Business Notes PUBLISHING

From the Watergate conspirators to the Mayflower Madam, people have profited from their misdeeds by writing best sellers. But the case of John Fedders represents a bizarre twist in that tradition. Fedders, 46, a former chief enforcement officer at the Securities and Exchange Commission, resigned in 1985 after admitting in divorce hearings that he had beaten his wife Charlotte. Now she has written a book about that troubled marriage: Shattered Dreams (Harper & Row; $17.95). Yet for all the humiliation the book is bound to bring John Fedders, he stands to benefit. Because the divorce is not final, the court has deemed the book to be community property. According to a preliminary settlement, John will get 25% of Charlotte's royalties.