Why didn’t I (and thousands of other struggling authors) think of this? You can sell way more books if you form a political action committee. Take the money donated to the PAC and buy copies of your own book. Instant sales! And it’s not even illegal!
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin used $63,000 donated to Sarah PAC (presumably to aid campaigns and causes that agree with her political bent) to buy thousands of copies of her widely panned book, “Going Rogue.” The PAC says the copies were given away to people who donated $100 or more to the political action committee during a particular time period.
During the last two months of 2009, the former vice presidential candidate’s PAC also shelled out $8,000 for promotional bookmarks and $20,000 for a photographer and an aide to accompany her on tour.
Most authors, if they go on tour at all, end up paying most or all of the expenses out of their own pockets. Never occurred to me to collect donations to cover the costs. If I could find a bunch of partisan saps who found me appealing enough to hand over “donations” and not care how I spent it, I’d tour every year.
Full story here.
- Well, it’s Groundhog Day again (and again), and Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. Six more weeks of winter. Bah. More here.
- Mercy Medical Center in Redding recently gave more than $111,000 to six community service organizations in Shasta County. Recipients included Empire Recovery Center, Help, Inc., and CareNet Pregnancy Center. Way to go!
- Bill Watterson, who created one of the great comic strips of all time, “Calvin and Hobbes,” has granted a interview for the first time since 1989, and you can read it here. Watterson retired the strip in 1995, after 10 years, but it remains hugely popular.
- Rules for Successful Living #31: Don’t drop the soap.
A journalist since 1975, Steve Brewer is the author of 16 books, most recently the thriller “Cutthroat.” He moved to Redding from New Mexico in 2003.
