Buzz/PR

As Sarah Palin sold 300,000 copies of her book last week, she became an even bigger target for everybody from cartoonists to political readers lurking in the GalleyCat comments section.

Today msnbc.com cartoonist and cartoon curator Daryl Cagle (pictured) has archived 30 different editorial cartoons mocking the former Alaskan governor as she embarks on her book tour.

The comic images include: Palin hunting ducks on the Balloon Boy's balloon, a pop-up edition of the book, and Senator John McCain's cartoony reaction to the memoir.

A new site has popped up promising to give authors and publishers a new venue to promote their books. Already boasting 30,000 unique visitors a month, TheNervousBreakdown.com was founded by Los Angeles Times Bestselling author, Brad Listi.

The newly revamped site features over 200 published and emerging authors from around the world including Jonathan Evison, Jessica Anya and Tao Lin. It will also soon feature podcasts of live readings called The Nervous Breakdown's Literary Experience audio recordings of authors around the country performing their work.

With shrinking media outlets for authors to feature their works, TheNervousBreakdown.com is a welcomed addition to the worldwide web.

As the afternoon sun sets, much too soon, here are a few publishing links to play with...

Daily Finance analyzes a a $20 million breach-of-contract lawsuit filed against Houghton Mifflin Harcourt by Cengage over textbook sales.

NY Daily News excerpted Sarah Palin's taped interview with Oprah Winfrey, an interview that will open her book tour next week: "We don't have to keep going down this road of controversy and drama all the time," she said, when asked about Levi Johnston's frayed relationship with her family.

Worried about publishers printing unfinished copies of Vladimir Nabokov's last novel? Flavorpill reminds us of a rich history of unfinished literary works.

MobyLives notes that the man who invented the AK-47 assault rifle really wanted to be a poet.

Brandon Sanderson, the fantasy author handpicked to complete the late Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, chats with "Storm Leaders" and Tor employees at a reception in the Flatiron Building yesterday afternoon toasting the debut of The Gathering Storm, the first of three volumes expanding upon Jordan's unfinished material, in the top slot of the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover fiction. (As one publicist was said to have exclaimed shortly before our arrival, "Take that, Dan Brown!") Meanwhile, Tor's founder, Tom Doherty, touches base with Macmillan CEO John Sargent. Just a few hours later, Sanderson would head over to the Union Square Barnes & Noble, where fans had begun staking out seats for his reading shortly after noon.

Also, there was cake. Chocolatey, chocolatey cake, with a dragon on top.

This morning author and social media guru Gary Vaynerchuk launched a two-day mini-book tour, visiting the most under-appreciated book stores on earth--signing books at six airport bookstores.

The author will stop by Hudson Booksellers around the country between November 2nd and 3rd in a madcap race between airports, promoting his new book, "Crush It!" His book focuses on how people can use social networking resources in the business world, and he's taking his message straight to the airports where business travelers congregate.

Here's more about the tour, from the Facebook schedule: "As the number one airport bookseller, Hudson Booksellers has the unique capacity to directly reach more business travelers than any other retailer. This tour, its accompanying displays, and an exclusive contest are designed to connect Mr. Vaynerchuk with fans and Hudson customers that could benefit from his message...Gary will be signing at LGA, ORD, DFW, DEN, LAX, and EWR."

Publicists and reporters have an evolving relationship in the strange world of 21st Century journalism, and the rules seem to be changing every day.

While writing his new book, "The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History," journalist John Ortved received letters from corporate lawyers and resistance from Fox Corporation. In a Daily Beast essay, he described how he struggled with publicity while writing about the television show, The Simpsons.

Here's one passage from the article: "Something I gleaned early from this experience is that Hollywood publicists are so used to journalists kowtowing to their every request that they no longer understand what journalism actually is. We're talking about cartoon characters here, not Watergate, but the light subject matter doesn't exclude the possibility of doing real research and telling interesting stories. They actually thought that we were all on the same team, trying to get their client the maximum exposure, using our words and outlets only to extend their message."

As publicists around the country prepare to pitch The Huffington Post's brand new books section, editor Amy Hertz (pictured) had one clear piece of advice: "This is NOT a book review section. Let me say that again, because I know about 72,000 publicists just plotzed because they have no idea what to do other than ask for a review."

Our blogging siblings over at PRNewser analyzed Hertz's open letter to publicists, delivering apt advice for pitching many book-related blogs. Hertz's post also took a jab at the art of book reviewing as well. "Book reviews tend to be conversation enders, and when you're living in the age of engagement, a time when people are looking for conversation starters, that stance gets you nowhere," she wrote. A chorus of literary types have joined the debate in the comments section.

Here's an excerpt from PRNewser: "So, how do you get into HuffPo books? Blog for the site, engage their readers, pitch two to four months in advance of the release date, and of course develop relationships with editors."

When Arianna Huffington challenged Oprah Winfrey with her new Huffington Post Book Club, we asked, will there be an Arianna sales bump?

Daily Finance answered the question, monitoring the Amazon sales rank for Carl Honore's "In Praise of Slowness." The paperback version of Huffington's first pick, "In Praise of Slowness," started the week with an Amazon Sales rank of 33,736. On the day she picked the book, the paperback had jumped to 151 on the list. The book has since slipped slightly in the rankings--as of this writing, the paperback is listed as 270 among all books.

Here's more from the article: "But then they peaked and, at some point overnight, began to fall ... they've been falling rapidly since then. In other words, Huffington's blessing is enough to produce a marked short-term spike in book sales, but she has nothing like Winfrey's staying power."

Most literary types are shy, solitary, and isolated--traits developed through the obsessive craft of writing. However, in this world of shrinking book reviews and disappearing publicity budgets, writers are being forced to break these habits.

Today's guest on the Morning Media Menu was former publicist and debut novelist Robert Rave. Rave introduced his new novel "Spin," an insider's look at the world of high-class publicity in New York City. Meet Rave's agent, Jason Allen Ashlock at FishbowlNY's Lunch this week.

Here is Rave's advice for aspiring writers: "I met my [literary] contacts because I was a publicist out networking and socializing with people. And when I say 'networking,' I don't mean the cheesy, going out every night to hand out business cards. I mean making real contacts, having real conversations with people--not being in their faces saying, 'Hey! I've got this new book!' I think it's really important that you do go out to mixers and events. You never know when you might meet somebody down the road."

In an age of digital press releases and paperless publicity, Vintage Books has released this coffin-shaped release to support Otto Penzler's paperback original, "The Vampire Archives."

Next week media types around the country will receive copies of the cardboard cutouts and plastic glow-in-the-dark fangs to celebrate the book's release. The creators, Vintage/Anchor's associate director of publicity Sloane Crosley and her assistant assistant Sarah Cantor also built a tombstone release for "The Book of Dead Philosophers" by Simon Critchley.

Here's more about the vampire anthology: "Vampires! Whether imagined by Bram Stoker or Anne Rice, they are part of the human lexicon and as old as blood itself. They are your neighbors, your friends, and they are always lurking. Now Otto Penzler--editor of the bestselling Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps--has compiled the darkest, the scariest, and by far the most evil collection of vampire stories ever."