Book jacket biographies don’t tell us nearly enough about the authors we love. That’s why Zibby Mag launched the Author Snapshot, giving readers an inside look at the lives and work of our favorite writers.

This week we are featuring Jane L. Rosen, whose newest novel On Fire Island releases this coming week! We chatted with Jane about the inspiration behind her new summer read, an honest take on blurbs, and how she handles reader reviews.

What was the inspiration for your newest novel On Fire Island? Did any of your own experiences or personal life find its way into this book?

On Fire Island is a story I have been writing in my head ever since stepping off my first ferry thirty years ago. While the plot is completely fictional, everything about the book—its characters, its sense of community and place, and most importantly, its heart—is all rooted in personal experience.

What themes are you drawn to exploring in your novels?

Love and death, friendship, balancing tragedy and comedy. Life!

Let’s talk about blurbs. For someone who isn’t on the inside of publishing, can you explain the blurb process? What are they? How do you get them? What is the strategy behind them?

Blurbs. The word alone makes most authors quiver with anxiety. A blurb is simply a few sentences about your book, usually written by another author, whom you implored to read and craft a brief, albeit glowing, review. The reason they are dreaded, in my opinion at least, is that you have to ask a busy, often intimidatingly successful author to spend their precious free time reading your work. It’s a big ask. Some authors I know refuse to blurb while others refuse to say no. My favorite answer to a blurb request is “send it to me and I will try”. The first person to say this to me was Steven Rowley. I got up the nerve to ask him for a possible blurb for my second novel, Eliza Starts a Rumor (Zibby Award winner for best sophomore novel, btw), and he said some iteration of “I’ll try.” The reason I love this answer is that I know if I do get the blurb—as I did for Eliza with Steven Rowley—it’s free of guilt and obligation. I know it's just pure sugar.

How do you think blurbs affect the sales of your books? How important are they in the grand scheme of things?

It’s a good question without a concrete answer. Blurbs are usually born from admiration but are just as often the result of friends supporting friends. No one is going to publish a bad review on the back of a novel. It’s best to consider that when reading this form of praise.

Do the blurbs you do or don’t get mess with your head at all? How do blurbs affect your confidence in your work and your writing?

You don’t have to pull back the curtains of the publishing industry to know that the words—this book is total crap—will never appear on a back cover. Unlike reviews, blurbs are always positive, therefore they don’t really mess with your head. With that being said, an unsolicited blurb—like the one I received for On Fire Island from Carley Fortune—blew me away and upped my confidence regarding my novel.

Reading reviews of your own books: yes or no?

For an author, few things have the power to make you feel as good or as bad as an honest review of your work. I do read them, and the old adage, it’s easier to believe the bad over the good, definitely applies here. When discussing this, an Amazon review for Eliza Starts a Rumor always comes to mind. Amongst thousands of positive words about the book came one I have yet to forget: simply Oof!

How do reader reviews impact sales and the conversations around titles?

Four books later and what truly impacts sales is still a mystery to me. I think readers do check Goodreads and Amazon reviews and put a lot of credence in the opinions of Bookstagrammers on social media whose taste they trust.

What do you wish readers would do differently when it comes to leaving reviews?

I understand that people like to investigate before spending time and money on a book, and in that way, honest customer review portals like Goodreads or Amazon are very helpful. But when crafting said review, it may be nice for readers to remember that you are not reviewing a vacuum. If you say “This Sucks” about a vacuum the vacuum will not bring it up in her next therapy session, the neurotic author on the other hand…

Jane Rosen Dishes About the Ins and Outs of Publishing