I’ve never heard of Paul McKenna, but, as of Monday, he’s become the highest paid nonfiction writer in Britain, thanks to a £3m advance (~$5.6m) from Transworld publishers.
In the past year, “celebrity hypnotist” McKenna’s “street value has rocketed,” the Independent reports; his lifestyle guide Change Your Life in Seven Days sold 400,000 copies, and its sequel, I Can Make You Thin, 350,000. “Publishing sources reckon his new books will follow a similar format, and deal with four new areas: confidence, intelligence, wealth and quitting smoking.” But, apparently, when it comes to Paul McKenna’s brand of hypnotism, the real trick to be learned is how to do it. Whether or not McKenna knows how to help you quit smoking-while-losing-weight-while-making-millions-while-cumming, he knows how to get publishers to think you think he does (or, at least, might), which means he’s either a) a very smart fraud, or b) doing something right.