How to get endorsements and blurbs for a nonfiction book

What counts as an endorsement

The Scribe Method's chapter on getting blurbs defines a blurb as a positive quote from a credible person endorsing you or your book, and says blurbs are not a requirement. It names three sources:

• High-status people in your field: respected professionals, authors of related books, leaders your readers follow.
• Press mentions: a favorable line from a publication readers recognize. The editorial reviews guide covers paid and trade reviews, which work the same way.
• Readers and clients: early readers or clients who say what the book did for them.

One naming trap: "blurb" also means the back-cover description, which you write yourself; see the Scribe Method chapter on writing a book description that sells. This guide is about praise from other people.

Endorsements are less of a formality than they were. In January 2025 Sean Manning, publisher of Simon & Schuster's flagship imprint, wrote in Publishers Weekly that the imprint would no longer require authors to obtain blurbs. For a nonfiction author, a few well-chosen names can still help.

Who to ask

The Scribe Method's test is that the name behind the blurb carries more weight than the words. The best name is one your reader recognizes, which is not always the most famous one you can reach.

Ask more people than you need. On Marketplace, Vox's Constance Grady described well-known authors receiving blurb requests every day and authors seeking blurbs most likely hearing no. Start with people who know you or your work. Writer's Digest's guide to landing a blurb notes that busy authors are more inclined to blurb for someone they already have a relationship with.

When to ask

Work back from the date your cover designer needs final text, since a front or back cover blurb has to be in hand before the cover file is finished. Writer's Digest's guide says to give people at least six weeks to read and write, and that longer is better. On Marketplace, Grady described requests going out while the book is being copy-edited. A workable order:

1. When the manuscript is edited: make your list and draft each note.
2. As soon as you have a clean PDF: send the requests, with a deadline at least six weeks out.
3. Halfway to the deadline: one polite follow-up to anyone who has not answered.
4. Cover deadline: place the strongest on the cover; the rest go on a praise page or your book page, now or after launch.

The book launch timeline shows where this sits next to cover, preorder and review deadlines.

How to ask, with an example

The Scribe Method advises making the ask easy: a brief summary, a few talking points, and a polite follow-up if you hear nothing. It also suggests offering to draft a blurb a busy person can tweak or approve. Not everyone welcomes that. Seth Godin writes that he never uses pre-written blurbs, reads every book he endorses, and asks authors not to request edits to what he writes. Offer a draft only if the person asks for one, and never put words in someone's mouth they have not approved.

Illustration only. The request below is invented to show the parts of a good note. The names and book are made up.

What makes it work: why this person, who the book is for, where to look, the length, a firm date, and an easy way to say no.

What to send

• A clean manuscript. One file, final or near final. Godin asks for the manuscript in one file without extraneous formatting or large watermarks.
• A printed copy on request. Writer's Digest suggests offering both a bound advance copy and a PDF, since some people read only on paper.
• A pointer to what matters. The same guide suggests highlighting the most important chapters for a reader with little time.
• The facts: title, publication date, and how you will attribute them (name and title).
• Nothing else to do. Writer's Digest calls blurbing unpaid labor and advises against asking blurbers to edit or catch mistakes.

Thank everyone who says yes, send them a finished copy, and use what they wrote. Writer's Digest notes that not every blurb fits on the cover, and suggests the first pages, your Amazon page or social media for the rest.

Forewords

A foreword is a short essay at the front of the book by someone other than the author. It is a bigger ask than a blurb and must be ready before the interior is typeset, so ask as soon as the manuscript is stable, with a target length and a deadline.

For a niche nonfiction book, the right foreword can matter more than any blurb. Chris Heivly's success story lists Brad Feld, who wrote the foreword. Ian Hart's lists Wim Hof, who wrote the foreword. Stephen Butler's lists the Marriott CHRO, who wrote the foreword they did not have at the start. Single authors' results, not typical ones.

Using blurbs on the cover and on Amazon

The Scribe Method suggests one high-profile blurb on the front cover, up to three on the back, more on the inside flap of a hardcover or an advance praise page, and the rest on your book page, website and press materials. Amazon has its own rules, from KDP's help pages checked October 21, 2026:

So a client's endorsement belongs in Author Central's editorial reviews, not in A+ Content, and a well-known name can go in either. The guide to launching a book on Amazon covers setting up Author Central and A+ Content.

Keeping it honest: the FTC's guidance

An endorsement used to sell a book is advertising, and the US Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) apply. The points that matter for blurbs:

• It must be their honest opinion. Section 255.1 says endorsements must reflect the honest opinions, findings, beliefs or experience of the endorser. Quote exactly; never trim a mixed comment into praise.
• Disclose connections readers would not expect. Section 255.5 says a connection that might affect the weight of an endorsement must be disclosed clearly when the audience would not reasonably expect it. It names business, family and personal relationships, payment, and free or discounted products. An attribution such as "client of the author" or "the author's business partner" does the job.
• Insiders and fakes. The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials (16 CFR Part 465) bans fake testimonials and requires disclosure when a business's officers, managers or employees give testimonials about it, unless the relationship is otherwise clear. If your colleagues praise your book, say who they are.

The FTC's own website returned errors for every page on October 21, 2026, so the rules above were read on eCFR, which showed Title 16 up to date as of October 19, 2026. The FTC's plain-language FAQ on the Endorsement Guides was last checked by this site on October 20, 2026. Readers' reviews on Amazon have separate rules, covered in the advance reader team guide.

What most authors get wrong

• Asking too late. A blurb that arrives after the cover is final can only go on the book page.
• Chasing fame over fit. A name your reader has never heard of adds little, however impressive.
• Editing what they wrote. Ask before changing a word, and get approval of the final wording and attribution in writing.
• Hiding a relationship. If readers would not expect it, name it.

The launch planner builds a dated, week-by-week plan for the rest of your launch. Scribe Media, which makes this site, sells book publishing and marketing services; if you want a person to look at your launch plan, book a free consult.