Well, let's look at this objectively for a second here. Generally speaking what the book is about is a parallel reality where an elite group of people go to obtain mystical powers with which they are presumably to do great things. The idea is very old, and has existed in a number of forms through the years. "Wizard's Schools" and "Academies for Heroes" or whatever have existed as a concept long before Harry Potter.
The big problem I see with the idea is of course tying the whole idea in to modeling, which is pretty much the promotion of other people's products. The exact opposite of personal empowerment on a lot of levels.
That said, the idea of the protaganist being an outsider to such a world and then finding not just acceptance but major success is rather stereotypical, whether it's intended to be an analogy for the author or not. I suppose it comes down to how well it's written, but it's one clique that I think could be done without.
I see a lot of problems with the idea, but at it's root it's a decent, if not original story. The biggest problem as I see it is of course the whole "models" angle. I can't see training to obtain all of these magical powers so you can then promote some dude's clothing line, perfume, or whatever else. Being a model might be glamorous to an extent, but it's not exactly empowering the way being a wizard is empowering when it comes to training and such.
Also as someone who has entertained the thoughts of being an author myself I sort of feel for her. See, I realize my failings, and my bad english skills which I simply do not have the patience to correct. I can also find a lot of the problems within my own ideas and can typically tell why they wouldn't succeed.
The thing is that Tyra Banks is famous, and seems to have a talent for getting involved in some rather dumb things. I suspect at times it's because she doesn't have anyone around her that tells her when something is a bad idea and puts it into perspective with other things she's done. Thus she goes ahead with whatever is her fancy of the moment, and other people play along with her.
To put things into perspective I look at "Tyra Bank's Virtual Studio" from a couple of years ago and the job the Something Awful goons did on it:
http://www.somethingawful.com/d/mmo-roulette/tyrastudio.php
Unlike some people that are very one dimensional, she seems willing to try new things, so I can't knock her entirely. On the other hand she always seems to have problems with the follow through and implementation. In the case of her books, I think the very best she could hope for would be to release a very average young adult novel given the concepts as they were described in the article.
Personally, if I was her, and I really was in love with the general idea, I'd see if I could find another, more successful genere writer willing to co-write with me and work on the ideas before I threw a bunch of money into it.
I'm also wondering given the way this has been announced if she has already found a publisher, or if her plans are to do this via Vanity Press.
