Simpson Book Cancelled

A few days ago I was listening to the radio and they had booksellers on getting their take on this. One of the people they had was someone who runs a small independent chain of bookstores(hmm can you have an independent chain of bookstores? There are three stores in three cities...). According to him, they were told the name of the book and that it was expected to be big but they wouldn't tell them who it was by or what it was about. He had seen this happen before with one of the tell-all Diana books and turned it down. It really doesn't fit in with his store's inventory anyway, which focuses mainly on British books.

I wonder what *will* happen to Regan. And I wonder how many other publishers would have turned down this book if it was offered to them first.

Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.wordpress.com/ ), Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.wordpress.com/ ), and Sassymonkey Eats ( http://sassymonkeyeats.wordpress.com/ )

This was about money, that's true, but it was also about long-term damage to a brand. Any company rolling the dice on a product might be prepared to take a hit if the product flops. But the overall damage to the Fox and other media property brands, which evidently they didn't anticipate, is probably what made them pull the plug.

I have a feeling the reason they gave the project the green light in the first place is that they were thinking that (a) we were far enough removed from the entire incident for it to be much less incendiary, while (b) we were far enough removed from the whole thing for people's rubbernecking instincts to kick in.

According to the Washington Post ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic... ), the books will be pulped.

In justice to the booksellers, it sounded like a lot of them weren't thinking about offending their customers so much as they were thinking the book itself was just beyond their own personal barf bag threshhold. In the interests of free speech and customer service, a lot of them were saying they'd special order it in response to customer requests but that they wouldn't stock it.

This, also from the Post article, I thought was interesting:

Among the questions being asked in the publishing world after yesterday's announcement: Who owns the book now? Will Simpson still be paid? And what will happen now to Regan, whom many in the industry condemn for what they consider bottom-feeding instincts while grudgingly admiring her audacity?

"They finally convicted John Gotti and they finally took a book away from Judith Regan," the HarperCollins executive said. (emphasis mine)

Looking at the whole thing from a business point of view, it's gotta be one of the stupidest episodes I've ever seen.

Cheers!
Dawn

Dawn Rivers Baker writes The Journal Blog ( http://www.microenterprisejournal.com/JournalBlog/ )
- where business and politics meet the mind of a wise-ass

My first reaction is just relief and disbelief that public outcry was a strong enough force to prevent the publication of a book that was already so far in production. Then I realize that, as usual, it's all about the bottom line and all the companies involved are saying is that they'd rather take a few million dollar bath on this one book than risk losing customers and more money from their other products, but I guess that's how ethics in capitalism work. Either way, I'm happy that it will never see the light of day.

Monkee
www.monkee.typepad.com ( http://www.monkee.typepad.com )

While I found the book's concept insanely offensive, I am disappointed that it was canceled. I wanted to see it fail miserably in the "marketplace of ideas" on its own merits. I suppose the other marketplace spoke first, as Elisa said.

I also wonder what will happen to Judith Regan as a result of this debacle. A good reminder, at the least, that just because a woman is in charge of something does not mean good judgement is automatically exercised.

Suzanne ( http://www.blogher.com/member/suzanne ), BlogHer Contributing Editor - Feminsim & Gender ( http://www.blogher.com/topic/feminism-gender )
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS)& Other Rants ( http://cussandotherrants.com/ )

This is the best news I've heard since the election results.

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen ( http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com )

As per my comment ( http://www.blogher.com/node/12665#comment-12060 ) on the post I wrote about this earlier, it's all about the $$$. If they weren't going to be able to make any, it wasn't worth doing.

Elisa Camahort
BlogHer and Worker Bees
elisa@blogher.org/elisa@workerbees.biz

I'm wondering what they are going to do with all the copies of book that they've already printed

I shudder to think of someone salivating over what they could get on eBay for one.

Five Dollar Camera ( http://www.fivedollarcamera.com/blog/ )

I couldn't be happier.

Christina
a blogging blogger with a blog
this is that blog ( http://blog.reddirtroad.ca/ )

"After much public outcry the publication of OJ Simpson's If I Did It has been canceled."

Fantastic.

Melinda
Blog: Sour Duck ( http://sourduck.blogspot.com/ )