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"The plot of an Alafair Burke thriller doesn't just rip from the headlines. She's one step ahead of them. 212 scares you and keeps you turning the pages into the wee hours."
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The Power of a Presidential PlugWednesday, August 26, 2009This week the White House released President Obama's reading list for his family vacation in Martha's Vineyard, and it includes fellow crime writer and friend George Pelecanos's "The Way Home," a fabulous book. The inclusion of a crime novel on the President's list reminded me of the influence then-President Bill Clinton had on the career of Michael Connelly when he was photographed leaving Washington DC's MysteryBooks with an advanced copy of Connelly's Concrete Blonde. Out of curiosity, and always seeking online procrastination, I checked out The Way Home's Amazon rank in the hope Pelecanos got a similar bump: #400 after three months in print. Not too shabby. My father's "Rain Gods" got a nice spike in sales last week after Bill O'Reilly plugged it on his show. My cousin Andre Dubus III got a super-ball-sized bounce when House of Sand and Fog made Oprah's book club. Given the power of a president's or  pundit's plug, why are the backs of novels still filled with blurbs from fellow writers? Should publishers pursue praise from politicians and personalities instead? Sorry, I got carried away with the alliteration there, but I think I'm on to something. People who aren't in the business of books might be harder to lock in, and of course there's no reason to think they know more about novels than respected authors, but if these are the blurbs that will bring books to readers, why aren't publishers doing more of this? Especially when publishers increasingly share corporate links to the broader news, entertainment, and political worlds? If you see some unexpected blurbs on the back of my next book, 212, you'll know I took this little idea and ran with it. Do you think Dick Cheney might like my books? In the meantime, did I ever tell you about the time Bill Clinton called me about my first novel? The man's an avid mystery reader and apparently enjoyed Judgment Calls. Now only if I'd taken a picture.... If you enjoyed this post, please follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Also, mark your calendars: Monday, August 31, will bring my first post as a blogger for Murderati. Labels: writing
posted by Alafair Burke at 12:27 PM
3 Comments:Previous Posts
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Would you really accept a plug from (yuck!) Cheney?
Yeah, that was a joke. I'd love to have an Ellen Degeneres plug.
Hmmm, interesting thought. These kinds of things that publishers have to consider always intrigues me. I've done several surveys for publishers who ask about book jackets and titles and whatnot. The only thing on a book jacket that will get me to buy a book - if I don't already know the author - is the book summary or teaser. If that doesn't hook me, no one's blurb will. I guess I must in the minority...oh wait, I probably would walk around - like 50 foot radius around - a book with a blurb from Cheney! ;)
Is Ellen a mystery fan?