LEAH THORSEN / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Sunday, September 26, 2004 7:00 pm
Today is a big day for Amy Fisher.
Remember her?
The 16-year-old who shot her much-older lover's wife in 1992, spurring a media frenzy and lots of less-than-classy jokes.
She was the "Long Island Lolita."
Well, that girl grew up. She spent seven years in prison.
And she has written a book that a Lincoln company helped launch.
Today, Fisher is scheduled to make an appearance on Oprah to promote her autobiography "If I Knew Then "
The book has been for sale online, but today it hits bookstores.
So that makes today a big day for iUniverse, too it's the highest-profile book the Lincoln-based publishing services company has handled in its five-year history.
"She really tells a different side of the story," CEO Susan Driscoll said of Fisher.
Services that Driscoll's company provided Fisher include copy editing the book and helping with its design.
But Fisher had total control, and she earns a royalty from book sales, Driscoll said.
Driscoll declined to say what that royalty is.
It was a new venture for iUniverse, which has 40 Lincoln employees and is partially owned by Barnes & Noble.
The company usually deals with books that aren't going to be big-sellers for authors who can't get a big-time publishing company's attention.
It has a contract with Lightning Source, a company that does on-demand printing.
Usually a book gets printed only after an order has been made for it, Driscoll said.
Not so with Fisher's book.
Already, 25,000 copies have been printed because bookstores anticipated demand for it, Driscoll said.
"This is kind of a new experiment for us," she said.
Fisher wanted to get her book printed fast. And she wanted control, Driscoll said.
That's how Fisher ended up with iUniverse, she said.
Usually, books take about a year-and-a-half from the time a contract gets signed until it's published.
That time was three months for Fisher's book, Driscoll said.
And Driscoll is quite optimistic about the book's success. Because Fisher once again has splashed into the media, but this time to promote her book.
She's 30 now. She's married. She's a mom.
Driscoll described her as a lovely woman.
In the book, Fisher talks about her relationship with former lover Joey Buttafuoco and her life in prison. And she gives advice to parents so their kids don't end up like her.
Said Driscoll: "People will see she's a normal woman who did an unspeakable act when she was a screwed-up kid."
Reach Leah Thorsen at 473-7246 or lthorsen@journalstar.com.