Posted on 07/08/2009 7:14:22 PM PDT by STARWISE
Sarah Palin’s sudden announcement that she will resign as Alaska’s governor has thrown unforeseen risk into the already uncertain market for books about her — and by her. Earlier this year, Palin inked a deal with HarperCollins for her memoir, due out in spring 2010.
Washington lawyer Robert B. Barnett helped her secure an advance that has been reported to be several million dollars. The actual sales of her story, however, will depend entirely on how she plays her next hand.
“If she has an eye on 2012, she probably will write a carefully worded, bland policy book that won’t make headlines,” said Bernadette Malone, a former editor at Penguin Books. “If she’s not running for president in 2012, she can write a much more candid book that’s likely to get attention from both the press and the public.
She can explain the real reason she resigned the governorship, and she can talk about how badly she was treated by specific people in the media and the John McCain campaign.”
Almost immediately upon Palin’s entering the scene, interest from publishers ran high. More than 20 titles are available on Amazon.com, though most are published by little-known companies and take a highly partisan tone.
The unusual series of titles range from “Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned the Political Establishment Upside Down” (Tyndale House Publishers) to “TheoPalinism: The Face of Failed Extremism” (Vervante) and “Terminatrix: The Sarah Palin Chronicles” (Collins). Palin has even gotten the comic book treatment; like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and first lady Michelle Obama, Palin is the star of an edition of the “Female Force” series.
At least five more books, including Palin’s own, are in the works. But her name splashed across a book no longer guarantees a hit. “Her resignation will help books about her if they come out soon — and it will hurt her own book, unless she has something up her sleeve,” said Marion Maneker, a former vice president at HarperCollins.
“On the face of it, the resignation is bad for her own book because it takes her out of the political action.”
Palin’s resignation reinforces one of the key reasons that publishers were quick to arrange for books on the subject: Better to strike now, while the iron is hot, than wait to see if she runs for president in 2012.
“The truth about all these books is that you treat the authors like stocks: You want to buy low and sell high, or buy high and sell even higher,” said Malone. “With Palin, you don’t know where her stock is going to be in a few years. So you want to sell now.”
If the Palin memoir lands as planned in spring 2010, and if she runs for president in 2012, she would have a jump-start on the presidential cycle. Books on potential presidential candidates often come out a year before the primaries start.
Even if Palin is not running for president, her book has some assurances of performing well. It will be co-published by Zondervan, the evangelical publishing division of HarperCollins, and distributed in both the general book market and the Christian market, whose sales can routinely trump those of books designed for a broader audience.
Palin will likely remain a lightning rod for years to come, and therefore an attractive subject for publishers. “She is a niche subject. You either passionately dislike her or passionately like her,” said Maneker.
“People don’t buy books for information, people buy books because they have a feeling and the book puts them in touch with that feeling. If you like her and identify with her, you’ll pick up a book that gives you that feeling.”
Palin’s case also stands in contrast to other candidates who lost elections for higher office after spending years in the political spotlight, thus maxing out the public’s interest in their stories.
After the 2000 campaign, Joe Lieberman and his wife, Hadassah, co-wrote “An Amazing Adventure: Joe and Hadassah’s Personal Notes on the 2000 Campaign,” which was published in 2003. Following the 2004 campaign, there was “The Candidate: Behind John Kerry’s Remarkable Run for the White House,” by Paul Alexander. Neither created much buzz.
Palin’s loss, however, potentially set her up for greater prospects, and the combination of her bright future plus the recent success of conservative books gave publishers reason enough to move quickly. Books by Mark Levin, Glenn Beck, Bernard Goldberg, Bill O’Reilly and Newt Gingrich have been holding steady spots on The New York Times best-seller list. “There is a hunger in the conservative marketplace for some clarity and for leaders who are speaking out,” said Marji Ross, president and publisher of Regnery Publishing, which has released a number of conservative titles.
As for the books written about Palin, political biographers will be facing stiff competition for readers with her own book looming large. But depending on what kind of book Palin writes, behind-the-scenes information on the governor and her whirlwind campaign could find success.
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Her book will sell out before it even hits the shelves. The second she announces her book tour it will be insane, I hope when the book is released, she comes to The Grove in Los Angeles, that way I can go and meet her, would be a dream come true. I’d be first in line to get my book signed and meet this wonderful human being
You’re so right ... and I can’t wait to
hear about you meeting her. I’m betting
you will .......... ;)
Hmm...Ms. Malone doesn't know Sarah Palin very well, does she? ROTFLMAO!
I’m in for at least two copies. I will get one of my own and another for my brother. I will camp out in the ice and snow to get them autographed but will buy in any case. Sarah goes at least 1.2 million copies is my prediction.
I’d be so tongue tied, I’d probably start babbling like an idiot LOL
She said “politically, if I die, I die”. These people are clueless. She’s gonna say whatever she wants in that book, 2012 plans or not.
She is the only person I would wait in line for to sign a book.
I love the way the libtards are obsessing that she is writing a book and will make MONEY.
Nary a word when dozens of Dems did the same, including both Clintons when they wrote the world’s first husband and wife fictional autobiographies.
Even Obama’s worthless “Who’s My Daddy” tome made him a ton of money.
The libtards don;t realize that the incessant Sarah bashing will ricochet against them soon. People are wondering, if she’s is stupid, why are libtards obsessing over her?
Because they are libtards. Pass the popcorn.
Do they seriously expect anyone to believe that her book sales are going to be hurt?? What a joke!
It will be on a second printing just from the pre-orders
Gimme a break. I’d read her book. Let’s compare her sales to say, those of Pelosi. I don’t think there’s a contest.
Go Sarah!!!
She doesn’t rent space in the libs heads, she OWNS that space.
Well, I’m certainly in! I mean, come on, that unreadable piece of drek by She Who Must Not Be Named was a best-seller, f’Petessake.
Her books will still sell like breaded fried babies when Michael Moore is in town.
LOL .... assumed their brain is already
their property; then again .....
Haven’t a clue.
Without a doubt.
Joe Biden can’t even get 100 people to show up to see him, Sarah can cough and get 20,000 to show up to watch her do it. Libs just can’t stand the fact that Sarah is POPULAR and refuses to kiss Obama’s marxist ass
Yep. She's inside their loop. Every one of them getting it wrong. Truly an entertaining spectacle.
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