Tag Archives: publishing

Takin’ Care of Business

The Young to Publishing Group hosted a brown bag lunch today about business books with Portfolio’s very own Adrian Zackheim and Will Weisser.

They addressed many aspects of publishing in the business category.  Among the topics discussed: the many ways in which the internet is changing how we market books, the importance of packaging a book well, and the advantages of working at a specialized imprint.

takingcareofbusiness3Weisser (left) and Zackheim (right) discussing STREET FIGHTERS

The YPG is an initiative of the Association of American Publishers.  For more information, check out: www.YoungToPublishing.com

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The Power of Handselling

Target imageWe’re encouraged by Motoko Rich’s article in today’s Times about a program at Target stores which successfully handsells novels by relatively unknown authors to hundreds of thousands of Target customers.

Target’s customer relationships are exceptional: They know what their shoppers like, and the reward is strong sales delivered out of a highly selective book section. But this example suggests that the opportunity for handselling is there for every bookseller, and in every category.

New York Times: Target Can Make Sleepy Titles Into Best Sellers

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Janet Goldstein’s Publishing Reset program

Here at Portfolio, I’m frequently asked for tips from authors on how to get published, and then for tips on how to market and publicize their books once they succeed. I don’t think anyone has all the answers, but there are certainly best practices to follow, even in today’s fragmented marketplace. I’m always happy to answer questions from would-be authors, but there’s only one of me and a lot of would-be authors out there, so it’s a relief that some other pros are coming to the rescue.

Janet Goldstein, long-time publishing pro and coauthor of It’s Not About the Coffee, and her colleague, Suzanne Falter-Barns, a social media expert, have created a program to introduce people to the new realities of publishing and book marketing. It’s worth a look:

Publishing Reset: The Four Pathways of the New Publishing Paradigm and How to Choose the Right Path for You

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The Portfolio Year in Review

As a veteran business publisher, I’ve seen my share of ups and downs, booms and busts. The deepening shadow of the current economic crisis promises unprecedented difficulty for all businesses, including ours, in 2009.

But now I’m taking a moment to savor the extraordinary achievement of our brilliant authors, and our hardworking staff, to make an unprecedented success of 2008, in the teeth of a deepening recession.

Despite reduced store traffic through the year, Portfolio reported topline sales growth of 22% and gross margin growth of more than 50%. Nearly half of our new titles achieved margin target in the year of publication. We placed two books on the printed New York Times bestseller list, and several more on the extended Times list, the Wall Street Journal list, the BusinessWeek list, and other bestseller compilations.

Among the highlights of our year:

  • Free Lunch by David Cay Johnston, January, five weeks on the Times bestseller list.
  • The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann, January, sales approaching 100,000 [93,298 in print] and translation rights placed in 16 countries. WSJ and BW lists.
  • The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam, March, cited by Amazon.com (#5 of the Top 10 Books 2008: Business and Investing), by BusinessWeek as the Best innovation & design book of 2008, Fast Company’s Best Business Books of 2008, and many others.

    • Continue Reading →

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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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Time magazine on publishing

booksLev Grossman predicts the future of publishing in a recent article in Time.  Though he concedes that, given the current economic climate, publishing will face some serious challenges in the year (or, more likely, years) ahead, he maintains that “publishing isn’t dying. But it is evolving, and so radically that we may hardly recognize it when it’s done.”

Grossman postulates that the move from paper to digital books and the rise of self-publishing will make it easier for authors to get noticed without going through the traditional process of finding an agent to sell their book to a commercial publishing house. He also criticizes the current (and what he would call archaic) business model that modern publishing still follows, and explains that the increasingly volatile economy will make these methods even riskier than usual.

Grossman’s analysis is not all doom and gloom—though some of his assertions will certainly leave publishers more than a little wary. It’s a testament to way things are and a call to publishers, authors, and readers to adapt because change is coming, whether or not they’re ready for it.

Time: Books Unbound

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