs or psychotic leprechauns .Forget Anna Karenina, Moby-Dick or those boats beating ceaselessly in The Great Gatsby. For my money, “Which one of you bitches is my mother?”, from, is probably the greatest line in the history of the written word. It has also graced every incarnation of the book’s blurb since it was published.
Blurb Your Enthusiasm by Louise Willder is published by Oneworld . To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at
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