Don’t judge a book by its cover. And don’t judge it by its blurb either, because nowadays there are hardly any words on them. 

Remember the good ol’ days when we could pick up an interesting looking book, actually read the blurb to get a better sense of what it was about, and then finalise our decision to buy it? Well, those days are over, and I fear we shall never get them back. 

All books seem to have nowadays are short, one sentence statements, usually either about setting everything on fire or that one dark-haired guy’s especially muscular arms. But what does this tell us? That it’s going to be about the current forest fire crisis? That I’ve just picked up smut in a public place?! I want to know about the world I will spend so much time investing in, I want to know about the characters whose journeys I will follow, and I want to know about what’s at stake. I basically just want to know whether buying the book will be worth it, or whether it’s going straight down to my local charity shop 50 pages in. 

But why does this happen to books now? What are the publishing companies thinking? Simon and Schuster publisher Sean Manning stated that some of their best-selling books ‘did not use blurbs for their first printings’, leading him to start thinking about ‘… the practice of blurbs’. He believes that the blurbs were harming the overall quality of the books being published, and ultimately wasting their time – authors should be writing their next great book, not a blurb for their current one, and whilst I can understand this, it does leave me wondering how long it actually takes to write a simple blurb. Blurbs are generally around 100 to 200 words long, and so it begs the question: is skipping them to save time really worth it? Personally, if I’d just invested my blood sweat and tears into writing a book, then I would want to include a blurb. I would want to show off all the hard work I’ve put in. 

When Fourth Wing was published in 2023, the hardback edition’s back cover only consisted of reviews from fellow authors and Booklist, all telling me that it was good, but not anything specific about what the book was about. I mean, it has a picture of a dragon on it, and you’re telling me it’s ‘A wild, sexy, rollercoaster of a ride’? I want to know about the dragons! It can be difficult to get a good grasp on what the book is about when all you get told is that you will like it. In fact, I’m more inclined to want to actively disregard it if I am told to like it, knowing the marketing world.

The blurb can be found inside the book, but surely most people will only see that if they’ve already bought it? You don’t usually just start reading the book right there and then, otherwise the Waterstones staff might give you a bit of a look. So, if the blurb is indeed inside the book, is there even any point to it? You should just be able to pick it up, admire the front cover, and then turn it over for a bit more written information. 

We shouldn’t really have to give books the benefit of the doubt, when a quick useful blurb can be easily written on the back. With the publishing industry becoming ever more competitive, it’s crucial to try and sell your book as much as possible through the blurb, otherwise you might risk it being a bit of a flop.

So is every book, then, about Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride? Because if I go in with that expectation, then I’m bound to end up disappointed every time. Overall, although blurbs may seem like a waste of time to the publishing industry, they are absolutely worth that little bit of extra effort to print, as it allows everyone to get a good sense of what the book will be about, and whether it is actually worth spending their money on.