What is the best way to go about requesting blurbs or advance reviews for a self-published work? Would email and a .pdf of the book suffice, or is there a more proper road to travel with this? Thanks for any feedback.
Email. Better to offer a choice of print book/manuscript, ebook, or a PDF.
Thank you, Mr. Sands.
IMO, it depends on who you are asking. Obviously, sending out print copies, ARCs, that can get expensive. If you are asking friends, you may be able to get away with a PDF ARC. Some people will just say no to a PDF, some are okay with it. Same with an ePub/Mobi format. Just ask, you'd be suprised. Also, give people a few months to get around to it. Good luck!
Thanks so much for the input, Richard. It seems popular opinion is to ask first, which seems obvious. Just trying to do this right, since I decided to self-publish.
Lots of people get nervous about blurbs. I've had some great people blurb my work (Stephen Graham Jones, Craig Clevenger, Donald Ray Pollock, Joey Goebel, Karen Brown, Scott Phillips, Rob Roberge, etc.) and I've had a lot of people say "I have to pass." It's okay. So they say NO. Don't take it personally. Just try to find somebody else that writes similar stuff, it'll happen. I've given a few, maybe 6-10, and they are hard to write, but fun. I'm always honored when somebody asks. I've only had to pass on a few. Best of luck!
I did not expect this much insight and encouragement. Thanks so much! It definitely helps ease the nerves. I'm still a few weeks to a month away from having my novel blurb ready, but now that's an uncertainty I don't have to worry about. And I have no problem with "no." I understand not everyone I would like to will have the time or even desire to read my book, but I feel confident enough now to ask when the time comes. Thanks again. Both of you, Bradley and Richard, were already on my list of people I wanted to ask, before I even posted this discussion, so it means that much more to me that you guys were the ones to offer up advice. (that's not ass-kissing, by the way, either of you can still pass on my book with no hard feelings.)
Now... off to more mind-numbing editing!
excellent. good luck! and pm me if you do still want a blurb. i'm sure you can get a bigger name than me, but i'm happy to take a look.
