The Flappies: Call for Nominations
There may be a whole heck of a lot of mock awards (and Cybils too!) going on at the moment, but nonetheless, we Longstockings have come up with an award all our own:
The Flappies.
That's right, The Flappies. See, we here over at the Longstockings have realized something. The books themselves get a lot of praise (sheesh, what's that about?), and there's always some talk about great book jackets, too, but in between the jacket and the story there is something very important--the flap copy. A great cover design will make you pick a book up, but the flaps have to grab your interest and make you want to BUY that book, make you want to never put it down. In just a few hundred words, the flaps have to tell you the plot of the book (but not too much! Spoilers are for losers!!), set the right tone, and capture just the right style. Yep, it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. So let's sing our praises to the nameless editorial assistants of the world with the first-ever FLAPPIES.
The Rules of The Flappies:
Nominations are open to the public (huzzah!), so give us your shout-outs for best flap copy of the year. Leave a brief-ish snippet in our comments section, or email us (see sidebar on the right there) and let us know what makes that particular flap copy so stellar. Longstockings members may nominate flaps, but we swear up and down we'll be impartial when voting (we're very trustworthy gals).
**UPDATE: Nominations should be for 2006 book flaps only, but we'll also accept nominations for backad on 2006 paperback originals.
The Longstockings will then vote upon the nominations, based on a highly scientific set of criteria that we have yet to come up with, and then THE WINNER will be announced some time, um, when we do all that deciding and stuff.
Thanks to fuse#8 for all the awards links.
The Flappies.
That's right, The Flappies. See, we here over at the Longstockings have realized something. The books themselves get a lot of praise (sheesh, what's that about?), and there's always some talk about great book jackets, too, but in between the jacket and the story there is something very important--the flap copy. A great cover design will make you pick a book up, but the flaps have to grab your interest and make you want to BUY that book, make you want to never put it down. In just a few hundred words, the flaps have to tell you the plot of the book (but not too much! Spoilers are for losers!!), set the right tone, and capture just the right style. Yep, it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. So let's sing our praises to the nameless editorial assistants of the world with the first-ever FLAPPIES.
The Rules of The Flappies:
Nominations are open to the public (huzzah!), so give us your shout-outs for best flap copy of the year. Leave a brief-ish snippet in our comments section, or email us (see sidebar on the right there) and let us know what makes that particular flap copy so stellar. Longstockings members may nominate flaps, but we swear up and down we'll be impartial when voting (we're very trustworthy gals).
**UPDATE: Nominations should be for 2006 book flaps only, but we'll also accept nominations for backad on 2006 paperback originals.
The Longstockings will then vote upon the nominations, based on a highly scientific set of criteria that we have yet to come up with, and then THE WINNER will be announced some time, um, when we do all that deciding and stuff.
Thanks to fuse#8 for all the awards links.
posted by Lisa Graff at 10:20 AM
21 Comments:
Okay, from now on, I'll be on the lookout for some interesting flap copy!!!
Me too. Going to scour my shelves and report my nominee!
My nomination is Absolutely, Positively Not...Gay by David LaRochelle.
Why?
1. The flap copy is hilarious. But more than that, it's not a lie. How many books have I bought because the flap copy promises one thing but the book delivers another? Too many. But not this one.
2. It uses the flap creatively. The word Gay does not appear on the cover. Instead, the ellipses lead the reader to check out the flap where the rest of the title is hidden.
3. That gimmick works because a reader with the same insecurities as the main character in the book would never be caught reading a book with the word gay on the cover...even if it might be a book that changes his or her life.
- Jay
Hurrah! When I was a young editorial assistant (back in the Cretaceous) I wrote the flap copy for CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and for many years it was the writing of mine that was in print the longest.
Wish the Flappies had been around then!
Jane Yolen
I'm wondering if the back cover of a book that has copy on the back but no jacket counts as flap copy. Ruling, please?
Question: Is this limited to 2006 flaps?
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Hi Kelly,
Sure, backad is okay, too!
Tracy - Yes, it is limited to 2006!
I agree with Jane Yolen! Some of the best little essays I've ever written appeared anonymously on the flaps and backs of other people's fine books. Learning to write jacket copy was excellent training—those words have to grab people's eyes cleanly and succinctly, yet be authentic in tone and style to what they'll find inside.
earthiegirl,
My plan was to look at flaps while at work today, but it was too busy. However just thought of a book I read this yr Hellbent by Anthony McGowan. Had it as a staff pick,it sold out.
My first nomination for the Flappies Hellbent
Okay, I'm officially nominating Octavian Nothing for a Flappie, because I read the flaps last night in the bookstore and I thought they were A+. (I haven't read the book yet, so this is coming from a purely flap-loving place.) The book is big and somewhat daunting looking, but the flaps still manage to make it sound fun and cool. Of course, I don't have the flaps in front of me at the moment, so I cannot quote from them, but they were good, I swear.
Since backad is okay, I nominate MANGA CLAUS: The Blade of Kringle.
1. Being a graphic novel/manga, this one includes artwork. The backad includes a maniacal elf laughing (maniacally, natch), a ninja teddy bear and a ninja robot.
2. The copy itself reads like a TV voice-over, and almost demands theme music (but alas, there is none).
3. Funny, funny stuff, concluding as follows: Santa's blades are swift and his bujitsu unmatched, but will they be enough to save Christmas?
my official nominee is THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS. i love how the flap tells yout that it's not going to tell you what the book's about, but then gives a great hook: if you choose to read it, you'll go on a journey with a boy and meet up with a wall. unfortunately here is where my memory fails me, but the writer of this awesome flap says something powerful about walls and by then you just want to run and buy the book and read the whole thing that very day. which i think is exactly what a flap copy should do!
earthiegirl,
Why is it when you're looking for something you can't find it? It's that whole remember your umbrella and it doesn't rain thing. Anyhow when I stopped looking for flappies nominations I came upon OPHELIA by Lisa Klein. First I was drawn to read the flap by the excellent cover. The flap tells you what the books about without giving away too much. Its mysterious and intriguing. Before I turned to the first page I was already hooked thanks to the cover and of course the wonderful wonderful Flap.
Daphne have you read Boys in the Striped Pajamas? I have it but afraid to start it b/c I think its going to be very sad?
Hi Earthie Girl,
I actually haven't read it yet and for the very same reason- I think it's going to be a hard though really good read, and I feel like i need to be in the right mood for it. My plan is to start in once the holiday stress ends. Let me know what you think if you get to it first!
Daphne
I nominate I'd Tell You I'd Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter, because it is humorous and accurate. I like when flaps are accurate and loathe when they are not!
I too nominate "boy in the striped pajamas". I read it because of the flap, and have since showed the flap to 5 people, and all have gone on to read the book. Of course it's sad, but it grabs you and you just have to see how it ends. It's a fast read.
I'll nominate the jacket copy for M. T. Anderson's The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen.
Some snippets: "NOTE: No actual glaciers, Aztecs, or snow leopards included in this book. Contents may have settled during shipment.
"M. T. Anderson is seven monkeys, six typewriters, and a Speak & Spell. . . . Their previous books include Adf2yga^vvvv,..."
And the utterly laughable:
"A Junior Library Guild Selection"
I hold Anderson and editor Michael Stearns responsible.
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