An excellent read for all grammarians and fans of the semi colon. A unique and necessary book for those of us who are intrigued by the written word

This is my perfect book. Written by a superstar copywriter with decades of experience writing book blurbs for the publishing industry, this is a fast-paced but comprehensive history of... the blurb.

Willder looks at the history of book marketing, how blurbs started and gives us insights into the book publishing process. Some authors love blurbs, some hate them, and sometimes readers get frustrated when the blurb doesn't seem to match the book's contents. She also covers areas I've always wondered about - for example differences across countries and, does the blurb writer always read the full book?

If you love books and wordy facts then you'll love this.

This passionate book is entertaining, thought provoking, and a love letter to book worlds. It may seem strange but the history of blurbs it's also the history of how the approach to books changed.
I loved the style of writing and learned more.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

We readers often rely on front/back cover ‘blurb’ when deciding whether or not to spend our hard-earned cash on the latest must-have novel. Critical endorsements, stellar recommendations, and pithy one-liners ought to have some basis in reality, surely?

Apparently not. It turns out there are smoke and mirrors galore in the book-blurb marketing world, including more spin than the earth’s axis and more puff than rough pastry.

This wry, humorous, searingly honest and revelatory book pulls back the veil on blurbs. It’s like comfort food for the mind. I read it in one sitting. Heartily recommended for bibliophiles everywhere!

My thanks to NetGalley and Oneworld Publications for granting this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This might just be the booklovers' book of the year!
It's written by someone who has been in the publishing industry for over two decades with a wealth of knowledge, anecdotes and wise observations and yet somehow the writer still exudes the enthusiasm of a new recruit.
I loved it - it was like having a good old natter over coffee with a writer / reader who loves books as much as I do. One for every bookish TBR for 2022!
Thanks to the publisher for my advance copy.

This is written by a professional blurb writer and someone who has worked in publishing for many years. As such, it does not just revolve around one part of marketing and selling a book, but all those aspects that make a reader pick up a book (assuming they are in a bookshop, rather than online) and whether looking at a physical or ebook, what is it that makes you read on. From titles to typefaces, this is an exploration of how the reader is enticed to pick out a cover, a title, to read the blurb, to choose one book above others to buy.

Willder has a chatty voice. I enjoyed her various anecdotes and examples of, for example, good and bad blurbs. It has made me think about what methods are employed to pull the reader in. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Sheer chatty delight for those who love the book world

Louise Wilder has fascinatingly lifted the lid on the art of blurb writing, in as crisp, amusing, and informative a way as Diana Athill did for the story of publishing and editing in Stet

I have never before thought about the obvious fact that there will be people who are specialists in writing the ‘blurbs’ for books. The blurb on the cover, or the flap of the hardback jacket is designed to make the prospective book buyer pick the book up, and, hopefully, be seduced enough by the tease of something, to want to know..what next?

Like a little bonne bouche, or aperitive, to whet the appetite, so that the browser of the text on the jacket, perhaps flicks through pages, samples the writer’s style, and proceeds, find in hand, to the cash desk. Or online basket.

Wilder is brilliant. She offers examples of stunning blurbs – generally, these show, not tell, and are pithy, presenting a ‘tell me MORE’ sum-up without spoilers or dry and overloaded detail about plot or character, And she gives samples of the pits of blurb – for example, the cliché ridden oversell, the overweighty comparison of an utterly drab novel to something else, stratospheric ‘if you liked THAT you will love THIS, based purely on some similarity in setting of place, time, or general subject matter

I hoped of course, that I would enjoy this book, otherwise I would not have requested it as an ARC from the publishers, via Net Galley. And, of course I did – but even more than I had expected. And am now looking at all those blurbs on covers with slightly narrowed eyes, assessing their quality with a more informed and critical – and appreciative eye

Louise Willder certainly makes a 5 star splash with her smart, joyful and knowledgeable non-fiction debut with its insights and history of the publishing industry, more specifically on the book blurb, the writing of which she has decades of experience, all of which she relates with wit, charm, warmth, with the occasional ascerbic comment. If you love books, are in the publishing industry, are an author, a would be writer, or a book reviewer, then this is not one you should miss out on. Willder identifies the critical qualities that underline the thinking that goes behind the 100 words of blurb, citing a plethora of real life examples across literary fiction, classics, across every conceivable genre and non-ficition, the good, the bad, the ugly and the downright unhinged. The blurb works in a symbiotic relationship with the cover, title, first line of the narrative, to persuade, and/or manipulate, distort, or deceive through the use of the dark arts to get us to want and buy that book.

The author does a stellar job of taking us through the history of publishing and the development of the blurb, the authors who hate it, those who burn it, the hyperbolic nature of Americans and the French who have a habit of avoiding the commercial nature of it. Highlights include the changing blurbs to attract new audiences to classics such as Jane Austen and the reflection of society's norms and expectations when it comes sexist tropes in books and publishing, the derogatory comments about women writers and their areas of focus, where men write on what really matters, for everyone, whilst women write for women! Do not be surprised if after reading this, you find yourself venturing into reading a genre you normally avoid, and wanting to read a pile of other books that you had not anticipated, that is how good this is.

This is truly a thought provoking, perceptive, entertaining and informative book, it will have you immersed in the world of publishing and copywriters, whilst examining yourself, why you choose the books you read, and the psychology and practice behind blurbs, past and present. Willders expertise and passion for her subject shines, and I appreciated her pitch perfect tone, down to earth, comfortable and fun approach, and the fascinating literary stories through time, of writers, readers, books, and blurbs. Highly recommended to anyone who loves books! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Really enjoyed this journey through blurbing from Louise Willder. As a book fan it explained a lot of things I've often pondered about the process about the publishing journey more wildly, too!

Book blurbs, how to write them, and how we read them.

The title - and the book's blurb - doesn't quite fit. Yes, this book concerns itself with the short summary - the blurb - on the back of a book jacket used to sell the book. But it is so much more than that.

Copywriter of hundreds of books, Wilder explores the less is more principle in writing, plus the history of publishing, gender politics in language, implications of typeface and design in different markets, how we read, cliche, punctuation, and so much more.

Many books concerns themselves with how to write and literary theory. Blurb your Enthusiasm combines the two elements into something new, illustrating the whole with fresh and apposite examples.

What an absolute DELIGHT this was! Not just a book about books in the usual sense of covering the basic classics and traditionally well-liked books, but a book full of publishing nerdery that pulls from all corners of the industry to provide history, insight into contemporary practice, and tips and tricks to write your own copy. Who knew the blurb could be so interesting? I loved Willder's funny and lighthearted tone throughout that had me giggling away and pausing to recite a particular line to my partner, and I loved the breadth of her subject area. Working in a bookshop I read a lot of blurbs, but I know that from now on I'll look at them in a whole new light. I cannot wait for this to come out so I can get my hands on a physical copy, one for the Christmas list for sure!

How do you distill a book down to its very essence? How do you draw the reader in without them even opening the cover of the book? How do you describe a book that is almost indescribable?

Blurb Your Enthusiasm takes the reader on a journey into the world of publishing. Louise Willder is a professional copywriter and has written many a blurb for the back of a book. She explains how every word counts and needs to be there for a purpose.

The book also takes the reader through the world of literature more widely to show why some books work, how blurbs have changed over the years (even for the same book) and what makes some books truly great. An enjoyable read.

this was really interesting!! talking about all the different ways that book covers and their blurbs entice you into picking up a book. got a bit samey towards the middle and end!!

A fascinating insight not only into how blurbs work but also the importance of tagines, covers, titles, opening lines, genre, era, and reception.

A book for publishers, authors, and readers.

You wouldn't think you could get a whole book from just talking about blurbs, but actually they make for really interesting discussion. I enjoyed this, though I am not usually a big non-fiction fan. Being about books though helped with that & I enjoyed all the interesting facts and snippets of blurbs and author thoughts about blurbs, publishing insights and funny examples.

The thing that drove me absolutely crazy whilst reading was down to formatting - my copy was a free review copy from Net Galley (thank you Net Galley!) so hopefully it will be fixed in the 'real' version, but on my Kindle, every time she'd written a footnote, it inserted it into the middle of whatever text I was reading, so it was jumping about all over the place and that really spoiled the flow for me. (There are a lot of footnotes...)

It's the sort of book you can easily dip in an out of, and full of reminders of books you've loved, books you've always meant to read, and books you don't want to touch with a bargepole!

If you've any interest in books or publishing at all, read this. It's chock full of gems, wittily written, thought-provoking and very funny.

I've added several books to my reading list because Willder's enthusiasm is so infectious, and in this review I've broken almost all of her rules for writing about books, for which I hope she'll forgive me.

As Jonathan Gottschall wrote in The Storytelling Animal, 'We are, as a species, addicted to stories. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.' Stories are a hard habit to break. It's natural, as this beauty from Twitter shows:

"Me, begging, tears in my eyes: Please just tell me what the book is about. The plot. Please.
A book cover, unfazed: A Subversive Masterpiece. A Deep and Touching Story. The New York Times Bestseller. Go Fuck Yourself."

My thanks to Oneworld Publications and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book is everything I wanted it to be and then some! What a privilege, as an enthusiastic reader for many decades, to have some insight into what goes on behind the scenes. We take so much for granted; I look for my favourite authors regularly, but what else persuades or influences me to delve further into an unknown author or subject? The hidden persuader is not only the jacket but the cover ‘hook’ and the back page blurb.

Louise Wilder’s book is a total joy, filled with anecdotes and a lot of wisdom. It’s beautifully written and I’ve savoured every word. Book lovers will love it but it should also appeal to anyone with an interest in people. One of my best reads of the year.

My thanks to the publishers for a review copy via Netgalley.

This is a book lovers book, it is a love letter to all things book. I loved it. Being super bookish it was a book made for me and my follow bookworms.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Oneworld Publishing for the ARC it was read, read out loud and will be purchased as gift for my bookish pals to read. Here is my fair and honest review

Have you wonder what makes you buy that book? Then let Louise Wilder tell you after 25 years of experience of writing book blurbs to capture you and make you buy that book she knows her stuff. This book covers it all in funny easy to read way. I really enjoyed the quotes from various authors and extracts from many of my favourite books. I liked how she took these apart and made you think differently about them. The Wizard Of Oz example made me proper chuckle and I will never look Holden Caulfield the same way again.

I loved the chapter on the classics, the opening quote from Alan Bennett is all too true and highlights Wilders previous point about how a opening line can make or break a novel. Being a big whodunit fan I really found the section on writing blurbs for these books very interesting and it does explain why that sometimes the blurb is better than the actual book. The section of woman’s literature was my favourite I have had many of the same thoughts as the author, and I particularly loved the discussion and quotes from Marian Keyes.

This book made think about why I pick up certain books. Is it the title, is it the media quote , the cover design or is it just the author?!?
Then of course what makes me buy it? Does the blurb swing it?
I had never thought about how the blurb is actually a really well thought paragraph, it is usually what makes you part with your cash -how is it set out, is it talking to you, what language is used, are you been asked a question -it is all so interesting and really makes you think about books are marketed

I really liked this book, what would have been great was a reading list of the books mentioned at the end along with the bibliography , that would have taken it to five stars.
It is a book that will spark discussion and make you think about your book buying habits.
It is funny, smart, full of titbits, interesting and enjoyable to read.
This will make the perfect gift for anyone who loves to escape with a good book, it will be purchased as a Christmas gift for a few bookworms in my life.
If books are your thing this is for you.

Everything you ever wanted to know about publishing?

The blurb is an underestimated art form, ‘but they also tell us much about language. They require concision and concentration. Words have to work extra hard. According to Cecil Day-Lewis, the sonnet, the detective story and the blurb are all the most perfect crystallisation of literary form’.

Don’t even think about submitting your beloved oeuvre to the scrutiny of an agent until you have read this guide to the publishing industry, Far more than a guide to the do’s and don’ts of copy writing - if you really want to sell your book, this is the place to start before you have even thought of the title.

This was a fascinating insightful read….. The dazzling, staggering, astonishing, unputdownable* story of the book blurb, filled with writing tips, literary folklore and publishing secrets.