Brad Meltzer, author of the forthcoming mystery novel BOOK OF LIES, is one crafty writer. Sure, his book got panned by critics before its release. Sure, it doesn’t bode well when everyone from Entertainment Weekly to the Los Angeles Times publicly craps (please pardon my French) on your book. What could be worse?

Oh, I’d say having little kids and old people alike rip you apart would do the trick. Unless you are what Brad Meltzer is: a marketing GENIUS. Check it out:

Well, if you haven’t seen it, you’ve been living under Iraq. Sorry, a rock. Critics, pundits, and voters alike are all buzzing about The New Yorker’s “satirical” cover cartoon of a burka-clad Barack Obama and his Rambo-esque wife Michelle fist-bumping in the Oval Office while a cozy fire consisting of a flaming American flag burns in the background. Did I mention the portrait of Osama bin Laden, wearing the same headgear as Barack, hanging over the mantel? The Obama camp has chastised the New Yorker, as has John McCain, but the magazine staunchly holds that this satire, entitled “The Politics of Fear,” is intended to expose the way many Americans think of their Presidential candidate. The question is: how fine is the line between reflecting what people think and telling them how to think?

This is not the first time a magazine has used a scandalous cover picture to generate buzz. Check out the Los Angeles Times’ retrospective of the “10 Magazine Covers That Shook The World” to see some more examples. And don’t forget to vote for your favorite cartoon, er, I mean CANDIDATE, this November.

Got some incindiary political juice to share? Why not submit an article to Foreign Affairs magazine? WordHustler wants to help shoot your writing career into the stratosphere. Then maybe one day you can run for President…quick question: how thick is your skin?