3 ms·

Semi-troll, semi-serious question. What keeps people from getting blurbs from people with common names that also belong to famous authors--such as Stephen King

by 21723 4y ago

Semi-troll, semi-serious question. What keeps people from getting blurbs from people with common names that also belong to famous authors--such as Stephen King? I can't imagine it's illegal to get a blurb from Stephen A. King, schoolteacher in Idaho, and use it sans middle initial. So why aren't more people doing it? It may be Saul Goodman-esque, but if blurbs actually drive sales, it makes sense.

not2b 4y ago
Except that when you're found out (generic "you", not the author of the comment), you are disgraced: everyone soon knows that you're a fraud. And social media will expose this kind of fraud very quickly. Doesn't matter if it's legal: the Internet then identifies you as the idiot who tried to pass off a schoolteacher in Idaho as the famous Stephen King. That will tank a career.
- 21723 4y ago
  Yeah, it'd be a bad look for a self-publisher, but it seems like traditional publishing has enough indirection that it could work... and compared to the sausage-making that drives "book buzz" it's relatively mild.
  - not2b 4y ago
    For traditional publishing the publisher is a suit magnet; Stephen King's lawyers would have a field day. Bette Midler won big damages against Ford when they asked her to endorse a product, she turned them down, so they hired an impersonator: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-03-24-ca-4461-story.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-03-24-ca-4461-s... You really don't want to try this kind of fakery, it could be costly if you have assets to go after.
  - DiggyJohnson 4y ago
    I don't think misrepresenting others and premeditated lying for personal gain are at all "relatively mild". Just because the scope of the lie is relatively small and unlikely to cause significant damages, doesn't do enough to counter the extreme brazenness and tastelessness of this.
ipaddr 4y ago
Usually books include a bit about the author.

by 21723 4y ago

not2b 4y ago

Except that when you're found out (generic "you", not the author of the comment), you are disgraced: everyone soon knows that you're a fraud. And social media will expose this kind of fraud very quickly. Doesn't matter if it's legal: the Internet then identifies you as the idiot who tried to pass off a schoolteacher in Idaho as the famous Stephen King. That will tank a career.

21723 4y ago
Yeah, it'd be a bad look for a self-publisher, but it seems like traditional publishing has enough indirection that it could work... and compared to the sausage-making that drives "book buzz" it's relatively mild.
- not2b 4y ago
  For traditional publishing the publisher is a suit magnet; Stephen King's lawyers would have a field day. Bette Midler won big damages against Ford when they asked her to endorse a product, she turned them down, so they hired an impersonator: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-03-24-ca-4461-story.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-03-24-ca-4461-s... You really don't want to try this kind of fakery, it could be costly if you have assets to go after.
- DiggyJohnson 4y ago
  I don't think misrepresenting others and premeditated lying for personal gain are at all "relatively mild". Just because the scope of the lie is relatively small and unlikely to cause significant damages, doesn't do enough to counter the extreme brazenness and tastelessness of this.

ipaddr 4y ago

Usually books include a bit about the author.