The Secret Backlash: Bookstore Bans Rhonda Byrne's Bestseller

Not surprisingly, The Secret has attracted a torrent of authors seeking to hitch a ride on Rhonda Byrne's gravy train.

According to Publisher's Weekly several Da Vinci Code type rebuttals are already in the works:

"First up in May is Thomas Nelson's There Is More to "The Secret" by Ed Gungor. Gungor is pastor of a church in Tulsa, Okla., and the author of several books, including last year's Religiously Transmitted Diseases for Nelson's now-defunct Ignite imprint. According to Nelson, Gungor's new book, "is not written to attack recent publications but rather to correct their misguided advice while still speaking to the felt need that is causing millions to explore their pages." Nelson expects to do a six-figure first printing.

Next will come The Secret Revealed: Exposing the Truth About the "Law of Attraction" (Aug.) by Jim Garlow and Rick Marschall, from Hachette's FaithWords division. Garlow is the author (with Peter Jones) of Cracking Da Vinci's Code (Cook Communications/Victor Books), one of the most successful Da Vinci response books with nearly 335,000 copies sold. FaithWords promises that The Secret Revealed will discuss the Law of Attraction as typical of many false religions and movements throughout the centuries. FaithWords plans a 100,000 copy first printing."

In addition, several Secret clones are also grasping for their chance at fame and fortune.

And of course, each one claims to be the 'real' secret, the 'next' secret, or 'the secret behind' the secret.

With the exception of Abraham-Hicks' The Secret Behind the Secret, many of these Secret wannabes will be rejected by major publishers, as they should be. My guess is many will emerge anyway as self-published books, eBooks and law of attraction scams programs.

Several of these books are already on the web. Simply Google "The Secret" or search through some press releases and you'll see what I'm talking about.

In the words of a famous metaphysician, it appears the impersonators are ..."flying out of their dark hiding places" ....and in droves no less.

Speaking of Mr Vitale, he's kissed and is now ready to tell all in a new $39 ebook: Marketing The Secret: How ONE Marketing Strategy Turned an Independent Movie into a Sold-Out Blockbuster!

Interestingly, this new program of his is being sold on Nerissa Oden's website (Nerissa, aka The Video Queen is Joe's main squeeze).

Get this: one of the bonus items is a transcript of a private dinner conversation between Joe and Rhonda Byrne. During the conversation Rhonda tells Joe all of her secrets about The Secret (Hey, is this a guy you would confide in?)

Speaking of The Secret gang, while Secret searching on Google, I noticed that three of The Secret's stars, Bob Proctor, Bill Harris and Hale Dwoskin are battling it out for first place atop Google's paid advertisements (aka Adwords).

It's obvious they're engaged in a high cost, pay-per-click bidding war because on some days Bob's ad will appear first followed by Bill's and then Hale's.

Just yesterday, Hale's ad was first, followed by Bill's and then Bob's.

For a while, Jack Canfield was clobbering the pack with his ad, but it appears he's no longer advertising on Google (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

Jack is part of SGR The Science of Getting Program, so maybe that's where he's decided to throw some of his online advertising chips.

A few of The Secret's other stars are also buying keywords related to The Secret, but apparently the Universe isn't as abundant for them as they'd like it to be.

It appears these Secret second stringers have a daily Adwords budget which turns their ads off after the budgeted amount has been reached.

I find this all very amusing.

In the world of high stakes Secret peddling, I suppose it takes a little more than just brain waves and good vibrations to come out on top; it helps if you have deep pockets too.

But back to The Secret backlash...

A small book retailer in Georgia hates The Secret so much he's decided to ban the book from his stores:

Books For Less, with locations in Lawrenceville and Suwanee, is so opposed to “The Secret” that the store refuses to sell the book.

“This is the first one we’ve really felt strongly enough about to say, ‘This is just a rip-off,’” said Jack Mason, owner of Books For Less.

Mason said his store, which has “Christian underpinnings,” is usually pretty accommodating to books that go against its beliefs.

If a customer asks for such a book to be ordered, Books For Less will get it for them and put a warning on it saying the book conflicts with the teachings of the Bible. The warning also extends an invitation to the customer to discuss why the store disagrees with the book.

But Books For Less refuses to take those steps for “The Secret,” mostly because of the strong marketing campaign behind it, Mason said.

“This is one we just felt like we had to draw a line in the sand and say ‘this is too much,’” Mason said. “I guess if it hadn’t gone on the Oprah show and she hadn’t pushed it so much, we wouldn’t worry so much about it.”

I'm sure Mr. Mason could sell more copies of The Secret than anything else. Yet he refuses to. Good for him.

Click here to read the full story.

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not into censorship or banning books of any kind. I just love it when people stand up for what they believe in.

In case you're not convinced, even I own a copy The Secret.

And I'll admit; it's really one of the most visually appealing books I've ever seen.

No doubt its handsome appearance is one of the many reasons for its seductive lure.

Vernon Howard once said: "Beauty is only skin deep, but it's a valuable asset if you're poor or haven't any sense."

And that's exactly how I feel about Rhonda's Book, especially the 'haven't any sense' part.

Perhaps the most promising new Secret-related book of all is Vancouver-based teacher, comic and author David Granirer's "The Happy Neurotic: How Fear and Angst Can Lead to Happiness and Success."

According to the Edmonton Sun:

He's been [David Granirer] to all the workshops, he's read all the self-help books and he's been on antidepressants for about a decade.

"I finally realized people achieve a tremendous amount through their neuroses, their fears and their anxieties," he told Sun Media recently. "And rather than trying to make all that stuff go away, why not use it?"

One Amazon.com reviewer who uses the nickname PotLuckPrincess, writes:

I got a lot out of this book. It taught me that I can accept me for me and that I dont have to be perfect or in total control---I feel better when my life is under control but being happily neurotic is a hoot and has allowed me to be who I am and step out of the Box. Thank you to the author for showing me the possibilies behind neuroses.

Granirer teaches stand-up comedy to individuals with mental illness.

I don't know about you, but this is one book I can't wait to get my hands on.


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"If drudgery is not found somewhere in a book or course, it isn't worth reading. Of all great works nine tenths must be drudgery." -- Russell Conwell

Calista McKnight
http://www.thesecretlie.com/