The Curious Case of Kristi Noem’s Book

When a politician lies in a book, what's a publisher to do?

Over the weekend, I graduated from my MBA program at Southern New Hampshire University. It was an honor and privilege to walk in the Manchester, New Hampshire ceremony with some of my family members present while others could watch it live remotely. Thank you for your supportive words and good wishes. It’s a big achievement by a scrappy Roselle, New Jersey kid. And now, back to Publishing Confidential.

Unless you’ve somehow avoided political news over the past ten days or so, you already know that a horrific detail leaked from South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s book, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, which will be published by Center Street, the conservative imprint of Hachette Books, on May 7: she shot her 14-month old puppy and goat. Martin Pengelly, a journalist for The Guardian, broke the story on April 26, which you can read here. Pengelly is somewhat of a menace to publishers of embargoed political books. He is notorious for obtaining copies of them before publication and leaking details. As the story about Noem’s puppy and goat blew up, a falsehood from her book emerged: A passage in the book where Noem talks about meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un wasn’t true. Margaret Brennan, host of Face the Nation, grilled her about this in a disastrous interview yesterday. You can read about it here.

What has struck me about the situation is how Center Street/Hachette have distanced themselves from it. First, you must understand that publishers do not employ fact-checkers. It is also important to note that copy editing, and fact-checking are two entirely different things, especially regarding memoirs. In the case of Noem, who likely employed a ghostwriter, Center Street took her at her word. Publishers expect authors to act in good faith when writing memoirs. A ghostwriter for Noem’s book would’ve been expected to do the same, which is how the passage made it into the book.

Additionally, the book includes a passage about a conversation Noem had with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley that, per Haley’s spokesperson, never occurred. Per The New York Times, Noem’s spokesperson said, “It was brought to our attention that the upcoming book ‘No Going Back’ has two small errors,” Mr. Fury said. “This has been communicated to the ghostwriter and editor. Kim Jong-un was included in a list of world leaders and shouldn’t have been.” When asked about the conversation between Noem and Haley that never took place, Noem’s spokesperson told the Times that this would be “corrected in future editions.”

I have some questions about how this went down, starting with: Why is Hachette allowing Noem’s book to go on sale as is? Why didn’t they pull it and reprint it with corrections? I know a thing or two about publishing, so I can appreciate the expense of recalling a sizeable first printing, scrapping it, and starting over. Still, I also think Hachette could’ve done better in this situation. One could argue that Kristi Noem shouldn’t have been given a book deal, but that is not how publishing works. It is a business rooted in free speech, and while Ms. Noem’s ethics are questionable, they wouldn’t have prevented her from getting a book deal. As I write this, the book’s rank on Amazon is 197, so there is a market for it, as there is with most conservative books. However, that doesn’t excuse a major publisher from allowing a book’s first printing with falsehoods to stand as is. Yes, the conservative crowd who embraces her will still buy it, but that doesn’t mean they should be able to in its current form.

Today, The Hill reported that Center Street said of the Kim Jong Un bit, “It will remove the passage from reprints of the book” and “will also remove the passage as soon as technically possible from the e-book and audiobook editions.” Here is Center Street’s statement in full:

I’ve done corporate comms for publishers, so allow me to interpret this for you. Hachette is mad that Noem lied, so they are distancing themselves from answering other questions. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s sufficient. This is not only about the publisher or Noem. It is about booksellers who now have copies of a book in stock with falsehoods. It is about people who will read this book and be influenced by Noem’s words. It is also about the integrity of an industry that should do better.

Every publisher of embargoed political books should expect details to leak and take additional pains to ensure information is correctly represented. If they don’t, we will see more stories like this. In an election year as divisive as this one, the industry can’t afford to take a hands-off approach when a politician lies in their book. Significant changes now can lead to an industry with more integrity in the future.

END NOTES:

What I’m Reading: Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley. Crosley is a tremendous writer with roots in book publishing. While parts of the book about losing her best friend to suicide (who was also a publishing vet) broke my heart, I appreciate the humor and honesty around such a delicate topic. It is also a stark reminder of how mental health is often overlooked in the publishing industry. Check on your people.

What I’m Listening To: If I’m being honest, I mostly listen to whatever Starbucks is playing because that’s where I work most of the time.

What I’m Watching: I just finished rewatching every season of Sex & the City, which I consider a form of self-care. Watching it at age 51, I now see that the show is truly about the importance of female friendships. That wasn’t how I interpreted it when I originally watched it in my 20s and 30s.