Quarter Finalist

Assessment:

Idea/Concept: Blades's The Book Marketing Audit immediately distinguishes itself with an introductory apologia for that abrasive word in its title: "audit." Rather than offer a familiar generalist approach to her topic, Blades argues that "the mistake most authors make is being vague about what they want." To that end, she urges her readers to establish practical goals for themselves and then to look honestly at how their current book marketing plans may or may not measure up. An author and marketer herself, Blades draws upon her own experience and insight rather than received wisdom; crucially, despite the compactness of this volume, she addresses the different needs and goals of varied types of authors, such as the debut writer, the writer with a varied back library, and so forth. In a crowded field, The Book Marketing Audit claims its own turf.

Prose: Blades's prose is sharp, canny, chatty, and clear, often demonstrating a keen sense of readers' thinking as they read. She favors humorous straight talk but keeps the tone encouraging. Blades’s prose also is strongly focused, as she continually ties her discussions of the trickiest aspects of book marketing (pricing, acquiring a cover, getting professional and reader reviews, updating the backmatter) to the question established in her first pages: What goals are her readers striving towards? That said, Blades breezes quite quickly through her topics and doesn't always take the time to identify key terms. She frequently mentions "blurbs," for example, but never defines them or offers an example, despite devoting a chapter to them. A reader who thinks of a blurb as a quoted endorsement on a book cover, for example, will certainly be confused.

Originality: Blades offers persuasive, authoritative examples from her own career, and much of her advice is convincingly hard-won. Opening a chapter of such a short book with a page-long summary of the "Always Be Closing" speech from the film adaptation of Glengarry Glen Ross, however, cuts against the sense that readers are getting inside advice rather than the familiar filler offered by other authors.

Execution: Targeted, practical, goal-oriented, and respectful of its readers' time, The Book Marketing Audit is certain to prove helpful to authors uncertain of how to expand their reach. Its briefness and breeziness, though, make it more of a jumping-off point for writers than a toolbox. The fact that Blades's short discussion of social media marketing begins with "This is a big topic and I tackle it fully in another marketing guide" will likely frustrate readers even as it serves as an example of the author's advice from his second chapter, in which she argues that even nonfiction writers can build a repeat audience with cliffhangers.

Date Submitted: January 28, 2020