Look at this article about the Book of the Month feature on Daisy Sampson’s drive-time show on LBC:

The £10,000 book of the month

I think that is highly misleading. It is no more than an advert, and that should be made clear to the listeners. This is the trouble with all of these book clubs that are springing up, the publishers see them as an easy way of marketing without having to get off their arses. Didn't Oprah stop her book club cos she got so much hassle to read certain books!!!

That's just not cricket! What is wrong with these people?

I seem to have read this somewhere else! hhmm....

hehe

What I find so appalling about this is the attitude of the radio station and the marketing company concerned. You are lying if you say, 'we're selecting the best books to recommend to you' if in fact the only consideration is the amount of money the publisher is prepared to pay. Now it's no surprise that marketers lie, but this sort of thing is at the very least, misprepresentation.

Cas

It doesn't surprise me in the least. Hidden near the bottom of the article is this titbit:

W H Smith doesn’t promote the fact that their book of the month is paid for.

I remember my disillusionment when I first heard that. And when my editor told me the open secret that those "3 for 2" offers and window displays and reductions and table displays at the front of the bookshops are all paid for by publishers.

The whole industry is sick and I just don't understand why it is allowed to continue.

Sharon

"The whole industry is sick and I just don't understand why it is allowed to continue."

It's time for "THE REGULATOR" (starring Vin Diesel) ... but seriously, it's the deregulated market, and there aint nothing we can do.

Unless we saddle up that ol' vigilante possee and ride down Oxford Street shooting out the windows of Waterstone's (for a start ... then we could move on to Tesco at Beckton...)

Or is there some other mode of resistance? I know, I'll write to my MP.

Joe

Righto. Might as well whistle up a cat's ass...

Is it time we called for Fairtrade for writers?

Dee

That's a really good idea, Dee!

It's the same with film and music too. My brother just started working as a manager for Blockcuster video and their rental chart is completely made up! So no doubt they're paid to put certain films at number 1!

Cath

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Whoops, hope my surname isn't still coming up in Google in case the Bigwigs get their heavies on me for giving that away....