Tuesday, November 18, 2008

$7million book deal for Ms Palin??

The internet is abuzz with news that US Vice Presidential wannabe Sarah Palin, she of the alleged book banning fame, is in line to score a US$7 book writing deal.

I'm agog for two reasons. One - the staggering amount of money that is being bandied around by the chasing publishing pack, and Two - that anyone would actually want to read a book about this clueless, dangerously right wing sycophant. I can't think of a single thing this woman would have to say that I would be interested in. What about you?

In case you haven't read it, here's the story from stuff.co.nz


Palin no loser with '$12m book deal' SMH | Monday, 17 November 2008

She won't be the US Vice President but Sarah Palin stands to cash in on her tilt for high office, with multi-million contracts for books and talk show appearances expected to come her way.

Literary agents were queuing up to sign Palin to a book deal that could earn her up to $US7 million, The Times newspaper reported.

The recent election campaign was sure to result in hundreds of books by journalists and politicians, but "Palin's personal account of her tumultuous introduction to national politics" would be the most lucrative story, it said.

"Every publisher and a lot of literary agents have been going after her," said Jeff Klein of Folio Literary management.

"She's poised to make a ton of money," public relations expert Howard Rubenstein said.

A spokesman for publisher Random House told the New York Post: "There are several of our imprints who are eager to talk to Governor Palin. She clearly has a constituency and we know books by conservatively-centred politicos usually sell very, very well."

It was not yet known what sort of deals a Palin book could attract, but the contract was sure to be compared to a deal signed by comedian Tina Fey, who played Palin in a series of spoofs on Saturday Night Live, a publishing source told The Post.

"That's an interesting question because everybody will compare what she gets to the book deal Tina Fey reportedly made - $6 million," the source said. "No matter what it is, the betting is she'll sign a deal by the end of the month."

But books weren't Palin's only opportunity to cash-in, with commentary spots on Fox and CNN also a possibility, The Post said.

Linda Mann, of Mann Media, told the paper: "Her buzz is incredible. She has car-wreck appeal. You're compelled to watch, hoping she'll say the dumbest things possible. I'd propose a show combining her love of fashion and lack of brainpower - 'Project Dumbway'."

However, Mr Rubenstein warned Palin against blindly chasing the cash.

"She ought to keep an eye on what her goals are for 2012. If she plays a game and looks foolish, if she sounds like she doesn't know what she's talking about - like saying Africa is a country - she may talk herself out of a political job," he said.

After her well-publicised campaign, Palin was now in a similar position to that of President-elect Barack Obama in 2004, a "mostly unknown Chicago politician" who found himself in the spotlight after "a mesmerising speech to the Democratic convention", his election to the Senate and the launch of his book, 'The Audacity of Hope', The Times said.

Palin was now a likely candidate for the Senate seat representing Alaska, the paper said.

2 comments:

Caffeinated Weka said...

Ooh, how scary. I agree with the car wreck analogy. Sadly, these types of stories make the best sellers.

Andrea Eames said...

Ew, gross. I'm amazed at what manages to get published half the time. (Sour grapes in my case, perhaps!)