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5 Ways to Impress a Business Book Editor

I wrote some time ago on my own blog about ways to impress a business book editor or publisher.  Here is a brief excerpt—click through at the end to read the entire piece:

Earlier I gave some tips on how to get your business book published. Since this remains one of the most asked-for information areas, I racked my brain on how to impress a business book editor or publisher. These are more subtle than  the earlier ones, but probably more important:

  • Be counterintuitive: This is a real key to capturing the attention of a book editor. Many of the bestselling business books are ones that have counterintuitive titles and take that approach in the book. Talent is Overrated by Fortune‘s Geoff Colvin is one great example.
  • Have mounds of “actionable” research: Many of the bestselling business books are built on multi-year studies that have produced tons of data/research…

To read the rest of this piece on impressing a book editor, read on here: 

JeffreyKrames.com: Five More Ways to Impress a Business Book Editor

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Book Proposal Secrets

I wrote some time ago on my own blog about some of the key elements that editors and publishers look for when evaluating book proposals. Here is an excerpt—click through at the end to read the entire piece:

In earlier posts we talked about how to get published, but in general terms. The goal of this entry is to get more specific—to help you cast your potential project in the best possible light and to put together a package that can capture both the attention and imagination of a book editor at a top tier publishing house.  

Potential authors often come to me and ask: “I have an idea for a book but I don’t know the first thing to get started.” Your chances of getting a book contract lives or dies—not only by the quality of the idea, and yes, your platform—but also by the quality of your book proposal. The proposal is what editors and publishers review to make a “yea” or “nay” publishing decision. I have seen well-executed proposals make fair ideas seem like great ideas, and I have seen the opposite as well. A poorly executed proposal can make a potentially great idea seem dull and commonplace.

So what are the elements of a great business book proposal? Read on…

Book Proposal Secrets

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The Business Book Revolution

I wrote some time ago on my own blog about the business book revolution that began, by my reckoning, in 1982. I thought it might be interesting to devoted business book readers:

The rise in popularity of business books is what management guru Peter Drucker might have called both a “recent phenomenon” and “totally unprecedented.” One of the interesting things about the business book market—despite its incredible resilience—is how it has tended to fluctuate with the stock market and the overall economy.    

Take the lackluster 1970, for example. During that decade, before the business book revolution, companies hunkered down, just trying to survive Watergate, an oil embargo, recessions, low productivity rates and double-digit interest rates. Few of us in business book publishing can name even one great business book to come out of that period. The stock market lost well over half of its inflation-adjusted value between 1968 and 1974, and another six percent by July of 1982 (the Dow hovered around 800 in mid-’82). The bears ran rampant on Wall Street for 14 years.

The next decade did not start much better—but then came 1982.

For the rest of the entry, follow the link below.

JeffreyKrames.com: The Business Book Revolution

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