Reply #20: I just googled this somewhat related story

[West Coast Democrat]

http://www.mcjonline.com/news/00b/20000828e.htm

Attempt To Make Christian Book
A Best Seller Investigated
LOS ANGELES, CA (CHARISMA) -- A literary agent is being accused of attempting to push a book by a leading Christian businessman onto the prestigious "New York Times Bestseller List". Alan Nevins of the Artists Management Group (AMG) placed orders worth more than $75,000 at four Los Angeles bookstores for copies of "Hope From My Heart: 10 Lessons for Life" by Amway co-founder and Orlando Magic and Miracle basketball teams owner Rich DeVos.

Nevins told "The New York Times" that he had not been trying to manipulate the sales list, but was arranging the sales for businesses that distribute Amway products to resell. However, Ron Land, a sales executive at publisher Thomas Nelson, said that the orders had been placed to "give our marketing a jump-start," a common practice.

In a statement, AMG said it was "concerned" by the incident. "As a matter of corporate policy, we don't condone or support any activities that could potentially jeopardize the integrity of any best-seller list." The company had asked for an independent review of what had happened and would "take whatever action is appropriate."

The sales push came to light after Karen Watkins of Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, Calif., turned down a faxed request for bulk sales because "it stunk." She told the newspaper: "I was stunned that he put something like this in writing." A spokesman for the newspaper said that the book sales would probably not have affected its listing anyway, as suspiciously large sales were routinely ignored in compiling the list.

DeVos' book recounts the life lessons he has learned since surviving a heart transplant a couple of years ago.


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