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You may wonder how rightist books get on the bestseller lists, especially since most rightists don't read much. One way that this often happens is that a far right multimillionaire will buy thousands of books to get them on the bestseller lists. Some of the bestseller lists are on to that and ignore the mass single buyer purchases or give those books asterisks in their listings.
Well, another method is becoming common in putting books on bestseller lists: offering them free as incentives for joining an extreme right organization or subscribing to an extremist publication. A while back, I wanted to comment on a right blog, so I had to register for Townhall's bullshit emails. It can get annoying, but it gives a really instructive look on the right's noise machine.
Here's an offer I recently received in my email.
Today, former Alaska Governor and Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin released her new book America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag. You can now get this exciting new book FREE with a one year subscription to Townhall Magazine. We have a very limited number of Palin's new book so please order quickly.
Click here to get Sarah Palin's New Book FREE
We expect this offer to break records. Sarah Palin's last book was one of the decades' best sellers and in many areas was difficult to find in bookstores due to such a high demand. We have our hands on a limited number of books and we expect our supply to be depleted QUICKLY. You won't find a better offer anywhere else.
This build's up the subscriber base for a far right publication while lifting the Wasilla Grifter's book up the bestseller charts.
Here are some of my ideas for titles of parody books:
America by Hand: Scribblings on Family, Faith, and ...Uh...I Can't Read That
Alaska by Heart: If You Won't Make Me President, We'll Secede
GOP by the Throat: Reflections on Politicians Kissing My Backside
America by Cash or Credit Card: Reflections on My Net Worth
Sigh.
Photos: cornexo
sloomis08
There's also another way that the whole "Bestseller" can be faked. A number of the rightwing's hot-topic books are published by Regnery Publishing. When you've got a series of Republican sites geared up to sell the book and a Republican publisher linked together you've got endless possibilities for faking the statistics.
I'm not saying the lie outright; the point is that they don't have to do that. They can simply use their own accounting methods in a way otherwise questionable. For example, a Republican group can order 10,000 copies, 9,900 for future delivery on a 180 day payment due schedule. You report the sale of 10,000 to the bestseller lists, then somewhere down the line, the rest of the contract for the undelivered books is quietly killed with nobody the wiser.