Simon & Schuster tells authors to stop soliciting endorsements. I think the practice is still worthwhile.
It happened nearly two decades ago, but it isn’t the kind of memory that fades easily. I had recently completed the manuscript for my first book, and the publisher asked if I knew anyone who would be willing to write me a blurb, or one of those short endorsements that appear on the dust jacket.
I reached out to a well-known public intellectual and bestselling author. “I’d be happy to,” she told me. “Why don’t you write the blurb yourself and just sign my name?” It was said casually and without hesitation. There was no apology or embarrassment in her voice.
This wasn’t an answer I was expecting, but I later learned from other authors that the practice wasn’t uncommon in the publishing world. The average reader probably assumes that endorsements are sometimes provided by people more famous than the author who haven’t read every page, or maybe any page, of the book. But how many readers are aware that some authors are recommending their own work under a different name?
Continue reading the entire piece here at the Wall Street Journal (paywall)
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Jason L. Riley is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a columnist at The Wall Street Journal, and a Fox News commentator. Follow him on Twitter here.
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