A brilliant book-marketing strategy Get two ideological, egotistical authors together at a book forum, and let them yell at each other and call each other names.
Talking head/commentator/conservative Bill O'Reilly and alleged humorist Al Franken, an unabashed liberal, both have books coming out in September. So someone got the brilliant idea of getting the two ideologues together for a little book chat at Book-Expo America. It is, USA Today reports, an annual convention for booksellers and publishers where authors are not known for shouting insults at each other.
All that may change, however, after O'Reilly and Franken's verbal sparring Sunday. After Franken droned on for 35 minutes -- well beyond his 15-minute allotment -- he attempted to interrupt O'Reilly, which, as anyone who's ever watched "The O'Reilly Factor" knows, is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. O'Reilly shouted Franken down, then called him an idiot.
I wonder if I could sell more books by picking a fight with another author. Any takers? You want a piece of this? If so, leave a comment. Make it mean and nasty (but please, keep it clean; this is a family blog). Call me a name (but, again, please keep it clean). Get my dander up. I dare you.