The delicate art of book blurbing

Tish Fobbin, one of the marketing folks at Nebraska, has provided me with the preliminary descriptive jacket copy for Voices of Vision. This was unexpected, as I've gathered from other writers that often the first inkling as to what the jacket copy will say about said book comes when the contributor's copies arrive in the mail. So I have been afforded the happy opportunity to review the sales pitch in advance and offer my comments. Take a look:

Voices of Vision
Creators of Science Fiction and Fantasy Speak
By Jayme Lynn Blaschke

As the world around us becomes more fantastic, and science itself more surreal, the realms of science fiction and fantasy become correspondingly both more bizarre and more relevant. Voices of Vision offers a rare look into the inner workings of this realm and into the very thoughts and methods of those who make it tick: editors and writers of science fiction and fantasy, and creators of comic books and graphic novels. In wide-ranging interviews that are by turns intimate and thought provoking, irreverent and outrageous, Jayme Lynn Blaschke talks shop with some of the most interesting voices in these genres as well as the people behind them, such as current Science Fiction Weekly and former Science Fiction Age editor Scott Edelman.

Writers such as Robin Hobb, Charles de Lint, Patricia Anthony, and Elizabeth Moon; Neil Gaiman, Brad Meltzer, and other revered authors of comic books and graphic novels; and icons such as Samuel R. Delaney, Gene Wolfe, Harlan Ellison, and Jack Williamson talk to Blaschke about what it’s like to do what they do, how they work and how they started, and where they think the genre is headed. Editors like Edelman discuss their publishing philosophies and strategies, the origins and probable directions of their magazines, and the broader influence of such ventures. For devoted reader, aspiring writer, and curious onlooker alike, these interviews open a largely hidden, endlessly interesting world.

Jayme Lynn Blaschke is a public-information specialist at Texas State University–San Marcos and the fiction editor of RevolutionSF.com. His interviews have appeared in Interzone and The Chronicle.

Overall, I believe it reads fairly well. Even better, it is an accurate description of the contents of the book, and doesn't misrepresent what the reader will find therein (although, I suppose, mis-interpretation is still possible. If someone expects this to be a step-by-step "how-to" book, they'll be disappointed). My one real suggestion--which Tish has already agreed to make--is substituting "Gardner Dozois" for the second "Edelman" reference. The reasons are obvious: 1) We want to get as many names on the cover as possible, to increase the potential appeal; 2) Edelman has already been reference strongly in the preceeding graf; 3) Dozois is about as well-known as an editor can get, via his many years helming Asimov's and publishing his Year's Best Science Fiction anthologies. It's simply a sound strategic move.

As I give it more thought, I'm also going to ask that "The Chronicle" be changed to "The Science Fiction Chronicle." I believe the name change of that magazine was ill-advised, and more people recognize the original name than the current one. Seriously, anyone reading the jacket copy in Houston, for instance, is much more likely to think I've written for the Houston Chronicle. Ditto for Austin, San Francisco, etc.

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