Q: How do I get out of writing a blurb for a friend's not-so-good self-published book?—Anonymous

A: Friends are always asking for favors—May I borrow your leaf blower? Will you watch my dog? Do you mind if I tell the police that we were together last Thursday just past midnight?

As a writer, you're susceptible to getting asked writerly favors from writerly friends, and often it puts you in an awkward predicament, just like when a friend asks you to write a blurb for his boring, poorly edited self-published book. You can't just flat-out say no—after all, it's a friend. But you obviously can't offer an endorsement to a book that isn't up to par, either.

What's a writer to do?

Thankfully, I've come up with a foolproof, 100% guaranteed-to-work "Guide to Getting Out of Book Blurbs" which provides five excellent options:

1. Fake an away message. Every time your friend e-mails the request, quickly send a response that says something like, "Thanks for your e-mail. I will be out of the country for an extended period of time and, unfortunately, they don't have the Internet in Zimbabwe." 

2. Explain that you don't believe in book blurbs, but you're willing to take a picture of your hand giving the thumbs up.

3. Ask for outrageous favors in return. "Funny you should call looking for a book blurb, as I'm in a bit of a pickle myself. I need someone to act as a tackling dummy to help train my pet tiger. He keeps gnawing off arms. You free Friday?"

4. Offer to write it, but only under your pseudonym: Don Rita Thisbook.

5. Break your hand. (Just seeing how far you will go to get out of this—and if it's come down to option #5, that book must be bad.)

Of course, I hope you know I am kidding.

In all seriousness, the best way to politely turn down a friend's request for a book blurb on a not-so-good book is to be honest. Tell them you appreciate the thought, but you're uncomfortable being put in that situation. If they persist, explain your reservations about the book as nicely as you can. They shouldn't get mad. After all, if you had a friend who was an accountant and you asked him to sign off on your self-prepared tax return, he wouldn't do so unless he was comfortable with the numbers. You're a professional, too. Be sure to be treated like one.

But I suggest getting your leaf blower back first. 

(Happy April Fools' Day!)

Brian A. Klems is the online managing editor of Writer’s Digest magazine.

Have a question for me? Feel free to post it in the comments section below or e-mail me at WritersDig@fwpubs.com with “Q&Q” in the subject line. Come back each Tuesday as I try to give you more insight into the writing life.

Q: I'm a magazine feature writer and one of my editors changed a statistic in my story that I had attributed to Wikipedia. She maintains Wikipedia is an inaccurate source.  However, if I attribute my facts properly, does she have a right to alter my statistic?— Lynn M.

A: If editors feel uncomfortable with an article's contents, they most certainly can (and should) make changes and alterations. They're supposed to vet and fact-check the information. It's part of the job.

It's important to remember that attribution isn't meant as a safety net for reporting false facts. The point of attributing information to a source is two-fold: 1) to give credit where credit is due and 2) to give validity to the information, showing it's coming from reputable person (or organization). If your source isn't reputable, your article isn't.

This brings me to Wikipedia. As journalists, we love the site because it offers an excellent starting point to our research (underline, bold, highlight and draw squiggles around the words "starting point"). With a few clicks, you can find leads on nearly anything, along with links to better articles on each subject. But you can't trust Wikipedia. It can be updated and edited by anyone; that's right, anyone—you, me, that neighbor down the street who everyone describes as "sketchy." There's no real due diligence involved to guarantee accuracy and, as a journalist, you can't accept inaccuracy.

Again, that doesn't mean that the site isn't useful. Hell, I probably check it several times a day (one can never know enough about the Back to the Future trilogy). Just use it as a starting point to find more reliable sources. Your editors (and audience) will thank you for it.

Brian A. Klems is the online managing editor of Writer’s Digest magazine.

Have a question for me? Feel free to post it in the comments section below or e-mail me at WritersDig@fwpubs.com with “Q&Q” in the subject line. Come back each Tuesday as I try to give you more insight into the writing life.