National Review Columnist Catching Flak Over Dust Jacket Flap
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National Review columnist Jonah Goldberg is in a bit of trouble, after claiming to be a Pulitzer Prize nominee on the dust jacket of his latest book, The Tyranny of Clichés: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas.
The thing is, his work has been submitted for consideration for a Pulitzer. All that takes is $50 and a dream--doesn't really make him a nominee. I could print this blog post out and submit it for consideration. I'm sure the Pulitzer committee will see it, have a good laugh, and carry on.
The funny thing is, the committee does name nominees, from which a winner is picked. It's not like no one knew who the nominees were, which would have made it easier for Goldberg to get away with this. Goldberg and his publisher, Sentinel, have claimed it was a mistake. Though, one that was repeated in his online bio, as well as in the press materials for Liberal Fascism, a book he published in 2008.
What's really funny about this whole thing is that Goldberg is the guy who once called Al Gore a "serial exaggerator."
At the same time, I doubt Goldberg is the first person to ever pad his writing resume.
Have you ever been tempted to fib about your background? There does seem to be a lot of pressure for writers to have diverse, accolade-filled resumes these days...
News by Rob W. Hart
Rob W. Hart is the class director at LitReactor, as well as the associate publisher for MysteriousPress.com. He's the author of The Last Safe Place: A Zombie Novella, and his short stories have appeared in Shotgun Honey, Thuglit, Crime Factory, and Needle: A Magazine of Noir. He lives in New York City, and you can find his website at www.robwhart.com.
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I think if I was going to pad my resume I would pick something a little less ambitious than the Pulitzer Prize. People can check on that stuff.
I've never had to pad my writing resume, but I did take a few things off so that it didn't seem too cluttered. I'm unsure if it was a good idea or not. But after I ended my term as a magazine editor in chief, I freelanced for several, very small, businesses. I was writing copy for them and it wasn't very glamorous; at least not in my eyes. So, everytime I sent my resume out, I just stopped adding in my newest jobs and left it with the editor position so that my fall from what I considered the "top" wasn't so noticeable.
I wouldn't add in things that were not true though! That is so embarrassing... and definitely not a mistake. That's like sending in your resume for a job and then telling everyone that you've already been through the interview process and you're just waiting to hear the word that you got it.
I like that he was called out for this. :)
It Isn't Slutty If You're Wearing Pearls blog
Sounds to me like his bio, etc. got punched up by some well meaning marketing intern/assistant who didn't understand the difference between 'applicant' and 'nominee' or didn't care. I think it's a little naive to think that an author has such direct control over the marketing materials of his/her books. And with the dearth of copy editing and fact checking skills in the overall world of writing I'm surprised it didn't say he was president of Guatamala and scheduled for beatification by the Mormon Church.
Don't get me wrong. He is ultimately responsible for what it says but I'm not sure anyone can say, or even prove, it was anything more than a mistake made by the publisher's marketing department.