How to Get Published
Necessity is the mother of invention, and mothers by needs must be inventive.
USA today has a story about
Kathleen McGowan, who claims she is descended from Jesus and Mary Magdelene. She wrote downher "visions" of their marriage and just got a book deal from Simon & Schuster with a print run of 250,000.
McGowan self-published the book last year and sold 2500 copies. She's a seasoned journalist who also worked for years in Hollywood with three boys to support. Her editor and agent claim to believe her story, really they do, honest, they're so not joking!
I
love the literary hoax and this looks like a swell one. The con is a partnership. The con artist is nothing without collaborators and marks who willingly, happily believe that which is incredible.
Another great recent hoax was from
Laura Albert, a middle-aged woman who had never had the success she wanted. Albert, also a mother with a mother's bills and concerns, created the persona of teenage-hooker-junkie-author
J.T. Leroy and took the literary world by storm.
You rock, McGowan, and I hope this scam pays for your children's bills through college. I raise a toast to the mothers who do what they can to take care of their children.
Since I, too, am a mother, my next book will be an autobiographical tale of my conversations with the spirit of an Aztec ruler who leads me in intergalatic travel. It's a deeply spiritual adventure, tentatively titled
Are We There Yet?How far would you go to sell your writing?