Publishers Turn Internet Laughs Into Fast Cash

The blog-to-book cycle is speeding up as publishers seek fast cash from Internet funnies, the New York Times reports. Sites like Pets Who Want to Kill Themselves—featuring user-submitted photos of pets in bizarre outfits—have gone from startup to print in a matter of weeks, with the "authors" doing little but coming up with the idea.

The Internet-spawned books are big sellers and just about every major publishing house is busy checking out hot properties online, seeking to get them into print before fickle online attention spans fade.  "You want to catch the wave while it’s cresting," said an editor who handled last year's hit I Can Has Cheezburger? (More I Can Haz Cheezburger stories.)