Getting a Foreword or a “Blurb” from a Famous Person

A great way to attract attention to your book is to get an expert in the field, or a celebrity or media “star,” to write a foreword for your book or at least provide a quote (“blurb”) you might use on the back cover, in a video trailer, or in other print and electronic advertising. 

In a past issue of Steve Harrison’s paid print newsletter Book Marketing Update, he offered the following tips for enlisting such a celebrity or other well-known person.

“Getting endorsed by a well-known name will give you instant credibility.  This is not as hard to do as you might think.  Start by making a long list of celebrities or experts in your field that you would love to get a quote from.  You can get their addresses from their agents or through ContactAnyCelebrity.com.

When writing a request letter, make it as easy as possible for the celebrities you target to respond.  Tell them why you admire them, give them a few examples of things they could say about your book and include a return envelope with your manuscript.  I had a client who took this approach with his tax book and he succeeded in getting quotes from Larry King and Charles Schwab.

Here’s another tip: Ask them to talk about you in their quote rather than your book. For example, “Jane Johnson is on a crusade to help all parents become exceptional parents.”  When you receive blurbs like that, you can use them to promote your talks, workshops and other products, in addition to using them on your book cover.”

Next time I will tell you how I came to obtain a foreword for The Blizzard from Elayne Bennett.

This entry was posted in Book Cover Design, Book Marketing, Book Promotion & Publicity, Book Reviews, Cover Design, Marketing, Promotion & Publicity, Self-Publishing, Trailers. Bookmark the permalink.

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