Blurbs.

I don't know where the term "blurb" came from but I find myself saying that word now on a daily basis.

I need blurbs for my book by December 1. Like most authors, I have to get the blurbs myself. My publisher, Nebraska, even sent along the "format" for the email requesting blurbs. I don't use it, because it sounds sort of canned to me -- and isn't the idea that people blurb your book for specific reasons of love, art, and knowledge? So shouldn't the request be created in the same spirit?

Thus, I made a list of favorite nonfiction writers: Orwell, Saunders, Koestenbaum, Beard, Tempest Williams. Orwell wouldn't be blurbing any time soon, so I moved on to George Saunders.

My boyfriend, Ed, is sort of jealous of George, because I find his books exceedingly witty and clever and illuminating and thus I like to talk about George and his work like we are old friends. Ed says jealous-man things like, well, it says here George is married. I bet he's happily married too. Look at this author photo. He looks like a happily married man.

Anyway, George makes me believe the world contains more good people than bad, and seems to believe that telling a good story can change the world. I believe those things as well.

At any rate, I didn't really know who George was beyond his writing, so I did the modern thing and Googled him. This lead to me emailing him. George wrote right back. It seems George has opted out of the blurb business because it had become too time consuming. It was a nice note. He also thanked me for teaching his Dubai essay in my graduate class at the California College of the Arts.

I called Ed and breathlessly gave him the news. George blew me off, I said, but he was so polite about it. I knew he would be a good guy. Ed cheerily said he knew I would survive the blow. He sounded relieved in some small way.

What is the deal with blurbs? I know I read them, but do they influence actual book buying? If a writer whose work you despise says, I love this book, will you then despise the unread book? What if someone who has nothing to do with books at all, like a football player, or the guy with the best ERA in the NLCS blurbs my book? Would their opinions sell books? Why is it other writers we call on to judge and sell our work?

With this in mind, I am going to venture into more creative blurb territory. More soon.