One of the things that I’ve noticed in my time in the Amazon Vine program is the idea of the program is to generate buzz for a book that may nor may not sell otherwise.
When Sarah Palin’s book was due out, it was not available in the vine program, Michelle Malkin’s books don’t show up there, nor Glenn Beck or even Ann Coulter’s, the more established the personality and/or author the less the chances their book will be available via Vine.
Yesterday I got my Amazon vine e-mail. I didn’t have a chance to check it out when it first came since my son came home from the hospital that night, but when I did see it I noticed that Keith Olberman’s new book Pitchforks and Torches: The Worst of the Worst, from Beck, Bill, and Bush to Palin and Other Posturing Republicans due out in two months was on it.
Olberman is MSNBC’s headliner, he is on during their 8 p.m. hour. He is one of the loudest voices of the left with the megaphone of a nightly TV show 5 days a week. Yet his book as of this moment is ranked #56,905 in Books a mere places behind The Road to Serfdom Volume 2 of the Collected works of F. A. Hayek
but lets not be unfair here, it is #33 in Books > Nonfiction > Politics > Political Parties lets see what is ahead of it at this hour:
At #30 Conservative comebacks to liberal lies by Gregg Jackson who I have never heard of. It was released a month ago.
At #28 Liberalism is a Mental Disorder: Savage Solutions by Michael Savage released (April 12, 2005) .
At #7 Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda: Paperback edition by Sean Hannity (March 30, 2010)
At #1 & #2 Sits Give us Liberty, a Tea Party Manifesto by Dick Armey that came out Tuesday. The Hardcover is #2 and the Kindle edition is number two, but since it just came out lets finish with an older book
Mark Levin’s Liberty & Tyranny sits at #4 (Hardcover), #5 (Paperback) and #26 (Audiobook) This book came out in MARCH of 2009
None of these books were available to me on vine.
Even funnier is that unless you go down to that 4th level He doesn’t even show up, go up one level to Politics instead of political parties and Hayek is #3 & 53, Laura Ingram is #6 & 29, The Federalist papers are #13, Tea Party Manifesto is #14 & 50, Glenn Beck has books at #21 & 96, Malkin is at #22, mark Levin is at #96 and Pam Geller’s new book is #75, it was NOT available on Vine.
Pam is a spectacular woman and an American treasure, but she is nowhere near as well known as Olberman, yet his book is on Vine and her’s is not. Her book is at #2,516 a mere 54,299 spots ahead of Olby.
Maybe MSNBC should consider hiring Pam instead.
Bazinga!
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I have also noticed Phillip Pulman’s book The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ on Vine month after month.
There have been a few like that. It comes in handy when there is nothing that appeals to you.
There are likely a lot of lemons on that list hoping to become lemonade.
There is a particular volume that I ordered on Vine 6 months ago that has been so bad that I keep putting off finishing it but I don’t want to review it until it is complete.
Keith who?
huh. so can it really be true that the folks who make the “vine” run are putting politics over profit/satisfying customers? mindboggling.
glad your son’s out of hospital
I don’t think it’s a question of putting politcs over their customers. It’s usually true that if you are trying to get a book have some buzz it will be on vine, particularly if it might generate sales.
The real story is that Olby can’t move his book without giving some away.
And thanks he is doing much better.