Cringeworthy

Dear Literary Blogging Friend,

So beings the letter that came with the two unasked for ARCs that I received in the mail last week from one of New York’s top tier publishers.

Dear Literary Blogging Friend,
You’ve got to check out these two new books. I’m not just saying that. Okay, I am. But I feel really strongly about both of these as a reader. You might remember from my last mailing that I’m an editor, not a marketer or publicist, and as such like to think of myself as more of a reader than a salesman. And these two books are really good. I only edited one of them. But don’t just take my word for it.

And it goes on.

Where do I start?

With the cheesy salutation? With the jejune writing? With the terrible sentence construction? (And you want me to read the books when you can’t even edit your own letter?) Who actually thought this was a good idea? Who thought this tone and attitude fit the world of lit bloggers?

Here’s a thought. Before you actually waste the money to send a whole lot of ARCs out to bloggers, read some of the blogs and get a feel for them first.

Comments

[Clea Simon]

I suspect the sender is trying for the breezy informality that he/she imagines will sound fresh, young, and/or hip to bloggers. Wrong! But the books may be good -- can't blame the books for the publicist's stupidity.

[Stephen Bowden]

*Dear Literary Blogging Friend,*

What about genre bloggers, then?

*You’ve got to check out these two new books.*

Presumably she accidentally took them out of the library and is trying to shift the blame.

*I’m not just saying that.*

No, you are illustrating it with a couple of hot library books.

*Okay, I am.*

Make up your mind, please.

*But I feel really strongly about both of these as a reader.*

What's wrong with "I'm not a reader, but I play one in e-mail and in public libraries"?

I'm just annoyed that I didn't get any ARCs. Perhaps I'm just not literary enough.

[Mary Louisa]

If I were one of the authors, I would be mortified. Shouldn't an author have a say in such things?

[Martha O'Connor]

Unbelievable. Just for kicks, I sent the excerpt through the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level Calculator.

http://standards-schmandards.com/exhibits/rix/index.php

The editor's letter is written at a 6th grade reading level, with a readability score of 73... slightly easier than Reader's Digest, but slightly more difficult than the average comic book.

If I were the author, I'd be very upset. The lack of professionalism is appalling.

[thomas christopher greene]

I agree with all that was said above. On the other hand, perhaps there is some solace to be taken in the fact that the publisher is even thinking of literary blogs as a valuable way to promote their novels?

[Katharine Weber]

Desperation.

[Keith]

Why the coy anonymity? "One of New York's top tier publishers" doesn't have a name?

[Jozef Imrich]

Why the coy anonymity? Well the writer of the letter is considered to go down in publishing history as the brightest man (woman) we ever hired, and the funniest we ever fired ;-)