Usually, Publishers Weekly (or “PW,” as industry insiders call it) gets it right. Through the years, they have been very good to Thomas Nelson and to me. But today, I think they missed the boat. In “The PW Morning Report,” they said:

Britney’s Mom’s Memoir “Totally Compelling,” Thomas Nelson Editor Tells Gawker



Michael Hyatt of the Christian publisher goes ape over Lynne Spear’s tell-all: “I can’t put it down,” Hyatt gushed, “People are going to be surprised. The media have it so wrong.”

It’s hard to believe such a brief article can have so many errors. But, for the sake of my Thomas Nelson colleagues and my friends in the industry, I want to set the record straight:

1. I am not the book’s “editor.” I am Thomas Nelson’s CEO. I don’t edit any of our books, though I sometimes offer input.
2. I didn’t “tell” Gawker anything. As I was reading through the second draft of the manuscript on Tuesday night, I Twittered about it. Gawker reported my “tweets” (or, as they called them, “microblogs”) accurately and word-for-word.
3. I didn’t “go ape” over the manuscript. It’s true; I did like it. (I wouldn’t have Twittered about it if I didn’t.) I think it is a fascinating and a thoroughly compelling read. People are going to be surprised at what a normal person Lynne is. She’s made plenty of mistakes, and she admits that. But so have all of us who are parents. Perhaps I gushed a bit, but, I don’t think I would describe that as “going ape.”
4. The book is not a “tell-all.” Nor have we advertised it as such. Don’t get me wrong. It tells plenty. There’s a lot here that the public doesn’t know. But Lynne is discreet. She understands the boundaries of propriety and good taste.

The good news is that the quotes PW attributed to me are 100% accurate.

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