Laura Bush, the US first lady, has beaten her husband in the literary stakes with the announcement that she has secured a multimillion dollar deal with Scribner to publish her White House memoir some time next year.
The first lady's press secretary declined to say how much she would get for the book, but it is thought she will get at least as much as Hillary Clinton, who was paid $8m (£5.5m) for Living History.
Publishers have been more eager to publish the account of Mrs Bush rather than the president as they reckon that few are likely to buy the musings of one of America's least popular leaders.
Scribner did its best to puff up the deal. "As a rare witness to the private moments of one of our country's most consequential presidencies, and as a first lady who has maintained a notable level of discretion, her memoir will provide a candid and personal perspective, and an enduring record, of the years that have already determined the court of the 21st century," said Susan Maldow, Scribner's executive vice president.
But other publishers were decidedly umimpressed when they heard the first lady's pitch - although there may have been an element of sour grapes.
"She was not forthcoming about anything that I would consider controversial," one publisher told New Yorker magazine. "We questioned her rigorously, but it was one-word answers. I considered it the worst, or the most frustrating, meeting of its sort that I've ever had. But she really couldn't have been nicer."
Another publisher quoted by New Yorker choose not to meet her. "I got the impression that everyone was totally underwhelmed by her," they said. "That's why there's so little buzz."
Laura Bush said she looked forward to working with the publisher "as I tell the stories of the extraordinary events and people I've met in my life, particularly during my years in the White House."
Americans seem to be interested enough in Mrs Bush to have made American Wife, Curtis Sittenfield's novel inspired by the Bushes, a best-seller.
Mrs Bush has taken to the talk circuit to publicise her memoirs, revealing a feisty side. In an appearance on Fox News Sunday, she said the shoe-throwing incident involving her husband was no laughing matter and should be treated as an assault.
She went on to say, however, that the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes would be released sooner rather than later.
"I know that if Saddam Hussein had been there, the man wouldn't have been released," she said. "He probably would have been executed."
If Mrs Bush is as forthright when it comes to her memoirs, they may well be worth a look. In any case, the first lady's memoirs is now a well-established tradition. Before Hillary Clinton, there was My Turn by Nancy Reagan, First Lady from Plains by Rosalynn Carter, The Times of My Life by Betty Ford and On My Own by Eleanor Roosevelt.