'Joe the Plumber' lands book deal

"Joe the plumber" eventually decided to back Mr McCain

The man who shot to fame in the recent US presidential election as "Joe the Plumber" is set to become "Joe the Published" after signing a book deal.

Samuel Wurzelbacher's book, Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream, will address his ideas about American values, his publisher says.

Mr Wurzelbacher sprang to fame when he challenged President-elect Barack Obama about his tax proposals in October.

He said he had chosen a small publisher in order to help "spread the wealth".

The term is a reference to the phrase used by Mr Obama when responding to a question from Mr Wurzelbacher about raising taxes for people who earn more than $250,000 (£166,000) a year.

The Republican candidate, Senator John McCain, later used the term in an effort to discredit Mr Obama's tax policies, and gave Mr Wurzelbacher a starring role in his campaign rallies and debates.

'Not cashing in'

Just days before the election, Mr Wurzelbacher insisted he would not seek to "cash in" on his fame with a lucrative book deal from a major publisher.

Everyone came at me to write a book - they had dollar signs in their eyes Samuel Wurzelbacher Profile: Joe Wurzelbacher

"Everyone came at me to write a book. They had dollar signs in their eyes," he told Fox News.

"You know I will get behind something solid, but I won't get behind fluff. I won't cash in, and when people do read the book they will figure out that I didn't cash in. At least I hope they figure that out."

The plumber-turned-election-fixture also told Fox that he was short on cash and unemployed.

"I got no financial offers. I am broke," he added.

The terms of the book deal with Texas-based PearlGate Publishing have not been revealed, but the publisher said paperback copies would go on sale at $14.95 (£10) in the US on 1 December.

The deal is not likely to come close to the $7m (£4.65m) figure rumoured to be on offer for a book by the former Republican vice-presidential hopeful, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Mr Wurzelbacher's book is being co-written by Thomas Tabback, the author of the only other book so far published by PearlGate.