The Daily Beast announced yesterday its intentions to enter the book publishing realm, an effort that will harness its stable of writers and extrapolate on already-published news pieces. The plan is to cut the normal publishing process down — writers are expected to turn around a book in 1-3 months, all for a low 5-figure advance. The finished product will initially be published in e-book form, to be printed later.
Why is this important? There’s currently a gap in publishing which The Beast hopes to capitalize on. Their books will cover matters of a more timely nature, in doing so filling a void between today’s news and next year’s all-encompassing compendium on a given subject.
The trend isn’t new — storied publishers (no pun intended), for example, rush books to print when a president is elected or an important figure like Michael Jackson dies.
Interestingly, Sarah Palin’s memoir “Going Rogue: An American Life” is finished way ahead of schedule. The 150 400 pager wasn’t expected to be published until next spring, but Palin has it ready to go and 1.5 million copies will be waiting for you on November 17.
Also, The New York Times used to be filled with drunks. Go figs.
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