Tag Archives: Simon & Schuster

Why isn’t Simon & Schuster doing more to promote Paterno book on its site? Posnanski not listed for any appearances

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Perhaps I’m reading too much into this, but I find it interesting that Simon & Schuster is doing minimal promotion on its site for Joe Posnanski’s Paterno book.

All that really exists is a separate page about the book. You have to do a search to find it on the site.

There is no mention of Paterno on Simon & Schuster’s home page. Curious, but maybe that’s because the book hasn’t been released?

Then I saw a tab for “Coming Soon.” Certainly, Paterno would be mentioned there, considering the book is coming out Tuesday.

However, under the “Coming Soon” highlights for Aug. 21, there were three books being promoted under non-fiction. None of them were named Paterno.

Simon & Schuster might have its reasons for not doing more to promote Paterno. I don’t know for sure because I’m still waiting to receive a return phone call from the book’s publicist.

However, it certainly seems strange, doesn’t it? This is a highly-anticipated book in which the high-profile author received a huge advance (reportedly in the $750,000 range). You usually pound the drum pretty hard for these kind of projects.

If the Sandusky crimes never happened, and the book was indeed about the legendary life of a beloved college coach as was first intended, I would imagine Paterno would be splashed all over the Simon & Schuster site.

Indeed, you could tell the publisher initially had big hopes for Paterno with this opening line to the blurb.

Joe Posnanski’s biography of the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno follows in the tradition of works by Richard Ben Cramer on Joe DiMaggio and David Maraniss on Vince Lombardi.

All the ingredients were there for a bestseller, but it didn’t turn out that way. Instead, Simon & Schuster now is looking at a controversial book that could get panned big time. The backlash against Paterno is severe.

My local bookstore owner doesn’t have high expectations for the book. “Nobody wants to read about Paterno,” the owner said.

By going low-key on the site, it certainly seems as if Simon & Schuster is hedging its bets on Paterno. Perhaps, the publisher doesn’t want to get too far out in front if the book turns out to be a bust.

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Here’s another interesting twist. Simon & Schuster has an alphabetical listing for upcoming author appearances. For instance, Nick Faldo is going to be at a bookstore in New Jersey on Nov. 14.

One name is conspicuously absent from the list. You guess it: Joe Posnanski.

In July, a New York Times story quoted a representative of the Philadelphia library, where Posnanski was supposed to appear, as saying Simon & Schuster decided to hold off on a tour.

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Actor Joe Mantegna is the reader for the audio version of the book. He’s an avid sports fan and a long-time Cubs sufferer. It would be interesting to get his view of the book.

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I have said several times that I am a big admirer of Posnanski’s work. If anyone can pull this off, it would be him. For his sake, I hope he does.

I guess we’ll know more on Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posnanski video promo for new Paterno book now seems off base; ‘Humanitarian’?

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The countdown is on for the most anticipated sports book of the year: Joe Posnanski’s biography Paterno.

Published by Simon & Schuster, the 416-page book is due out on Aug. 21. The former Sports Illustrated writer spent a year in State College with the initial intention of trying to encapsulate the coach’s life and career.

Then of course, it all blew up last November. Then it even exploded more last week.

Here a video preview Posnanski did for the book prior to the news of the Freeh Commission. It now seems terribly outdated, doesn’t it?

The video has a graphic with a header that reads: “Joe Paterno: Educator. Coach. Humanitarian.”

I’ve heard Paterno called many things in the past week, but “humanitarian” isn’t one of them. There’s also a picture of the statue that many people now want to tear down.

In the video, Posnanski acknowledges the scandal and says, “I hope to get somewhere closer to the truth.”

Yet I wonder how people will accept Posnanski’s version of the truth? Consider the following statement on the video:

He was a fascinating, deep, not flawless, but generally decent person who tried to do a lot in his life…To me, the one thing Joe Paterno stood for was making an impact. An impact in people’s lives, an impact on community, an impact on a college. That’s what is most significant about him.

Keep in mind, this video with Posnanski was released before the Freeh Commission came out last week. However, you have to think with a publish date coming up in five weeks, this book is mostly in the can. I’m sure Posnanski will have some quick reaction to the Freeh Report, but I doubt it will change the scope of the entire book.

From listening to Posnanski’s interview, it certainly appears as if the book will have a somewhat sympathetic tone towards Paterno. He spent considerable time with the coach and was there with the family when he died in January. Definitely bonds were formed.

Simon & Schuster’s preview of the book concludes with this positive theme:

Written with unprecedented access, Paterno gets inside the mind of one of America’s most brilliant and charismatic coaches.

Considering the outrage against Paterno, I don’t think people are in the mood to read about a “brilliant and charismatic” coach, about lessons taught to his players by the great teacher. An impact? Let’s talk about the impact Paterno’s actions had on the lives of the young boys who were subjected to the horrors of Jerry Sandusky.

People are so angry, all the records and other good deeds seem so insignificant right now.

Posnanski has a popular blog. His last entry came Tuesday from the All-Star Game. He didn’t write about post about the Freeh Commission. His only comment was a tweet:

I dedicated myself to write the most honest book I could about Joe Paterno. Everything I have to say about his life is in it.

Posnanski is a terrific writer, and he may pull off this high wire act in his book. However, if I’m Posnanski and Simon & Schuster, I would update that promo video.