Publisher Jonathan Karp uncorked a word that he once was told to never, ever — ever — invoke near an author: mulch. As in turning those unsold books into mulch, shredder fodder, to sleep with the leaves.

He now believes the term should be used, and implemented, often in this day of what he calls the “disposable book.” He’s writing about books that are put to press without the thorough research and editing that used to be the norm. Now, instead of two years or more between books, the norm for most active authors is a book a year, fiction or nonfiction, Karp laments.

And, he says, far too many books are published for the quick sale.
“I too have sinned. In weaker moments, I’ve been seduced by tales of celebrity, money, gossip and scandal. Among my crimes: I volunteered to edit a White House memoir by a self-serving egomaniac because I wanted to learn about presidential politics. (Hint: The author’s name was Dick Morris.) I worked on a book by Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega because we thought he might be able to provide an illuminating perspective on how the United States wields power in Latin America. And, in an effort to bolster the company’s bottom line, I acquired and edited an inspirational autobiography by the pop singer Clay Aiken, written and published in about four months. (For the record, Noriega was a lot more pleasant to deal with than Aiken.)”

To read the article, CLICK HERE.

I ran across an interesting tidbit while rifling through various releases, newsletters, announcements, etc. It was a new (re-)release of a John McCain book, Citizen McCain. It stated, rather vaguely, I thought, that it was released May 2008. Typically they’ll give the specific date of publication, usually a Tuesday. Why is that? I’m sure there’s a standard answer that I’m just too dumb to know.

I digress. So I poked around, Googled it (God bless Google), read some reviews and discerned that this is a re-issue of a 2002 book. Which explains why it focused so much on campaign reform legislation and 9/11. I looked again, and the cover does add “new introduction by the author.” Still, it’s clear that the publisher (Simon and Schuster) was hoping to impress the would-be buyer that this is new stuff.

Then I ran into an even more-interesting item that had escaped my ever-vigilant radar (he writes, facetiously): John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone, which technically is not in the United States. Which, technically, could be viewed as making him ineligible to be president by constitutional rule. It seems to have only been noticed in Washington. I’m surprised there isn’t more buzz in the Conspiracy Theory Asylum. Apparently, his birth was not posted in public records (although there is a birth certificate) and his parents never filed the official paperwork supposedly required to affirm U.S. citizenship for a child born to U.S. citizens overseas. McCain’s father was serving in the military at the time. So, conspiracy theorists, who’s the blame for this fiasco if McCain is found ineligible? The Dems? The right-wingers? Both? (Wouldn’t that be something?)

The Senate passed a unanimous statement affirming McCain a U.S. citizen. Except it’s nonbinding. Chances are it’ll end up a big nothing.

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Dave Wilson is the Grand Pooh-Bah of Editorial Content at DelMio.com, a site developed by SunLit Communications LLC. He also is at times janitor, chauffeur, chief cook and bottle washer. Once upon a time he was a metro editor and copy editor at the Akron Beacon Journal. Send love letters and trash talk to dave.wilson@delmio.com. Or post a comment. Whatever.

Citizen McCain, first published in 2002, is back for another run in this election year. Spiffed up with a new cover and “A new introduction by the author,” Elizabeth Drew, the book recounts McCain’s fight to push election reform through Congress in 2001, then making many high-profile appearances in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
Some reviewers found the account of the various events surrounding the reform fight tedious and they thought Drew fawned a bit too much over the senator. (One reviewer mocked him as being kind to small children and puppy dogs.) Others were impressed with his maverick “can-do” attitude and desire for “change” (sound familiar?) in how Washington does business.

Folks who want a close-up look at how McCain built coalitions (seven years ago, anyway) can get it with Citizen McCain.

Citizen McCain, ISBN 9781416593171, is available in stores and online.

To learn more, CLICK HERE.

BONUS: John McCain’s citizenship, eligibility for presidency challenged. (Conspiracy theorists: Enjoy)

To buy, CLICK HERE.