Pawlenty reports $342K from ‘Courage to Stand’

In a public financial disclosure report, Tim Pawlenty lists royalty payments of $342,000 over the past year from his book “Courage to Stand,” which was published early this year in connection with his now-ended run for president.

That would seem to be a ton of books sold, and if all those people who bought the book lived in Iowa, he’d still be in the race.

But that high royalty report puzzled some in the publishing business, who’d seen that the Star Tribune  reported that a book sales report showed fewer than 5,000 copies were sold in the first week, which is usually when most hardcover books sales are made.

Pawlenty held many book signings at Christian book stores around the country, which likely aren’t included in that report. Some large book retailers had large numbers of unsold Pawlenty books. A May story on Pawlenty’s finances noted he’d sold more than 10,000 copies of his book. Royalties on sold copies usually aren’t paid this quickly, so he must have drawn a tremendous advance.

Last year, Mitt Romney was criticized for linking his speeches to sales of his book. A report said he required the organization engaging him to speak to purchase between $25,000 and $50,000 worth of his book, “No Apology: the Case for American Greatness,” discounted for bulk sales.

There’s no evidence that Pawlenty had that kind of arrangement, though, and in his financial report, filed Aug. 1, Pawlenty also reported $242,000 in speaking fees, plus his $121,260 salary as Minnesota governor.