The Man Authors Love to Hate (and vice versa)

Shed Simove's book is a testament to the power of gimmickry. (It also epitomizes the American Dream: getting a lot of money with little to no effort.)

Shed Simove has proven that with a great gimmick you can sell anything - even nothing. His blank book, What Every Man Thinks About Apart From Sex, made Amazon's bestseller list.

This article appeared on Real Business, July 3, 2013

Here's how I published a bestseller in just nine days (and made a million authors instantly hate me)

The background behind this tale, written by Shed Simove in 2011, is one of ambition, attention to detail and marketing – and it reveals secrets for anyone writing a book, or indeed selling any product or service. 

I stared at my computer screen. There, sitting in my inbox was an email that confirmed the world around me had gone totally and utterly, stark-raving, strait-jacket wearing, mad. I read the first line. It said:

“Shed! Your book is number 44 on Amazon... Congratulations!”

Read more here.