Author Reality Shows

I admit that I don't watch a lot of television, but, through Internet news sites, I've heard whispers about several reality shows for aspiring authors. The basics usually have authors submit a portion of their unfinished novel in the hopes of securing a book deal in the end. But have any of these shows ever come to fruition?

The Writer Beware blog has a recent post concerning their take on reality shows for writers, and the post even tells of instances where shows got early buzz only to disappear into oblivion. It's very interesting—check it out!

If I can just ask it out loud: Are these shows even a good idea? Is it any surprise they never see the light of day? The final product (the manuscript) may be cool, but let's face it—there's nothing exciting about sitting at the computer writing (and if you're Kevin Alexander, getting sidetracked by penning unfavorable reviews of books on Amazon). The only way it could be truly interesting is if the show followed around someone like Jodi Picoult, who does lots of hands-on research for her books. If you saw the author learning about ghosts and dead bodies and scuba diving firsthand, that might be cool. But chances are, these writers are probably more like me, constantly battling laziness and always searching for "Best of Harry Stone in Night Court" compilations on YouTube.