winfrey vs. frey/talese/randomhouse

Well I haven't chimed in on the Frey fiasco because, um well I didn't really feel the need. But then I thought, how can I say I have a blog about publishing and not address this?

At work today, a few of us tuned in to Oprah and watched the showdown. It was good tv that's for sure. Oprah was hot!

Here's what I took from it. Frey really isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Facing Oprah and her "queendom" he looked defeated, confused, still in denial and quite frankly, like he wanted a drink. Talk about pressure.

Nan Talese, you know I felt a little sympathy for her, but then you hear things like they were trying to decide initially whether to publish as fiction or memoir and I am like, are you kidding?

My first stance was publishers shouldn't have to fact check memoirs. It is just too much. But in thinking about this more, I guess someone has to be held accountable and perhaps it is publishers. Then of course there is the understanding that memoirs employ fiction techniques, and memory can be cloudy, etc. you get it.

i haven't read the book, so i can't comment on plausibility. But i think that Frey has raised an issue that publishers should probably think about more--especially when trying to cater to a society that thrives on sensationalism. But for right now, sales of A Million Little Pieces keep rolling in. Do we really value truth? Maybe a good story is all we need.