Posted on May 27, 2021

The following Guest Blog Post is from a person who has held positions in the industry on the publishing and editing side, and is also an author of both books and essays. You will understand after you read this, why this blog post was written under his pseudonym ‘Anonymous Rex’:

As an author, I’ve been asked to pen blurbs from writers whose manuscript lands in my In or Mail box with a resounding thud. Sometimes, it comes from an editorial or publishing friend. Other times, I’ve known the author, and have even had him or her write a blurb or a review for me. But what to do when the manuscript is, simply—not mincing words—terrible?

I’m taking about a combination of several of the following issues:

1. The narrative is difficult to discern, especially when scenes seem to have no logical flow.

2. The voices/tones of the characters area all the same. So when most quotes are not followed by a name, the reader doesn’t know who is speaking.

3. There is little character description (other than the mundane) and/or character development. The character at the end of the book seems to have learned little or nothing after his/her journey.

4. There is no message or take-away. In other words, I don’t know what the author is trying to say.

5. The language is pedestrian. There are few—if any—memorable passages.

6. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the structure. There is no substantive beginning middle, or end.  It is a compilation of scenes, many of which fleet in and out, never to be developed further.

7. Confusion reigns as to what is going on as time periods change, but this is only apparent after one has to re-read sections to make sure that he/she can follow the action.

These have been my ‘seven deadly sins’ for a long time. But lately I’ve added another…

8. Off-hand references are made to events of the time (cultural, sociological, political, or international) that are trivial, as if to allow the author to say that he or she has grounded the book in relevance, when, in reality, they illustrate the shallowness of the effort. This is frequently accompanied by elementary pontification by characters, as the author seeks gravitas, which comes across as superficial and naïve. 

Nowadays, there are more manuscripts that I can label with four or five or more of these offenses. I’m left with asking the question, How did the book get a publisher to sign up for it?  But more to the point, What am I supposed to do? I’ve got a reputation to uphold, so if I offer a positive blurb or review, I’m compromising my integrity, and leave myself open to charges of hypocrisy or favoritism (others assume that I wrote positively because of a relationship with the author, his/her agent, publisher, etc.) What I’ve done recently is let the third party know that I’m very busy, that they can send me a galley, but that I’ll only be able to get to it if my current workload is reduced, which I’m careful to say isn’t likely. That usually works, and has allowed me to dodge many a bullet. But this isn’t foolproof, especially if I receive a blurb from someone else with high praise for the book or—and this has happened—they send me the first chapter and it’s good. I get sucked in, thinking that if the quality is maintained, I’ll be able to give a valid blurb or review. Unfortunately, many times I find that while the first chapter is indeed good, the rest of the book suffers from many of the faults outlined above. Writing a novel is hard, and many authors simply run out of gas after a decent opening. 

So when I’m committed to a blurb or a review and the book is sub-par, I resort to giving a summary of the plot and hope I can find something inconsequential to say that will put a smile on the face of an author, but won’t fool the agent or the publisher. That’s okay with me.

I am, however, coming to the conclusion that this is all too much work, and that I should refrain from accepting any of these assignments. Let others grapple with these problems. Let me spend my energy on savoring those few truly great books, knowing that the only reviews I’ll give are by means of communications with friends, to encourage them to buy a book and then to have a conversation with me when they’re finished. Over a nice cup of coffee. 

That’s the way it’s got to be.

by Anonymous Rex