Back in the 1990s, Oprah Winfrey was the clear leader when it came to selling books. Her selection of a book into "Oprah's book club" was a virtual guarantee that the book would become a best seller. Oprah had the kind of clout and influence that could take a "no-name" author and make them a household name.
Now that her book club is defunct, I have often wondered, who, if anyone, would have the kind of clout to guarantee a book was a best seller. I think there are a few people out there who could do it. President Obama, obviously. Just like Ronald Reagan made Hunt for Red October an instant best-seller (stay tuned for some future backstory on that one) Obama and Michelle could do the same thing. Rush Limbaugh could obviously do it, too as he has recently with his new book Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims book.
But other than that, I'm not sure who could do it? Trump possibly? O'Reilly? These guys could definitely put a book on the map, but I'm not sure they guarantee best-sellerdom.
That leads me to think that Matt Drudge might have the most clout in terms of selling books. (Note: Jeff Bezos could obviously turn any book into a best-seller by featuring it on his front pages, but that's using a company to do it, not his own social influence.) But if a book goes up on Drudge, he's got so many loyal followers and so much traffic that I think he could do it.
I'm obviously a Drudge fan. I cite the Drudge report two times within Hallways in the Night to underscore the importance of the breaking news stories that take place in the book.
I'm going to actually send this column to his tip box and see if I can hit the literary equivalent of Powerball. If you see this link on Drudge report, that sound you hear will be my shouts of joy towards the heavens.
Now that her book club is defunct, I have often wondered, who, if anyone, would have the kind of clout to guarantee a book was a best seller. I think there are a few people out there who could do it. President Obama, obviously. Just like Ronald Reagan made Hunt for Red October an instant best-seller (stay tuned for some future backstory on that one) Obama and Michelle could do the same thing. Rush Limbaugh could obviously do it, too as he has recently with his new book Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims book.
But other than that, I'm not sure who could do it? Trump possibly? O'Reilly? These guys could definitely put a book on the map, but I'm not sure they guarantee best-sellerdom.
That leads me to think that Matt Drudge might have the most clout in terms of selling books. (Note: Jeff Bezos could obviously turn any book into a best-seller by featuring it on his front pages, but that's using a company to do it, not his own social influence.) But if a book goes up on Drudge, he's got so many loyal followers and so much traffic that I think he could do it.
I'm obviously a Drudge fan. I cite the Drudge report two times within Hallways in the Night to underscore the importance of the breaking news stories that take place in the book.
I'm going to actually send this column to his tip box and see if I can hit the literary equivalent of Powerball. If you see this link on Drudge report, that sound you hear will be my shouts of joy towards the heavens.
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