I know some wildly talented authors who just can't get a book deal and I know plenty of people who went with small pubishers and watched as their books faded into quick obscurity. Getting published is like gambling and once you get published the odds of success are far against you. So what does it take to make it big? Mostly, you need connections, a charming personality and a book that fits the times. Right now Americans are in a wimpy phase and we scarf down victim stories a like fat kid who finds himself unexpectedly alone with a cake. A Million Little Pieces has made it in a huge way. It's the story of how a young man took his life and darn near threw it away. He did drugs, alcohol, and became a criminal. Then one day he went to rehab and everything is okay now. Well, guess what? According to The Smoking Gun whole chunks of this book & the sequel are lies. It's like the themes of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance or From Noon Til Three: the fictionalized account is a lot more exciting that what really went down.
Why do writers do things like this? In the aftermath of Jayson Blair surely they ought to know that they won't get away with it for long?