I have a lot of blogging acquaintances who are writers. Some do it for fun; for others it's quite a serious undertaking. I wonder how frustrated they are when they see the likes of Joe the Plumber getting a book deal. It seems to me to be quite a slap in the face for serious, talented penmen.Now I learn that former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has inked a six figure book deal with the intent of exposing the "dark side of politics"! The reason I wonder about Oprah is because of her history of promoting books as non-fiction which are not. I am guessing Mr. Blago's book will be much the same.
After all why would he go to a "maverick" publisher? The rationale is that he can be more forthcoming than might be the case with a major publisher. I don't know. Oprah's authors had pretty good publishing houses behind them. It's just that the editors were far to busy to have the "facts" checked.
I'm really picking on Oprah unfairly. She's been burned often enough, I doubt she'll allow it to happen again. What I do worry about, though, is what Blago will say about any and everybody he feels has wronged him. They may have to spend years trying to disprove the written word.
That being a possibility, I wish Mr. Blagojevich the same success that Joe the Plumber met at his first book signing. Six in attendance and five books sold.
As for those of you reading this who are writers, apparently the road to success in the publishing business is to be a complete idiot or a crook. Talent? What's that?
4 comments:
Whats that? It is a sad commentary on the dumbing down of our society, as well as the prurient portions of said society, who can't seem to keep their minds out of the dirt. It is the famous "10 minutes of fame" for all the wrong reasons. CU
I certainly will not be buying his book.
It looks like Illinois may have two governors at the same time making license plates and one writing a book at night. I mean to say: "What a country, huh?"
I don't see anything book worthy in anything Blago has to say. As an aspiring novelist who has sought a literary agent for four years, it has been difficult to see people like Sarah Palin, Joe the Plumber, and Jenna Bush get book deals.
I was in the bookstore today and in the politics section, I saw a display of Ann Coulter's books and it was odd to see them stacked next to each other. She basically recycles the same thing in book after book: provocative title that bashes liberals for something or other, and a photo of her on the cover. I have no idea who would keep buying her books, because it seems like all she does is change the cover and title, the rest is the same old garbage.
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