Shill, Baby, Shill

Sarah Palin is clearly in a hurry, but where's she going?

As you may recall, the former Republican vice presidential candidate resigned from her role as governor of Alaska 18 months before the end of her term in July. At the time she boasted, "I promised efficiencies and effectiveness…. I'm not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual."

Now, presumably in the name of efficiency and effectiveness (and increased holiday book sales) Palin is rushing out her first book, Going Rogue: An American Life, which HarperCollins' Harper imprint is bringing to stores November 17. The book had been planned for release early next year. Politico's Mike Allen reports that the first print run is set at 1.5 million copies, "the same first run as True Compass, the memoir of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy."

Again with Palin's efficiency: Kennedy's book. released by Hachette Book Group's Twelve imprint in September, took the late senator and his co-writer, Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Powers, nearly two years to complete: Palin and her collaborator,Christian magazine editor Lynn Vincent, sold her book in May. That's 400 pages in less than a year. (Tina Brown's not the only speed queen in the book world.)

As for the title, Slate's John Dickerson referred to Palin "going rogue" in October 2008, a fact the website reminded readers of shortly after the announcement. The truth is that Palin, who rather famously refused to name any publications she read in an interview with CBS News' Katie Couric, probably didn't stumble upon the phrase via Dickerson but rather by way of Tina Fey's justly praised caricature of her on Saturday Night Live.

Sure, Palin said at the time she watched Fey with the sound off, but in the sketch where Fey (as Palin) tells viewers she's "going rogue," John McCain (the real Republican presidential nominee) appeared as himself. It's a good bet Palin caught it. (And speaking of reclaiming phrases Palin has pilfered from the media, Portfolio.com deserves some praise—blame?—for "Drill, Baby, Drill, which appeared on this site in August 2008, a few weeks before it became a Palin refrain.)

Harper is delaying the release of the e-book of Going Rogue to increase its sales as a $28.99 hardcover. The Wall Street Journal's John Fund, for one, calls Palin "a soon-to-be publish phenom"—and not just because HarperCollins and the Wall Street Journal are both owned by News Corp.

Meanwhile, as her book speeds through edits, Palin is drumming up publicity—and cash—on the lecture circuit. Last week she appeared in Hong Kong, earning a speaking fee "in the low six figures" according to Matthew Daily of the Associated Press. The New York Post's Page Six reports that Palin is seeking $100,000 for speaking engagements but goes on to quote an unnamed "industry expert" who says that, "The big lecture buyers in the U.S. are paralyzed with fear about booking her, basically because they think she is a blithering idiot." (It's worth noting that the Post, like HarperCollins and the Journal, is owned by News, Corp: Didn't Richard Johnson and his team get the memo to play nice?)

Even with that harsh assessment, Palin will probably get a bunch of speaking engagements anyway. And then she's bound to make some television appearances to promote her book, which, like it or not, will probably sell a lot of copies.We're not getting rid of Sarah Palin anytime soon.

Finally, an answer to where she's hurrying: To the bank, of course.