Front Sales Foolery

The front sales page is that first page of a book filled with endorsements and other "blurbs" that authors, publishers, and booksellers rely on to help sell books. It is a selling tool primarily for mass market books and trade paperbacks.

So when I recently worked on the forthcoming erotica suspense title Tie Me Down by Tracy Wolff, the first thing I read was the front sales page, promising a wild romp and terrific suspense.

The author does have writing ability. But.

Even for an erotica line (Heat), when the reader is expecting a lot of sexuality, Tie Me Down seemed to have an overabundance of graphic scenes--to the point that they actually became boring. The characters were boring, too. A homicide-cop heroine and a fatally "unworthy" hero who doesn't deserve happiness because he couldn't save his sister from her murderer. And the "dirty talk," the four-lettered genitalia, really lost its appeal after 300 pages. And to make the letdown complete, the ending was a cliché.

So I guess the best thing about it is the sexy cover. But you know what they say about judging a book . . .