Simon & Schuster's decision to no longer require authors to get blurbs for their books has stimulated quite a bit of debate, and I must admit to being somewhat on the fence.
On the one hand, I appreciate that this takes some of the pressure off authors - especially those being published for the first time, who feel the need to prove their worth - and that the current practice can seem emblematic of (in the words of Simon & Schuster's Sean Manning) "an incestuous and unmeritocratic literary ecosystem that often rewards connections over talent".
On the other, as a reader, I'm much more likely to pick up a book that has been enthusiastically endorsed by a writer whose own work I love than if the only promotional copy has been penned by a member of the publisher's in-house marketing team. I dread to think how much I might have missed out on if I hadn't been tipped off by someone whose opinion I respect. Algorithms be damned; personal recommendations remain the best way of discovering new art, books or otherwise.
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