by Charlaine Harris

I was in a bookstore recently, and I was enjoying shelf-browsing. I spotted a cover I liked, and though I'd never heard of the writer -- and, at second glance, the publisher -- I progressed to reading the cover. The description on the back of the young adult novel sounding really interesting, and I turned over to the front cover to read the blurb the publisher had chosen to really grab the reader. And here it was: "Better than 'The Hunger Games.'"

Really? I mean . . . really? Have we descended to the level of politics, where we have to not only sound good ourselves, but make others sound worse? And to pick "The Hunger Games," not only a bestseller, but a wonderful book. I suppose the publisher wanted to aim as high as possible. (It wouldn't be interesting to say, "This book is better than so many books you've never heard of," I suppose.)

I hope this is not a trend in marketing. I hope we are not all going to have to claim to be better than someone else, now.

I went to my To Be Read bookcase and pulled out a few books at random. None of them reached the new book's level of chutzpah. The boldest claim made on another jacket was, "As good as Laurell K. Hamilton," which is a far cry than "Better than."

I'm almost embarrassed to say I actually bought the book, and I read it. It was quite good . . . but it wasn't as good as "The Hunger Games," because it didn't have the complex social commentary that lends Collins' book such depth. I would never have thought of comparing the two if the jacket hadn't suggested I do so.

I came away from this with two convictions: I hope all publishing isn't going to descend to wild claims in order to make sales. And second, if you're going to claim your book is better than a much-beloved best seller . . . you'd better be able to back that up.

Comments

[Toni LP Kelner]

Will I get in trouble for saying your post is better than Toni L.P. Kelner's?

[Charlaine Harris]

Yes, you will. You might say, "Charlaine Harris's post is as good as Toni L.P. Kelner's," or even "as exciting as Kelner's," but never "better than"!

[Elaine Viets]

I'd like my new novel to be better than the last one. Publishing has always been a polite industry that ran on handshake agreements. I'd hate to see it descend into pure hucksterism.

[Deb Romano]

Reading preferences are so subjective that such comparisons aren't really helpful. I can stay up all night reading a book that bores someone else to tears, and vice versa. Personally, I think word-of-mouth is better, although unless the recommendation comes from someone who likes the same type of reading that I like, that isn't going to help a lot. All of my non-mystery-loving friends and acquaintances have been pushing me to read a couple of popular non-mysteries that have been published in the last couple of years, and I just cannot get past the first twenty pages of either of them. That doesn't mean they're not well-written. They're just not my "type".

[Maureen A. Mulligan]

I agree with these excellent comments. If the story and/or the characters sound interesting an added "hubba,hubba" or "It kept me awake" makes the review more interesting to me because I love comparing notes with kindred spirits but if it isn't my kind of story, or in my case, if it sounds too scary because I am a cozy reader, not a true crime type, I leave it to others to enjoy. Others tease me about my escapism into cozy little worlds and hideout situations, and may prefer true crime, and so forth. Luckily there is as much variety in readers as there is in authors!! I am so grateful to live in a free culture and become more so every day!! :^)

[Maryann Mercer]

It might have been more logical to blurb "If you loved The Hunger Games, you'll enjoy this one", but I assume the intent of the publisher was to pique your curiosity enough to make you buy the book-which you did. But, will you tell others that it's better? Nope. Because you told us it wasn't, and there's where word of mouth steps in...I would never have checked Hunger Games had it not been for my daughter telling me over and over "you have to read this Mom, it is so well written". Now I keep my eyes open for new YA and have found some great stuff...all a bit like Hunger Games, but different enough to make them good reads. Whenever I recommend something, I always use the phrase I started with at the beginning of my post. Whether something is better or worse than something else is left to the reader. By the way, if I can recommend a good YA, it would be Divergent by Roth. :o) Happy Thursday!

[Harley]

So true. When my reaction to a marketing ploy is "Well, I'll be the judge of THAT" it's annoying. Not the emotion the publisher wants to evoke.

[Storyteller Mary]

It seems rude and juvenile, along the lines of "my dad's stronger than your dad." I agree with Maryann that "if you liked . . . you might like . . ." is much more acceptable, useful and polite (and practiced by teachers and librarians everywhere).
I'm also with Harley, immediately resistant to someone making wild claims of being "better."
I wonder what fallout there might be for a person setting up such divisiveness.

[Christine Ramsey]

I'm not a writer, but I am a reader: about 10-12 books each week (live alone, do minimal housework, because I have my priorities), and I rarely read past the inside-cover-blurb to know if it's my kinda book. Anyway, the recommendations, by other writers/publishers never say "this is a so-so book", so we take that with a pinch of saffron.
God bless, Christine in LosAngeles

[Charlaine Harris]

I do agree that books can make it or break it by means of word of mouth recommendation. That's definitely made my career what it is. Though I try to think only of the worth of the book, I think sometimes the packaging can be a factor in my overall opinion. I do read the blurbs and they affect my decision to buy the book or not.

[KrisL]

I agree that whether a person likes a book or not is based at least partially on what the person likes. The Firm was a best seller, but I didn't like any of the characters, so I never finished it.