Staking Acclaim: the hidden punch of pull quotes
by Damon Suede
In our business, endorsements pack a
distinct wallop. If you haven’t already, one day soon you will be
asked to blurb books by other folks.
There’s a legit
craft to giving good
quote. When I first started writing fiction I was surprised at how
few reviews provided clear pull quotes. These are critical in promo
campaigns and presumably anyone wanting to help a book find its
audience would be larding their blogs with them. In old-school
showbiz, one of the classic traditions is the moment when the whole
production team meets around a conference table to pick through the
reviews messengered over from the newspaper offices and loading
docks to find the zowie-wowie
snippets around which to build an ad campaign.
For Broadway shows, we’d pull an
all-nighter around a literal table at the ad company in midtown
racing through newspapers with highlighters to pull the ONE perfect
quote as fast as we could before the radio spots started at 5am and
print deadlines for the early edition the next morning. In one night
we’d find three to five options, pick the one stunner to feature…the
designers would cobble together an ad on the fly and then sprint to
the various offices to get it into print and on the air by morning.
The average customer only sees those
brief, gushy superlatives, and positioning them properly can anchor
a legit hit for the duration. And if the show was a dud or a fiasco,
we knew instantly, because the critics would deal the cut direct
with clear, ruthless precision. The specificity and tenor of the
language let us know precisely
what the audience would take away when the reviews dropped. Critics
get a bad rap, but we all loved the seasoned journo-pros who knew
exactly when and where to serve up these perfect little
amuse-bouches that
exploded with spice and sparkle at first glance. By such pithy
paeans are hits launched and fortunes made in showbiz.
Publishing may operate at a slower clip,
but in the glare and blare of the current marketing landscape, word
of mouth has more impact than any other factor in entertainment
purchases and fan engagement. The reasons for that outsized
influence are manifold, but for this month’s column, we’re going to
look at a unique chore on every writer’s roster that can be a
win-win-win.
With pull quotes, the advantages on both
sides are significant. During a release campaign authors need snazzy
quotes, STAT, for advertising, insets, articles, and more. Giving
them artillery right off the bat will ease some of the stress of a
launch. By the same token, anyone quoting your opinion will be
working hard to signal that your words matter. Having your name (and
brand) associated with the best books in your genre telegraphs your
insight, discernment, and access to readers. By taking time out of
your schedule to read and blurb a title, you confirm your commitment
to boosting the best in your stretch of the bookshelf.
All that being said, here are a few
suggestions about navigating the pull-quote process.
Offer first. Many authors get nervous about
asking for favors, especially with tasks that feel commercial or
self-serving. If a writer from your chapter, writing group, or a
conference mentions that they have a book in edits or galleys and
you have the time, by all means mention that you’d love to read the
ARC. Obviously, you should never offer an automatic
endorsement without having seen the work, but by bridging the gap
between “I’ve met her,” and “I’ve read the book,” you create the
opportunity. Show colleagues you’re willing to pitch in and folks
will remember your professionalism and reciprocate.
Get real. Read the books you blurb and say what
you mean about them. Empty, false, or inaccurate compliments make
you and the author in question look cheesy and sleazy. Don’t slop
praise onto a book you can’t stand or (worse) didn’t even read; that will come back to make you look like a
cretin or dolt. Do not try to muster up fake raves out of thin air.
Any professional who asks for a pull quote understands that part of
the deal is that your words have meaning and value, and that false
compliments hurt both parties. Prove that your word has weight.
Read close. Most acclaim for a book tends to be
generic and unmemorable. “Great!” or “Fun!” tells readers exactly
nothing about why they should bother. As you read, note the telling
details, the stellar moments, the mad skills that truly deserve
accolades. Don’t just say something is generically good, hot, cool,
or whatever. Find a telling
feature or unique
strength of the work that
will signal to its audience that THIS is the book that they cannot
miss. For one thing it’s helpful for the author and/or marketing
folks. For another it will make your
writing in the review more
interesting and incisive…and you’re a
writer, yo!
Share feelings: Say something worth quoting!
Genre fiction offers an emotional ride and readers want to know how
any book will make them feel.
Articulate exactly what and how and where the book knocks your socks
off. Paint a clear image that will help a casual browser understand
why this book is worth several hours of their time. Use fresh,
distinct language that connects the dots for the idle eye. That
quote should highlight what moved you about the book in words that
show your writing chops. Never forget that every word you write for
public consumption is another brick in the path that leads to your
work. Take pains to share the feelings the book aroused in you in
words that only you could write.
Keep up. Spare anyone snide or backhanded
language about any other title on the shelf. Don’t use other books
for antithetical/negative comparisons. Even if a book is incompetent
or embarrassing, your job is never to tear folks down. If you
dislike (or worse, loathe) a book, then obviously you aren’t the
right reader for it. You are 100% allowed (even
required!) to be honest
and constructive in your response to a story. If you simply don’t
connect with the characters or their story is as thrilling as a
discarded sock, mustering out a half-hearted quote serves no one.
Going negative on someone’s bundle of joy makes you look petty or
vindictive.
Skip ellipses. Long, wordy, or complicated
compliments are fine, but only if balanced with something useful.
Wax eloquent as much as you dare, but don’t forget to give them
contiguous clusters of punchy words that can be sliced up and
dropped onto covers and tweets. An endorsement broken up by dots
(e.g. “a wonderful…story
with…fascinating [characters] that will make you…swoon….”)
always feels a little contrived and misleading, as if you’re
cherrypicking the positives. Readers can’t help but fill in the gaps
with something negative. (e.g. “a once-wonderful writer barfed up this lame fanfic story
with generic “fascinating” teens you know from TV that
will make you wish for a Xanax before you swoon into a
septic tank.”) Every time they have to stitch things
together makes the praise seem suspicious or stilted.
Show taste. Every book is not a masterpiece.
Every author is not for the ages. We all know shameless blurbwhores
in mass market publishing. Plenty of name-brand bestsellers plop
their monicker and a fat slice of hyperbole on anyone who pays to
play or shares their agency. Over time you’ve learned to distrust
and even avoid their recommendations because…oy. Those ersatz raves may still sell books to the punters, but they
undermine everyone’s credibility. And just because you feel
obligated or everyone waxes rhapsodic doesn’t mean you must. Don’t
be a lemming.
Stay centered. Make sure that the book you’re
championing won’t completely confuse your fanbase or theirs. By the
same token, that doesn’t mean you should only blurb in your
subgenre, but rather that confusing your readers or theirs can create a nightmare in promo
down the line. Coherence and consistency carry huge weight in our
industry. If you write sweet historical westerns, pimping a
polyamorous BDSM cyberpunk makes zero sense for either party. Drive
your lane or you’ll end up roadkill.
Look around. Mutual backscratching trap you in a
rut if you aren’t careful. You are never obligated to wax ecstatic
about a friend’s book any more than they are. Likewise, going to the
same three people over and over for endorsements starts to look
incestuous and contrived. A blustery quote for your chaptermates or
husband won’t move many copies. Make sure you don’t throw the same
party every time. Share the wealth, and seek fresh turf.
Reach out. When looking for quotes, authors tend
to level up whenever
possible, which makes perfect sense: name-brand authors wield
influence because they’ve earned it. But people have deadlines and
favors come at a literal cost. That goes for you too! Build
connections before you call on them. Any A-gamer will cultivate
positive relationships with mentors and heroes rather than
haranguing “names” for praise at the last minute. Publishing is a
rich, wide ecosystem; the sooner you connect with and learn from its
apex predators the safer and stronger your career.
Finish early: when someone gives you an ARC to
blurb, nine times out of ten they are behind schedule and panicked
about the release campaign. There are bookmarks to order and
billboards to design. If your perfect pull quote is the one that’s finalized, proofed, and
dazzling in their inbox first, you may be giving them that essential
ingredient to help them pimp the book properly. Remember: one day
you will be the author drumming the desk waiting on a pull-quote to
fill that negative space on swag and adverts.
Of course, all of the above truisms apply
to YOUR work as well when it comes time to beat the pushes for
copy-worthy praise. By playing smart with your colleagues, you
encourage them to do the same and the ROI is exponential.
When you seriously love a book, help it
find its ideal audience by supporting its release with clear, punchy
compliments that are promo friendly. Learn to give people the kinds
of pull-quotes you’d want for your own promo efforts. It’s a muscle
you can develop, just like those Broadway oldtimers who knew and
delivered what the producers needed. They knew how to distill their
legitimate enthusiasm into perfect soundbites. We bought those old
salts a lot of champagne and sirloin on opening night, I can tell
you.
Even better, fans will learn that the
stories you recommend are worth every penny and minute spent, that
your word means something powerful, that they should pay attention
to you because you pay attention to them. Best part? Get known for
giving authentic, passionate praise for books that you genuinely
love, and over time you will cultivate a large group of authors and
industry muscle who won’t think twice about giving you authentic,
enthusiastic quotes in kind.
Originally published as a lecture for Romance University.
If you wish to republish this article, just drop me a line.