David Anthony Durham, winner of 2009’s John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, has had a lot of success in the last few years.
First, he published Acacia: War with the Mein, which was embraced by both fantasy reviewers and readers alike. He followed it with two sequels to complete the Acacia trilogy—and still the reviews have been great. He even caught the eye of bestselling author George R. R. Martin, who included Durham in the last Wild Cards book, Fort Freak.
Success like that deserves acknowledgement. But it hasn’t stopped there.
George R. R. Martin decided to offer Durham a blurb for his novels. Fair enough. But Random House thought that such a good idea that they decided to re-published the Acacia series in trade paperback, including Martin’s blurb. They also allowed Durham to go back into War with the Mein and tighten up the prose a little bit where it was needed. The result? Three books that George R. R. Martin fans should read.
Here are the covers:
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Blurbs are used for one reason—to attract new readers. If a bestselling author loves a book and wants his fans to know about it, the best way to notify them is the cover blurb. Sure, they can mention the blurbed book on their website and social media, but a much broader range of readers enter bookstores or visit online stores and read those blurbs than visit a single author’s website. It is a powerful tool that readers should be happy exists.
And it doesn’t stop there. I know for a fact that some movers and shakers in Hollywood, when walking through bookstores, read those blurbs. It can lead a movie studio, director, or actor to a book they might want to buy the rights to adapt. Scary power.
And Martin had to do the blurb. Why? Because Acacia is the perfect series for epic fantasy fans—and it’s complete!
Ever read a blurb and have it lead to a new favorite author? I would love to hear who and how it happened!
To learn more about Durham’s work, visit his website at www.davidanthonydurham.com!
A blurb from Terry Brooks sealed the deal for me picking up “The Warded Man” and now I’m a solid Peter Brett Fan. I also bought Mark Lawrence (spelling?)’s “Prince of Thorns” on a whim because of a blurb from the one and only Robert Riddick, who’s book I bought because of a list I read on Facebook!
Once I was reading Under the Dome, American Gods, and the Scar at the same time. I looked at American Gods and Stephen King blurbed it. I looked at the Scar (Mieville) and Niel Gaiman blurbed it. Not cause and effect, just coincidence in this case.
I’ve read a few books now with blurbs by George R. R. Martin, and didn’t like them.
I’ve noticed a few books with blurbs by Robin Hobb on them, too. I didn’t like Robin Hobb’s own works, so I steered clear.
And when the blurb is generic, well, I wonder if that’s the best they could find. In this case I think a well-considered tag line might serve better.
Sometimes, these recommendations are more like warning signs.
Shaun, if you like Martin but not the books he blurbs doesn’t that clue you into the fact that if you don’t like Hobb you might like the books she blurbs?