Oprah To Write Fitness Book With Bob Greene
Posted on May 22, 2006
Oprah Winfrey has everyone in an absolute frenzy: she announced that she's finally going to write a diet and exercise book with her personal trainer Bob Greene. The buzz is that that the deal is the biggest nonfiction book deal in history.
While sources declined to give an exact price, these people said it is larger than the $12 million advance former President Bill Clinton got to write his autobiography, "My Life," which was published by Knopf in 2004. Oprah's book will be published by Simon & Schuster in January, and the gathering of publishing types at the annual Book Expo America in Washington, D.C., this weekend was abuzz with speculation about "an embargoed book coming out in January," according to a source.Oh please, no one -- and we mean no one -- is bigger than Oprah when it comes to selling books. We expect Oprah's fitness book to leave President Clinton's and Chairman Greenspan's books in the dust, as everyone in America rushes to buy a copy. Ok, maybe not everyone in America. But it's going to sell a lot of copies.Greene has written numerous health and fitness books, including "Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover" and "The Get with the Program! Guide to Good Eating: Great Food for Good Health." The deal bumps Clinton to No. 2 on the list of richest nonfiction book contracts, with former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, who got an $8.5 million advance to write a memoir, slipping to No. 3. A representative for Simon & Schuster was not immediately available for comment. David Vigliano, the book agent for Greene, could not be reached for comment.