Bob Woodward's third book about Bush and the war in Iraq, State of Denial, was making news a couple of weeks ago. The headlines were not about Woodward's writing, nor were they about his anonymous sources, they were about Simon & Shuster, the publisher, being 'scooped' by details on the new book being leaked ahead of the company's planned promotional release. The New York Times reported the action, which broke some embargoes.
Simon & Shuster had to move up the release date, allowing bookstores to stock shelves ahead of schedule. The publisher treated the situation as a change in plans and said that bookstores that broke the embargo violated a principle. When is breaking an embargo a serious offense?
Controlling information during book roll-outs "doesn't work anymore."
Is rolling with the punches the best we can do? Asks PR News
Is it?
Could publishers work with influencers -- the traditional media and the bloggers -- to time book releases?
What are your thoughts?
Woodward was in Philadelphia at the World Affairs Council for a public Q&A with Inquirer editor Amanda Bennett.