A cynic might argue that working at CNN provides a unique opportunity to sell fiction to a limited audience. If so, then CNN anchor Jake Tapper has effectively utilized this experience.

According to the entertainment and rumor website RadarOnline.com, Tapper’s latest novel, “All the Demons Are Here,” sold fewer than 5,000 copies in its first week on sale.

Despite constant promotion by actors and other media figures, the book’s sales were disappointing.

In fact, Tapper’s own Instagram page is a veritable collage of CNN and other promotional screenshots.

Since “All the Demons Are Here” is set in Washington, D.C. in the 1970s, one might assume that it would appeal to readers within the Beltway.

In an interview published by Axios last week, Tapper highlighted the book’s setting as one of its most compelling aspects.

However, viewers paid little attention. According to RadarOnline.com, the sales figures are “shockingly low.”

The CNN presenter of “The Lead with Jake Tapper” has previously sold novels. His debut novel, “The Hellfire Club” (2018), debuted at No. 3 on the New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Sellers list.

If Tapper desires consolation, he need only consider other publications that have performed considerably worse than his.

In 2022, Democratic Missouri Representative Cori Bush published a political memoir titled “The Forerunner: A Story of Pain and Perseverance in America.” In its first two weeks on the market, 1,017 copies of the book were sold.

Bush must have felt like Stephen King in comparison to Darlene Superville and Julie Pace, who co-authored a book about Jill Biden’s first lady. In its first week of release, 250 copies of “Jill: A Biography of the First Lady” were sold.

There is not always a simple explanation for low book sales.

When authors and/or subjects of these books have a questionable relationship with the truth, one hopes that the reading public recognizes this and punishes them.

On the other hand, Tapper’s platform and connections should aid in the success of his book.

CNN attracts wealthy liberals with awakened sensibilities. Its audience possesses the means to acquire Tapper’s publication.

Those consumers have also demonstrated an appetite for imaginative works.

If “All the Demons Are Here” proves to be a worthwhile read, eventually more readers will discover it.

If not, early returns indicate that Tapper cannot rely on prominent promoters or CNN’s dwindling audience for sales.