Awhile back, I remember Dan and Henry discussing on bloggingsnores.tv that blogging is a good way to flog books. Blogging can fill the gap of weighty book reviews in mainstream papers. At the time, I agreed with them. I watched how Linda Hirshman was able to leverage all the negative blog buzz about her article in American Prospect into free publicity for her upcoming book. She was on the Today show pushing her book all because we kept writing about how much we hated her.

Smart, thought I. In fact, I’ve been pushing my dad to follow her lead. He has a book coming out this fall with Yale University Press, and it has the potential for a mainstream audience. One reviewer told Yale that his book was too good for them. So, we’ve been plotting a Hirshman-style, blog-flog fest.

I’m not so sure that is a good idea now.

Today’s Times reports that only sold 4,000 copies of her book were sold. Mainstream publishers don’t even break even until they hit about 10,000 copies. Did I snicker? Oh, yes I did.

Coincidentally, Hirshman has an op-ed in today’s Times with more of her naughty mommy stories. So, maybe blog buzz doesn’t lead to book sales, but it give you a wider stage for crazy ideas. Largely due to blog buzz, Hirshman has won the op-ed page in the Times and the Washington Post. Having that large of a stage has other rewards. Books sales be damned. God, I should just stop writing about her.