Lauren Conrad gets another book deal; 'L.A. Candy' selling for 99 cents

Lauren Conrad, former star of MTV's "The Hills," current clothing designer and author of "L.A. Candy," has scored a new three-book deal, it was announced Wednesday. HarperCollins will publish the trilogy, called "The Fame Game."

Conrad's new book begins with a main character from "L.A. Candy," Us Magazine reports. "We took the mean girl of the ['L.A. Candy' books], spinning her off," Conrad told the magazine. "This series is about a girl who loves everything that fame is, and that's all she's ever really wanted. [Madison] has fun with the press, she enjoys the attention, she welcomes scandal!"

How does she feel about the bargain basement?

Alibris.com -- an online storefront for many used bookstores -- currently lists 15 copies of the hardcover for sale for 99 cents. It's selling dozens of copies of the book, new and used.

Used copies of "L.A. Candy" can be found on Amazon for as little as $1.48 -- that's for the paperback version.

Resellers with new copies of the hardcovers are asking a bit more, $3 and up.

The other books in her initial series -- "Sweet Little Lies" and "Sugar and Spice" -- are holding their value better. The bargain price new hardcovers can't be bought for less than $7, and used copies don't fall below $5.

Conrad started with HarperCollins and she's staying there. Maybe her publisher can afford to launch a new series, even though the first one is now selling for so little, because it has already made enough off the initial retail sales. Because it wouldn't make sense to launch a new celebrity novel series if the first one couldn't turn a profit, would it?

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: Lauren Conrad celebrating her birthday in Las Vegas in February. Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Comments

[Julie]

I tried to read "LA Candy" and had to give up; it's a truly awful book and not worth 99 cents, in my opinion. However, it's bizarre to judge a book's profitability on what its used copies are selling for. Many used books sell on Amazon for a penny--it has less to do with how popular they are and more to do with how many copies flooded the market during the initial release. If an initial printing was very large, used copies may literally be a dime a dozen--Sue Grafton's latest, for example, is selling used for 1 cent, and no one can dispute her success as a mystery writer.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, like using Jonathan Franzen's photo because you couldn't be bothered to find Jennifer Egan's, this blog post is just plain lazy.

[Miss H]

Actually, Lauren Conrad's "Style" book is well written and has great tips on wardrobe, clothing and putting looks together. Lauren is by far the smartest businesswoman and the most successful to come from the Mtv reality television shows. Lauren is in tune with her brand imaging, and careful with her exposure to the media. Considering her competition in the reality entertainment industry....Kim K, and her sisters, any "real housewives" show, etc, Lauren leaves them far behind. Lauren Conrad is one of the positive role model for the young women of today.