So, you received an email from us asking you to read the manuscript for an upcoming Ooligan Press title and provide a “blurb,” what does that mean?
A blurb is a short message or quote–about one to three sentences long–about how much you enjoyed a particular book. A blurb will briefly summarize what the book is about and why someone should read it or why it stands out from other books on a shelf. For readers, a blurb gives a second opinion about the book and highlights some of the key selling points. Sometimes, a reader will choose to read or purchase a book because of a blurb that stands out to them or they trust the recommendation of a certain author or expert. If a person has read every book from a certain author and that author recommends our book, their blurb will indicate to a reader that they might enjoy our book as well. Similarly, if a person sees the name of a leader or activist that they trust and respect next to their blurb for our book, it will communicate that our book will also offer valuable information or a trustworthy perspective.
When seeking out individuals to provide blurbs, we will often ask authors who have written books in the same genre or with similar content or themes. For nonfiction books, we might ask experts in the particular field of study or prominent members of a related community. As a part of this process, we will ask our authors about their connections or to identify other authors, experts, and professionals in their field of study that they admire.
Some blurbs that we receive will end up on the front or back cover of our book. However, this will depend on many factors, including but not limited to the length of the blurb, the length of the other front or back cover copy, how much space the book cover design allocates for a blurb, how many blurbs we receive, and the print deadline.
We greatly appreciate every blurb we receive and recognize the time it took for someone to read through our book and write a thoughtful, engaging blurb. However, we are not able to fit every blurb we receive on the cover of the book. Sometimes, blurbs will be included in the first few pages of a book. Every blurb we receive is included on the various web pages where you can purchase one of our books. Additionally, blurbs are included in other promotional materials for a book such as the social media posts about the project or the press kit. The press kit is the information that we share with the media to let them know about our upcoming book release. Regardless of where a blurb ends up, we greatly appreciate the time and energy that it took for someone to read and blurb our book.
When we reach out to ask an author, writer, or other professional for a blurb, we typically give them over a month to read the book and respond with a few sentences to recommend the book. If you are interested in providing a blurb but are not able to meet the set deadline—let us know! As I mentioned above, we utilize blurbs in many ways and can still use blurbs in our promotional materials after the print deadline has passed.
If you have any further questions about how blurbs are utilized at Ooligan Press, please feel free to reach out to the marketing manager via email at marketing@ooliganpress.pdx.edu.