Soliciting Blurbs For My Memoir

Back in late December, my publisher told me that I should try to solicit blurbs for my memoir. Blurbs are the quotes you see on the back covers of books, quotes from well-known or established authors, saying awesome things about your work in an attempt to capture the attention of potential readers so that random strangers buy your book. It’s a marketing ploy, but marketing ploys are a necessary evil if you want your book to be a success. Wanting more than just family and friends to buy Stolen: Love and Loss In the Time of COVID when it comes out in September, I set out to do as I was told. However, I wasn’t looking forward to it. I’ve experienced enough rejection through the years from agents and publishers. The thought of now being rejected by writers I like was not appealing at all. But with some prodding from Kati, I put together a list of authors to contact.

At the top of the list was Kerstin Lieff. I met her a decade ago when I decided to go back to school to pursue a graduate degree in creative writing. One night during the summer residency, we were gathered outside on the lawn beside the mansion at Fairleigh Dickinson University to listen to a reading. Lieff was one of the authors participating. She had recently published Letters From Berlin. It is an account of her mother’s life in Berlin during World War II. I was captivated enough that as soon as the reading ended, I jumped up from my comfortable perch and purchased a copy of the book. I could not wait to start reading it. Not only did I enjoy the book—I love history, I’m a bit obsessed with reading, and the writing was fantastic—it gave me something to strive for. If Lieff could graduate from the program and publish her story, well then I could do the same, right? It only took me many years and countless rejections to get here. 

Anyway, I reached out to Lieff and asked her if she would please read my book and write a blurb. When she responded that she’d be happy to, I was more than a little excited. It’s kind of awesome to have someone you respect and admire willing to help. I queried other authors as well, unfortunately, they all ignored me. Silent rejections. Honestly, I’m not sure which is worse, actual rejections or the ones where the people contacted can’t even be bothered saying no. Like I’m so unimportant and so inconsequential that I don’t even deserve a response, just a click of the delete button. My request, my hope, relegated to the trash heap. It happens so often, you’d think I’d be used to it by now, but it still hurts. 

However, I’m choosing to focus not on the silence, the authors who decided I wasn’t worthy of their time. Instead, I’m focusing on the fact that I will have one blurb, one author who was willing to take the time to care, to demonstrate that my words, my book, are worthy of being read.

To learn more about Kerstin Lieff and her work, you can find her website here.