E-mail Makes 'Alphabet of Manliness' Top Amazon Title

by Lynn Andriani, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 4/7/2006

The power of the Internet scored another point this week, as a not-yet-published book by an Internet personality nabbed the number-one spot on Amazon's bestseller after its author sent a short, simple e-mail about the book to his fans. What's more, most of the people who preordered Alphabet of Manliness, by Maddox—due out from Kensington's Citadel imprint in June—don't even know what the book is about. "They just know it's by Maddox, and know it will be superb," said Daryl Pierce, a publicist who works directly for Maddox.

Maddox, creator of the Web site "The Best Page in the Universe", which draws between 110,000 and 150,000 visitors a day, or about four million visitors a month, sent an e-mail plugging Alphabet to his fans last Tuesday morning, March 28. By 8:00 that night the book had reached Amazon's top slot. Since then the book has dropped to number four. The book has not received any pre-publication reviews or other media.

Maddox landed at Citadel thanks to his friendship with another Citadel author, Tucker Max (I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell). There are some comparisons between the two, namely their brand of crass humor that's made their Web sites immensely popular. Although information on Maddox's book is scant, the Amazon page calls it a "compilation of all things manly" and promises sections on "people getting drop-kicked in the face" and the author's "contempt for animals, women and other cultures." Kensington director of publicity Joan Schulhafer said the book's publication is not being moved up, but that after a 45,000-copy first printing, a second printing is in the works. No word yet on whether Wal-Mart will carry the book.