Book factory

IHT had a great article about Philip Parker who has published 200.000 books making him the “the most published author in the history of the planet.” Ok, it is not question about writing as we normally think about it, but books that are automatically compiled by search engine algorithms.

While the most popular of his books may sell hundreds of copies, he said, many have sales in the dozens, often to medical libraries collecting nearly everything he produces. He has extended his technique to crossword puzzles, rudimentary poetry and even to scripts for animated game shows.

Just searched from Amazon.com and found interesting examples like Websters Saami – English Thesaurus Dictionary (link), The 2007 Import and Export Market for Household Refrigerators in Czech Republic (link) and The 2007-2012 Outlook for Year-Round Unitary Single Package and Remote-Condenser Air Conditioners with at Least 640,000 BTU Per Hour Excluding Heat Pumps in Japan (link). And there is at least 85.000 additional titles available in Amazon search.

Mr. Parker is taking advantage from long tail. Or should I say looooooooong tail… We may question the quality of his mass production, but at least he is productive!