Word of mouth is a powerful thing. It can spread like wildfire. If you're like me, when you heard about the cartoons that are offending the Muslim world, you wanted to see them - to decide for yourself, of course. I haven't seen any, though, because no one wants to print them.
Looking at the NY Times Bestseller List, I see that James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces" is No. 2 on the Paperback "Nonfiction" list. Apparently calling it nonfiction is a stretch. The author's poetic license was stretched to its limits. Apparently the truth was stretched beyond recognition. To give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe the drugs have fried his brain and altered his reality. That could also explain his choppy, incoherent writing style.
The break that launched Frey's book into popularity in the first place was being named as an Oprah's Book Club selection. That's instant bestseller right there. Even better, though, someone questioned the authenticity of a few of Frey's stories. Then came the Larry King interview and then the face to face confrontation with Oprah. You couldn't plan a publicity stunt better than that.
So if you ever write a book, direct a play or produce a movie, take my advice... start a few rumors about yourself or your production. Make sure they're juicy.
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