One of the main reasons self-publishing is sometimes so appealing is that you don’t have to wait around for a bunch of people, say, at Dutton, to get your book out in front of the public.

But perhaps the wait for NO EASY DAY , written by “Mark Owen”—the pen name for retired SEAL Mark Bissonnette and scheduled for release today—was deliberate.  The ongoing controversy and the threat of a government lawsuit (the Pentagon threatened legal action against Bissonnette for not submitting the manuscript for review early enough in the publication process) have pushed the title to #1 on Amazon.

Not wanting to be left behind, SOFREP, a group of former Special Operations veterans, yesterday self-pubbed NO EASY OP: The Unclassified Analysis of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden, a $4.99 KDP exclusive with a similar looking book cover.  According to a story in the New York Times, “Brandon Webb, a former SEALs sniper and the founder of the site, said the e-book was based on conversations that he and his co-authors had with current members of SEAL Team 6, none of whom are identified.”

NO EASY OP is currently #17 on Amazon’s list, where the description is as follows:

“Learn about insider politics behind the book NO EASY DAY, as told by former US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Operators.

SOFREP (Special Operations Forces Situation Report) is “the number one Internet source for timely and accurate news and information related to the Special Operations and Intelligence community. This eBook is the first in our World Report series that covers breaking news as it relates to the military and intelligence affairs.  Our reports are collaboration between our contributing editors who are all former U.S. Special Operations and Intelligence operatives.”

The book’s description goes on to claim that NO EASY OP “breaks down the cause and effect that comes with the release of the controversial book NO EASY DAY, and includes new insider information that has never been previously released to the media.”

“How was he repaid for his honesty and 14 years of service?” a passage of the e-book asks. “He was ostracized from his unit with no notice and handed a plane ticket back to Virginia from a training operation.”

The ebook authors don’t say whether Bissonnette provided information for NO EASY OP, though the ebook’s account is apparently sympathetic to him and says it was “highly unlikely that Mr. Bissonnette released any vital information about SEAL tactics and procedures,” though they also criticized him for not submitting NO EASY DAY for review by government agencies.”

Which was evidently not a problem for an indie.