Publishers are already racing to cash in on the Mueller report when it finally comes out.
Even though it’ll be a public document, they are going to publish it and sell it for almost 10 bucks.
One publisher has already made it a best-seller Amazon:
NY POST – “The Mueller Report” is already a best-seller — even though it may never see the light of day.
A publisher has been pre-selling copies of special counsel Robert Mueller’s anticipated report on the findings of his investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election — and it is rocketing up the Amazon charts.
Skyhorse’s “The Mueller Report: The Final Report of the Special Counsel into Donald Trump, Russia, and Collusion” — with a promised forward by lawyer Alan Dershowitz — is the no. 1 best-seller in Amazon’s political corruption section, and was ranked 188th on the online emporium’s overall best-seller list as of Thursday morning.
But it’s still unclear if the report itself will actually be made public. Mueller must submit his report to Attorney General Bill Barr — but it’s up to the AG to decide how much of that the general public will see.
If there’s no public report and Skyhorse’s book is never be released, those who’ve ponied up $9.40 for the paperback or $7.99 for the Kindle edition won’t be charged, Money reports.
But government reports aren’t copyrighted, so anything that does emerge is fair game for publishers — and Skyhorse isn’t the only one looking to cash in.
Publishing imprint Scribner has also teamed up with the Washington Post on a speculative edition of Mueller’s report, which promises “accompanying analysis by the Post reporters who’ve covered the story from the beginning.”
“We will publish in full whatever is made public,” Scribner told Publishers Weekly. “We will then expect to release an e-book within 2-3 days and a paperback edition within 5-8 days.”
The Scribner version was only ranked 1,394th on Amazon’s best-seller chart Thursday.
I guess this shouldn’t really be surprising with the way the media has been obsessing about Mueller’s investigation.
Every time something happens – even something minor – it’s mega news for the next two or three days, with Democrats hoping that there will finally be something impeachment-worthy.
It’s probably smart that these publishers are getting people to commit to buying it before everyone figures out that it’ll be a dud, at least as far as Trump is concerned.