There are times, though rare they may be, when how good one looks in a pair of chinos does not provide adequate criteria to publish one’s literary work.

Reviled literary hack and Harvard sophomore Kaavya Viswanathan has more to worry about than just the looming finals week. Having lost her writing contract, her estimated $500,000 advance and a great deal of pride, Ivy League wunderkind Viswanathan has plummeted from the pristine buzz of a hot young author to a literary pariah in less than a week's time.

This is after a series of scandalizing accusations of literary plagiarism proved true.

True to her roots, the Harvard sophomore is an overachiever. Not only did she “borrow” an estimated 40-some passages from fellow author Megan McCafferty's own works, but a recent report revealed Viswanathan's previously hailed debut novel, “How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life,” also contained curious affinities to the writings of Sophie Kinsella.

The resulting scandal has rocked the literati and made Viswanathan's now-recalled novel infamous. The book has become a hot buy on eBay.

The impetus to acquire the notorious novel is presumably motivated by the desire to discover any other “influences” unaccredited by the author.

With unsigned copies of “Opal Mehta” selling for upwards of $75, Viswanathan couldn't buy better publicity. Too bad it eviscerated her career.

The question remains, how did Viswanathan get published in the first place? The synopsis of her novel— driven honors student Opal Mehta is turned down by Harvard University on the grounds that she lacks a social life, prompting her to embark on a madcap crusade to infiltrate the neighboring girl clique and sashay her way into academia — is at best a mild mutation of “Legally Blond,” or perhaps her least auspicious influence.

“Opal Mehta” is not without its charm but it lacks a distinctive voice or style, much less an original premise. Had Viswanathan not been young, button cute and a real-life Harvard sophomore, it's doubtful her novel would have been published.

Viswanathan's publishers, Little, Brown and Co., can learn two valuable lessons.

One: when something appears too good to be true, it often is. Two: there are times, though rare they may be, when how good one looks in a pair of chinos does not provide adequate criteria to publish one’s literary work.

From afar, publishing Viswanathan must have seemed like a sure thing — she's young, she's cute, she has side bangs. Too bad no effort went into developing a nascent talent.

It's doubtful that someone who was bright enough to get into Harvard University would be stupid enough to capriciously, and consciously, plagiarize the works of well-known authors.

More likely Viswanathan, like most young talent, unintentionally imitated the works of others in an attempt to create an artistic personality. Unfortunately, in the rush to promote a marketable personality, Viswanathan was given too much too fast, effectively crushing the potential of an author who shouldn't have been published in the first place.

This is a good time to be a hack. Book publishing is a comparatively quiet industry when compared to its sister arts film and music, however, this is a bombshell befitting of the most scandalous socialite. This falls right on the heels of the shocking revelation that JT LeRoy was not, as previously claimed, a gay adolescent male posing as a girl, but rather, a comparatively dumpy 30-something woman posing as a boy posing as a girl.

Although LeRoy’s scandal ruffled more than a few feathers, her own public denigration paled in comparison to “A Million Little Pieces” author James Frey's on-air crucifixion on “The Oprah Winfrey show.” That incident followed the revelation that his self-purported autobiography was largely a fictitious affair.

Kaavya Viswanathan should take heart. Sure, she may have lost a small fortune, her reputation and a promising literary career, but at least she can thank the benevolent spirits above that “Opal Mehta” was never made an official selection of Oprah's Book Club.

Had Winfrey chanced upon Viswanathan's otherwise charming debut novel prior to the present controversy, there's no telling what could have happened. If we learn nothing else from Winfrey's vehemence following the Frey scandal, it's this: You can lie to your parents, lie to the lord or lie to the IRS, but you best not lie to Oprah Winfrey.

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