James Woods had just quit smoking prior to filming. When it came time to shoot the cigarette on the palm scene, Woods suggested he take an already lit cigarette off of a patron--that way he wouldn't have to light and smoke a cigarette.
Sylvester Stallone enjoyed the film and called James Woods to get his opinion on director John Flynn. Woods vouched for the director and Flynn was hired to direct Stallone in Lock Up (1989).
Early in production, several trade magazines announced that the film would be called "Hard Cover" (aka ''Hardcover'').
In an interview with Harvey F. Chartrand for the article "John Flynn: Out for Action", director John Flynn said of this film: "There is no Watergate connection. I rewrote the script. The Writers Guild adjudicated against me and I received no credit, as they decided I hadn't written at least 51% of the script. Once Larry Cohen and I overcame that conflict, we became good friends and he sent me other scripts over the years. The original story was called 'Hard Cover'. We changed the title to 'Best Seller' in post-production, as 'Hard Cover' didn't test well with preview audiences. Then a woman sued us all--me, Larry Cohen, James Woods, and producer Carter DeHaven. This woman claimed we had stolen the plot of a book she wrote called 'Best Seller'. We went on to prove that this could not be the case, because Larry Cohen had submitted a treatment to Columbia prior to the copyright of this book. It's amazing, though, because there were plot similarities. Her book was about a killer who writes a best seller incriminating the people who hired him. Turns out this lady didn't want money. She asked for a three-picture deal with Hemdale Films".
The picture opened in 11th place at the box office but found its key audience on cable television.