'Going Rogue': Sarah Palin's 400-page book due Nov. 17

Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s memoirs will have a huge initial printing of 1.5 million copies - the same amount as late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s.

Former vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin has finished her much awaited memoir, “Going Rogue: An American Life.” The book, which is due out on Nov. 17, has many wondering if Ms. Palin, a favorite among possible Republican candidates, is gearing up for a presidential bid in 2012.

The book may certainly help. Palin’s publisher, Harper, moved up the release date and ordered a huge initial printing of 1.5 million copies – the same amount as the late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s memoir.

“Going Rogue,” Palin’s first book, was completed only four months after the deal was announced. It is expected to weigh in at 400 pages.

Since resigning as governor of Alaska, Palin reportedly hunkered down for weeks in San Diego to write the book, working closely with ghostwriter Lynn Vincent. Ms. Vincent has a successful track record: Her collaboration with an art dealer who befriended a homeless person, “Same Kind of Different as Me,” has sold 560,000 copies, spent 75 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, and been considered for a Hollywood movie, reports the San Diego Union Tribune.

Neither Vincent nor Harper would disclose the contents of the book. But Harper editor Jonathan Burnham said it contained “fascinating details,” according to the Associated Press.

CNN points out the that book’s title refers to the criticism lodged by aides to her running mate Sen. John McCain as the 2008 campaign drew to a close.

After Palin strayed from the campaign playbook several times in October 2008, one McCain adviser griped to CNN that the vice presidential nominee was "going rogue." Another called her a "diva."

The public is likely to seize upon the book. Following her controversial and much-watched vice-presidential bid in 2008, Palin has continued to make headlines. Palin has a wide fan base on Twitter and Facebook, with about 900,000 followers, according to the AP. A fan recently paid $63,500 in an online auction to have dinner with her.

The former governor of Alaska returned to the limelight this month, giving a talk in Hong Kong, the Christian Science Monitor noted. Observers say the talk may have been designed to burnish her foreign policy credentials and put her back in the public eye.

Despite garnering attention through her talk and her book, Palin, the AP points out, “operates from behind a veil.”

Her spokeswoman won't even say what state she's in. The Washington Post reported that Palin spent a month in California working on her book but has since left. Spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton declined to comment.