The Push Behind the Book Blog

THIS BLOG HAS MOVED

2010-04-29T23:34:00.000-05:00

Please Note that as of 4/30/2010 we have moved the current version of this blog over to CHCSpeaks.wordpress.com. The same articles have been moved over to the new blog home, plus all new posts will be posted there, so please join us. Plus you won't be able to comment here anymore either.

The Power of Pull Launches in New York

2010-04-14T01:08:00.016-05:00

John Hagel and John Seely Brown were at the Times Center in New York Monday night launching their just-released book, THE POWER OF PULL (Basic, hardcover.) In a lively discussion led by New York Magazine's John Heileman, they discussed how their new book moves beyond the mere technological changes in our world, to the serious, fundamental and game-changing implications they bring to the business world and beyond. What does happen when people who formerly bought products offered (or pushed) at them and instead buy by pulling what they need, from whereever it is available, whenever they want it? Obvious examples include reloading your iPod with movies and songs, finding the perfect flight to Fiji without leaving your desk, or reading the most recent headlines without a stroll to the newstand or even the front porch.

The world of push is here and JSB, Hagel and coauthor Lang Davison peel back the layers and the symptoms of our wired world to undercover the profound shift that is driving change in the way we live and the way we work.

Father bonds with Daughter over Books

2010-03-22T11:38:00.005-05:00

I loved this story in Sunday's New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21 about a Father and daughter bonding over books.

I still vividly recall my father taking me to get my first library card and sign the paper that let me check out out titles BEYOND the picture books.

Fast forward what seems like a lifetime, and this weekend, while stuck with a rainy day on our vacation, my 16 year old borrowed my Kindle and was instantly hooked.

I love that even technology can't dim the power of books to bring us together.

Author offers perspective to the PR process

2010-01-31T19:09:00.002-06:00

We've decided to invite authors to blog on our site as we move ahead into a new decade.

We didn't have to look far for our first contributor as Dennis Welch here on our staff wrote his first book late last year. A candid memoir of his mother Patsy's life, it is a book about tragedy and triumph, friendship and faith. I am a big fan.

Here's one of his first missives from the "life as an author" file.

So, let me just begin by saying that there are all kinds of PR. I’ll explain later.

It all began with a breakfast meeting a month or so ago with my pastor, Will Davis Jr. He’s a great guy and I’m delighted that he’s my pastor and my friend. I met him at Waterloo here in Austin one morning at around 7:30. We had a delightful visit, I signed a copy of my new book Rich People Shop Here to he and his sweet wife Susie, and all was well.

Then, a couple of weeks ago I found out that someone was selling a copy of Rich People on Amazon for a premium because it was a “collector’s item, signed by the author”. I went right over to the item to see who in the world would be selling their copy of the book already, especially ONE I HAD SIGNED SPECIFICALLY TO THEM…

And there, plain as day was the inscription: “To Will and Susie.”.

What!!!! I jumped to EVERY conclusion and I have to say my first reaction did not give him the benefit of the doubt. SELL MY BOOK THAT I SIGNED TO YOU???? HOW DARE YOU???? It’s a work of art, for God’s sake!!!!

I waited a couple of days and sent Will a note to let him know that I had found it on line and I was very clinical in what I sent. Unemotional, even.

His reply was priceless: “Thank God you found it! We’ve been looking all over for it! We thought we’d lost it!” It turns out that Will and Susie had recently moved his parents out of their house and his house was FILLED with STUFF. Susie suggested that he take some of their stuff to Goodwill, so Will just started taking things down there to clear some space.

Unfortunately, my book was in the Goodwill stuff. When he found out it was for sale as a collector’s item he was appalled and embarrassed.

So, what did he do? He logged on to Amazon and bought his OWN BOOK back at a premium, a book that was signed to him!

This past Saturday and Sunday he preached about having too much stuff. That enough is what we need and that most of us have more than enough. We have so much that we lose our friend’s book and have to buy it back. He held the book up in every service and….

Well, I’ve already said it. There are all kinds of PR.

My lesson? Give people the benefit of the doubt. Don’t jump to conclusions.

All the things I write about in my book….

Going Viral

2010-01-18T11:16:00.003-06:00

Like everyone in the publishing business, we're working hard to figure out the new landscape and find the opportunities that we know will come with the massive shift in the way we consume information. So, I was delighted to be invited to blog about our industry changes from the real pros in social media, Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba, who write the popular Church of the Customer Blog.

Here's a link to my post: http://www.churchofthecustomer.com/

Within an hour of this posting, emails started dropping into my box from authors interested in our services.

Seems the mantra of social media can easily be summed up in a single word -- participate.

The Full Plate Diet becomes a bestseller

2010-01-15T16:20:00.002-06:00

Our hats off to THE FULL PLATE DIET, publisher Ray Bard and authors, Dr. Stuart Seale, Dr. Teresa Sherard and Dr. Diana Fleming, who just made the New York Times bestseller list. http://tinyurl.com/y96wsvbHardcover

BookPeople in Austin hosted the authors this week for an event where everyone learned how to drop pounds and get healthy without gimmicks, packaged foods, or strange supplements. Dr. Sherard, Ray, Amy Hanus (who is busy creating recipes for the full plate dieters) and Dr. Fleming were all on hand. Everyone who showed up to hear the authors talk were shocked to learn they could eat MORE and weigh LESS.

Giving Credit where it is Due

2009-12-24T08:41:00.008-06:00

I learned much at the hands of my former boss, Lynn Goldberg, a legendary woman in publishing who was far more than a boss to me – she was part mother/part mentor/part friend. A key lesson she imparted during the decade I spent working for her was the gracious way to give credit where it was due. She was unparalleled at this – with personal notes, public recognition, and lots of other clever ways.

So, as I sit here on the eve of the holidays receiving emails about our holiday gift – a card featuring us all playing scrabble with a portable scrabble game – I feel compelled to give the credit for this clever idea where it is due. To be honest, trying to come up with a holiday card or gift that somehow relates to the publishing industry gets tough. Once you have exhausted the obvious bookmarks, book bags, or even bookends, the idea well gets a little dry.

So this year, when the holiday card time rolled around I was a little stumped. Then, someone on staff reminded me of some shots we had from a standard company shoot. We had never used them as most featured us standing around trying to look like we’re not being photographed. Then, Dennis’s wife, Susie, reached over at the end of the photo session which we were more than ready to end, dumped a scrabble game on the floor and urged us all to sit down and put the company’s name on the board. These candid shots were the only good ones taken that day. And playing with words did seem a good idea for a company that promotes book.

Then, as I sat mulling one night what we could send to accompany the card, my middle child, 14 year old Corey, look a glance and said, “Oh, you should put in those scrabble games that you can take in the car.” Of course, this was FAR better than anything at all I could think of. A scrabble dictionary I had wondered? Corey mulled. “Well, that’s okay, I guess, but what good is the dictionary for Scrabble if you don’t have the game?”

There you have it – anyone who got the game from us and loved it, we’re thrilled. But the clever idea was alas, not really ours. Kudos to Susie Welch and Corey Henricks. We’re mulling whether they would consider sharing the title of Chief Creative Officers of the company.

800-CEO-READ 2009 Business Book Awards

2009-12-15T15:45:00.004-06:00

Today 800-CEO-READ announced the winners of their 2009 Business Book Awards, which highlights its top business book of the year along with winners and nominees in a number of categories including Leadership, Current Interest and Finance & Economics. TOO BIG TO FAIL by Andrew Ross Sorkin (Viking) won Business Book of the Year and we're thrilled that six of our clients are also on the list!

Personal Development WINNER! – Power of 2 by Rodd Wagner & Gale Muller (Gallup Press)

Leadership nominee – Strengths Based Leadership by Barrie Conchie & Tom Rath (Gallup Press)

Marketing & Advertising nominee – "I Love You More Than My Dog" by Jeanne Bliss (Portfolio)

Entrepreneurship & Small Business nominee - Duck and (Re)Cover by Steven S. Little (Wiley)

Biographies & Narratives nominee - How to Castrate a Bull by Dave Hitz with Pat Walsh (Jossey-Bass)

Innovation & Creativity nominee - In Pursuit of Elegance by Matthew B. May (Broadway Business)

Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees!

Book success even sweeter in tough times

2009-12-13T09:14:00.006-06:00

The publishing and media worlds have had a tough year. With magazines folding, newspapers dying or going digital and staff cuts plaguing nearly every industry, it feels there has been little to celebrate.

But while we watch our industry undergoing what is clearly a game-changing shift pushed by technological and digital innovation, watching an old fashioned book, the kind that lives between two covers, remains a big thrill.

This week, Jeanne Bliss has enjoyed a double victory with her book "I Love You More Than My Dog" Five Decisions that Drive Extreme Customer Loyalty in Good Times and bad. (Portfolio, hardcover, October, 2009)

It has become a BusinessWeek bestseller http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_49/b4158068815587.htm?campaign_id=rss_null

And Inc magazine has named it a notable book of 2009. http://www.inc.com/ss/best-books-business-owners-2009#14

Our hats off to Jeanne!

And for the record, the seismic shift and the rise of the digital book are both trends that I feel bring with them tremendous opportunity. More on that here later. After we've popped the champagne corks to celebrate with Jeanne.

The Reshaped Face of Publishing

2009-10-13T07:38:00.003-05:00

A "Shouts & Murmurs" piece in The New Yorker this week has me torn about an appropriate response to the recent upheavals in the publishing world.

Have you read it? Does it make you want to laugh or cry?

It's hard not to laugh at Ellis Weiner's tongue-in-cheek portrayal of some poor "intern to replace the promotion department" trying to make hay for a book by unleashing a pile of jargon on some unsuspecting soul - blasting him with a wacky pre-packaged social media plan to end all social media plans. Facebook? Don't worry - he was signed up for Facebook by his editor when his book contract was signed last year. "You currently have 421 Friends, 17 Pending Requests, 8 Pokes, 5 Winks, and 3 Proposals of 'Marriage.'" Funnier still is the idea that a publisher will network together its authors and have them read one another's work in their respective hometowns, saving their publisher the time and expense of flying them around on a book tour. I literally howled at the suggestion that a cookbook author, a mystery writer and an expert in Moorish architecture would make an appropriate network to "cross promote" their works. Surely when in the kitchen cooking couscous one would be hit with a sudden desire to sink into the couch with a thriller – or perhaps that are supposed to read the thriller while en route to the site with Moorish architecture?

The pragmatists will argue that the answer is in front of us – we move to where the coverage is. But before you get too quick and fast with your email pitch, consider this little diatribe from someone on the receiving end.

Ouch. Some poor blogger publicly unleashed his frustration when a publicist did not respond politely or quietly when the blogger tried to pull himself off the mass email list. I feel bad for both of them.

My solution? I think we all need to pull together a bit – I think we need to start talking to one another again. As in really talking, not online and not via email and not in voice mail messages. Would it really be unreasonable for bloggers, journalists and publicists to devote, say, one hour a month, or a week, on the phone to talk with each other about what’s working, and just as important, what’s not?

I am going to join the half that laugh at The New Yorker column, but I’d like to use the laughter to keep the lines of communication open. As the ultimate optimist, I feel really certain that the media world is still interested in cutting-edge work and opinion in their particular area of expertise. And that books and authors can still serve as excellent sources.

I’ll go you one further, I’m going to say that our job in public relations is to ignore the template approach that might have worked on previous book campaigns and to concentrate much more closely on what the author we are working with brings to the mix. The world of the template campaign is over. The era of a ultra-customized approach for each author and each book has barely begun. Honestly, I can hardly wait.

Do What You Love

2009-10-09T10:55:00.000-05:00

Gallup has long espoused the value of doing what you do best, every day, penning a sequence of bestsellers to help all of us identify our strengths and figure out whether we’re putting them to good use. Hand in hand with this school of thought is the idea that we should spend our precious time – perhaps the biggest scarcity in our ever wired world – doing what we truly love.

Given the tough state of the publishing world, it's a great time to be in the game for love of the written word.

Last week, we lost four Conde Nast magazines to the difficult economy and falling ad dollars. This week, our friends at 800 CEO READ passed on the last column written by their local book review editor, Geeta Sharma Jensen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She was among those taking an early buy out in early August. We think it's a poignant tribute to the passion that books can inspire.

Celebrating Our Own

2009-08-10T21:00:00.003-05:00

A couple of years ago, my friend and my colleague Dennis Welch began sending me email missives, chapters of a book he was writing based on a weekly conversation he had with his mother. Funny, heartbreaking, and impossible to put down, I found myself searching my inbox for the latest installment. When one was late, I picked up the phone and insisted that he find time to write the next piece so that I would know how it all came out in the end.

I am happy to report that those chapters will be available to readers everywhere this fall. RICH PEOPLE SHOP HERE: A Tale of Love, Redemption, and Bargain Hunting is the story of Patsy Welch, whose first 80 years have been filled with sadness, struggle, alcohol, death, and divorce. But that’s not the way Patsy sees it. In the face of obstacles that would make others crumble, Patsy met adversity with a faith so strong and friendships so resilient it will forever change the way you see the world.

Oh, it's also hilariously funny, with Patsy a perfect mix of Southern Belle and Lucille Ball. Forever short on maps and directions, she could turn a car ride to church into a rolling adventure for her three sons or a trip to the grocery store a near tragedy when she picked up the necessities, went to retrieve her car and proceeded to drive home leaving the food and one of her young boys behind. As I said to Dennis, "you couldn't possibly make up this stuff."

George Gallup Jr., co-founder of the Gallup Organization where Dennis worked for over a decade, calls it "the ultimate tale of triumph." Carolyn Castleberry, a reporter for the Christian Broadcasting Network, says it reminds us that "no challenge can extinguish hope."

You can pre-order a copy now. Stay tuned, I'll keep you posted on critic and reader response.

CHC authors on the morning shows

2009-07-30T14:33:00.008-05:00

Two of our authors were on network morning TV in the past week, both talking about different aspects of our work and business lives.

Greg Cootsona, former pastor of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York, penned his book, Say Yes to No, after a personal wake up call that managing his ministry and growing family was taxing his health. He talked with The Today Show's Kathie Lee and Hoda on Tuesday about ways to thoughtfully say "no" - to your children, your friends, your boss.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Last Friday, executive coach and strategist Erika Andersen talked with Maggie Rodriguez of CBS's The Early Show about her book, Being Strategic, a primer on truly being effective in creating the career, the business or the life you envision for yourself.

Watch CBS Videos Online

We find it interesting that both subjects dovetail together – because the truth is, you must slow down and choose wisely as Cootsona advises before you can apply the strategic thinking that is the basis of Andersen’s book. We’d love to have you read them both!

Thinking outside the box (or inside the book package)

2009-07-27T13:20:00.003-05:00

Seth Godin made publicity history when he sent galley copies of his book Purple Cow in a sealed milk carton. I worked with Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval, creators of the Aflac duck commercials, who persuaded us to send a stuffed duck that said "Aflac" with every copy of their book, BANG: Getting Your Message Heard in a Noisy World. The team at Consumer Eyes, authors of Karma Queens,Geek Gods, and Innerpreneurs put together a dummy set of suntan lotions to show how the same product could be marketed to three distinctly different consumer groups. (All three captured media attention. In fact, I recall many calls asking for more ducks.

In spite of these highlights, I normally eschew gimmicks. I am leery about sending along something with a book unless it's really different, makes an intriguing pull into the book, or frankly, is just plain cool. Maybe the era of "here's a t-shirt with our book title, and a hat, and a mousepad" turned me off, especially when the tchotchkes didn't do anything to pull people into the book's message.

But this month, I changed my mind with one of our January titles, THE FULL PLATE DIET. The plan, penned by two MDs and a licensed dietitian, is simple – no special food, no restricted menu, no complicated rules to follow. Instead, the authors (who run a nonprofit clinic to help people battle weight issues), espouse upping fiber intake to 40 grams a day. That’s it. Rather than subtracting food, the diet calls for you to add – blueberries to your morning cereal, bean-rich chili to your baked potato, veggies in your marinara sauce. To introduce the book to the media, we sent a box with sample pages from the book along with a package we created that contains a serving of cereal and dried raspberries (combined, they contain 40% of the daily fiber recommended in the book).

The jury is still out on whether it generates a flood of media interest – but we love that it's a simple (and delicious) way to show what this book is all about.

We’ll weigh in soon (pun intended) with the results; but would love your feedback in the meantime!

Book Expo a Bright Spot in a Down Market

2009-06-05T11:26:00.000-05:00

Attendance was down from the last Book Expo America (BEA), the annual publishing convention, held in New York and some attendees bemoaned the lack of freebies, galleys and other giveaways, but I walked away from this year's show with the Gloria Gaynor tune, "I Will Survive," going through my head. The publishing industry is moving in a digital direction, it’s being hit hard by the economy like every other business, but the authors – many, many great ones – were there, sending the signal that good books will indeed survive.

I had the chance to reconnect with Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Kidder whom I worked with fifteen years ago and my old boss at Houghton Mifflin Joe Kanon who turned novelist years back and has churned out several bestsellers. Margaret Atwood, Michael Lewis, Francine Prose, R.L. Stine and Nicholas Sparks were all on hand as well, providing a literary and eclectic list of authors with a proven track record of getting people to read. Which, at the end of the day, when the booths are dismantled, the sore feet soaked, and the suitcases packed, is the goal after all.

Our fun moments included our digital media director Sara Schneider getting cozy with a Star Wars Stormtrooper, having dinner with our friends and colleagues at 800 CEO READ whose book, The 100 Best Business Books of All Time, continues to sell well and doing booth duty with the folks at Gallup Press who have over the years gone from being just clients to great friends.

Gallup's Geoff Brewer and me at the Gallup Press booth

Sara and the Stormtrooper

Gloria’s right, we will survive. And whether we read our books on a digital device or on the finest of papers, they are never going away.

Social media and old fashioned love launch a new book

2009-04-22T16:58:00.005-05:00

It was a scene that seems fitting in a town like Austin, a gathering to celebrate someone's latest creative offering. In this case we gathered, ate and drank to celebrate the release of Jill Griffin's latest book, Taming the Search-and-Switch Customer, out this month from Jossey-Bass.

Jill, resplendent in her red suit, greeted her 70 + guests with the unbridled enthusiasm befitting the nationally recognized customer loyalty guru she is. But as she shook hands and hugged well wishers, it occurred to me that this was more than just a party – it was an event that brought together the best of many worlds – old friends, local business figures and social media mavens. Among the boldfaced names: Bloggers and customer loyalty pros Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell (Jackie live tweeted from the event); Bard Press publisher Ray Bard; Jill's Jossey-Bass editor Leslie Stephen; Bob Gutermuth, founder of The Dialog Group (who also lent his lovely offices space for the bash); Bob Lander, President and CEO of the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau; well-known technology attorney Mark Murdock; Juan Portillo, President of Tramex Travel; Powered, Inc. CMO Aaron Strout, and Glenn West who heads up fundraising for the University of Texas' Department of Computer Science.

It takes a village to launch a book; and Jill's very loyal tribe turned out to kick things off the right way!

Vook. The e-book answer?

2009-04-08T15:23:00.003-05:00

Making the leap from printed page to digital screen is still an experience in its infancy. Fueled by new apps for the iPhone and propelled by Oprah's love of the Kindle, more and more people are trading in their paper books for digital versions. But other than a lighter briefcase, the advantages are hard to see and sometimes till tough to sell. A recent New York Times story about a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and a handful of other developers has a great "value added" idea that may move the idea from the fringe to the mainstream.

The group, with Bradley Inman at the fore, is working to develop video content integrated into e-books that will make them more compelling and more competitive with other forms of online entertainment.

Sara Nelson, the former editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly, comments in the piece that video would need to be skillfully woven into a story to be truly successful – and I agree. Supplemental material, like video interviews with the author, video shorts, or "extra footage" like that done for the DVD version of a major film, is probably not enough for someone to open their wallet for the reading device. But what if that material delivered something that the book couldn't? Is there some visual component to the reading experience that we've all been missing? Can a clever jacket, for instance, be only the start of a visual experience that brings something to the story that words alone can't?

I love the idea that digital books could be something completely new for readers, something beyond their favorite, well thumbed copy of a classic or a clever film adaptation. Finding the right way to do this, though, may prove to be elusive. I suspect there could be a few clumsy attempts, like the awkward moments in the movie version of a Broadway show where characters burst into song for seemingly no reason at all. Done well, however, they could prove to be undiscovered gems. I eagerly await the first test drive or road show….plus, the name the Vook? It's genius in itself, with the quirky appeal that helped launch products like the Blackberry, the iPod and Google, those that quickly enter the lexicon and stick for good.

Publishing World Pulses with News

2009-03-06T15:47:00.005-06:00

Feels to me like the publishing industry, like businesses everywhere, is looking for new ways to stay vital and grow in the economic downturn. Of note this week:

*A month after shutting an entire division, on Thursday HarperCollins rolled out a new imprint. It Books will publish 21 hardcover and paperback titles this year. The first one? Twitter Wit.

*On Wednesday, Thomas Nelson announced a new program called NelsonFree, which bundles together the e-book and audio versions of a title with the physical book. One of the first titles in the program is Collapse of Distinction by our client Scott McKain. The publisher plans on releasing ten additional titles in this format by the end of the year.

*Amazon launched the new version of the Kindle to mostly positive reviews, with the New York Times calling it lighter, brighter, and chattier. I haven't ordered one yet, although after taking a look from the briefcase of my friend Tom Hayes, a former New York Times writer who reads the newspaper of record on his, along with several pithy books, I am tempted.

*Random House bought Ten Speed Press, an independent house in Berkeley that has long been known for its cookbooks, business books and spiritual titles. The Moosewood Cookbook and the million copy bestseller What Color is Your Parachute? are on Ten Speed's list. We imagine that career guides are selling steadily as more and more Americans are forced to look for work.

*The first ever Christian Book Expo will make its debut this month, with a March show in Dallas. Looks like they are anticipating a crowd.

Partying Like Times are Good

2009-02-03T11:41:00.008-06:00

Last week, while the temperatures were dropping and bad economic news filled the headlines, it seemed, oddly enough, no better time to host a book party!

Sara and I were thrilled to be at the party of the New York book launch for THE 100 BEST BUSINESS BOOKS OF ALL TIME: What They Say, Why They Matter, and How They Can Help You by our authors and friends, Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten of 800CEOREAD. More than 100 people gathered in Manhattan's beautiful Midtown Loft to celebrate the book, Jack's 25 years in the bookselling business and the winners of their 2008 Business Book Awards. Todd, newly sworn in as the company's President, used the opportunity to call on some big names in publishing including Wiley's Jack Day and Portfolio's Adrian Zackheim, editor of THE 100 BEST, to recall the best and funniest of times from Jack's life as a bookseller. Lots of authors were in attendance including Seth Godin, whose book Tribes won Best Business Book of 2008 and Erika Andersen (her second book, Being Strategic, is coming out in June). We saw agents Larry Kirshbaum, Jim Levine, Margaret McBride, Ron Hogan of GalleyCat and dozens of others in the publishing industry who seemed eager to take a break from bleak sales reports and mass firings to chat and mingle with their colleagues.

Photos by Kat Berger

At the same time, Dennis headed to Dallas to help our author Bob Beaudine celebrate the publication of his book, THE POWER OF WHO. Beaudine, fresh from an appearance on NBC-TV's "The Today Show" and glowing from a recent mention in Time, hosted about 100 guests at Legacy Books in Plano, Texas, a beautiful new independent store. Beaudine's book suggests throwing out the old rules of networking and instead relying on your close circle of allies, advocates and fans to get ahead in life. Obviously, Bob's top WHO were with him to celebrate including Bob's agent Jan Miller of Dupree, Miller & Associates. To make a great night even better, the store reported that they sold over 150 books. Way to go, Bob!

Big Week for Harry Dent and THE GREAT DEPRESSION AHEAD

2009-01-25T17:02:00.002-06:00

It was a big week for author and economist Harry S. Dent and his new book THE GREAT DEPRESSION AHEAD. He was all over the FOX and FOX Business channels with interviews on The Glenn Beck Show, America's Newsroom and Cavuto. While his belief that America is headed into an even further economic slump isn't the news anyone wants to hear, the media is picking up on the clear and concise way he delivers the message and on the sound advice he provides.

And the bestseller lists show that people are listening, and buying. The book is #9 on the February 1 New York Times' Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous bestseller list, #9 on the January 23 Wall Street Journal's Business bestseller list, #4 on USA Today's January 25th Money bestseller list.

Congratulations, Harry!

Double Bestsellers for Gallup

2009-01-17T08:27:00.000-06:00

American readers are apparently looking to their strengths to pull them through tough times.
The Gallup Organization, which ignited a national discussion on strengths nearly a decade ago when it released the results of a landmark 30-year study, has two titles on the January 16 Wall Street Journal business bestseller list. STRENGTHS BASED LEADERSHIP by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie hit the list at #4 (is also #12 on the general non-fiction list), just days after its official publication date. It joins Rath's other bestseller, STRENGTHSFINDER 2.0, which holds the #3 spot (#10 on the general non-fiction list).

For the new book, Gallup scientists surveyed a million work teams, conducted more than 50,000 in-depth interviews with leaders, and interviewed 20,000 followers around the world to ask exactly why they followed the most important leader in their life. What they found are three keys to being a more effective leader: knowing your strengths, getting the right talents on your team, and meeting the four basic needs of those who look to you for leadership.

Sounds like a manual for leaders in tough economic times.

THE POWER OF WHO author Bob Beaudine on The Today Show

2009-01-15T16:47:00.004-06:00

THE POWER OF WHO author Bob Beaudine proved how being timely gets your air time this morning with an appearance on NBC-TVs "The Today Show."

Beaudine, the top executive sports recruiter in the country, suggests we throw out old notions of "networking" to get a job and instead, call on our "WHO" -- a circle of friends, fans, acquaintances, advocates and allies. Too often, says Beaudine, pride, fear and shame keep us from reaching out to those who are hard wired to want to help us the most. With a soft economy and the unemployment rate climbing, Beaudine's message is scoring him prime exposure. And of course, he is using his WHO circle to help him get ahead.

Ann Curry, who interviewed Beaudine, closed the interview by saying "the timing for this book could not be better."

If Bob's book had come out in the fall before all of the turmoil, it and its powerful message might have been missed. Instead, he was on national television and an already exciting PR campaign gets a huge dose of momentum.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

New Year, New Rules?

2009-01-13T15:32:00.005-06:00

The new year may be bringing new rules in the land of PR. Or, they may just be the same rules, redefined, for the digital age.

On December 17, Stephen Baker posted a piece called "Freak Out-- Twitter Infected by PR" on Blogspotting, his BusinessWeek.com blog, that proclaimed, "It became clear to me in my early days of blogging, four years ago, that the historic divide between press and PR was no longer the same in the world of blogs."

Translate that to mean that Baker doesn't mind getting pr pitches via his twitter account, and further, thinks that at least half of the then 2,500 (now over 3,100) people he has following his tweets are probably PR folks. I suspect what they are doing what PR people have always done – trying to figure out what might appeal to Baker that might not be immediately apparent from his writing or bio on Cision.

But is this really anything new? Seems to me that tweets have replaced the idle chatter that PR people used to have on that old device called the telephone. We have always tried to dig in a bit with reporters -- finding out that one management reporter loves western movies, another has three kids and is married to a doctor and someone else wrote finance columns but was penning a thriller in his spare time. That behind-the-scenes information sometimes helps us deliver things that will appeal to the reporter that might not be obvious -- Twitter does the same, just digitally.

When all is said and done, I am not sure there IS such an historic divide between PR and the press. Many people (like me) move from journalism to PR, from writing the stories to trying to place them. Some of us are trying to place content, others creating content for their publication. If everyone does their job well, the stories will be cogent and compelling, the facts correct and everyone name will be spelled correctly. Nothing new there, even in the digital age.

Thankful for Teamwork this Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T08:51:00.006-06:00

It's been a tough week for publishing, along with the rest of the nation. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, publishers of literary giants such as Philip Roth and J.R. Tolkien, announced that it has put a freeze on acquiring new titles, an extreme move that has sent shock waves through an industry already battling weak sales report at the bookstore chains across the country.

But here in my little corner of the world, I've decided to focus the things that are going right. With every business title I read, whether to consider it for a pr campaign or just to educate myself on running a company, I learn more and more about the importance of the team. One of our books, STRENGTHS BASED LEADERSHIP (coming from Gallup Press in January) uses Gallup research to prove that the best leaders build teams with a wide array of complementing strengths.

This week, I saw this work first hand. Caught downtown and on a conference call from a coffee shop, I saw my cell phone ring with a call from Dennis. While staying on the client call, I sent a him a text to check in. Turns out CNBC was looking for Harry Dent, author of THE GREAT DEPRESSION AHEAD (Free Press; January) for a live TV spot that night. I had him call Lew, our office manager, who would locate Sara, who is working with me on Harry's book, handling the digital campaign. Before I could conclude my own call, Harry Dent had been reached and CNBC was coordinating his appearance from a studio in Florida. Technology and teamwork together scored air time for an author, and I am infinitely grateful for a group of people who know that response time is key as we battle for airtime and space.

Sure, it's just one interview; but watching everyone jump on board without a nudge from me was the an incredible feeling. No dysfunctions for our team this Thanksgiving. What great news.

Update: Harry's interview on CNBC can be found here, here, and here.

Kirshbaum offers cogent advice for publishing in lean times

2008-10-29T13:36:00.003-05:00

Legendary publisher turned literary agent Larry Kirshbaum was recently interviewed by the 26th Story, HarperStudio’s publishing blog.

I found his take on the state of the book industry a welcome break from the dearth of stories reporting on its imminent demise. I also liked Kirshbaum's focus on what can be done to better give books a chance of succeeding in the marketplace.

He suggests big publishers trim their lists so they can devote more time, energy and marketing dollars to each title, something HarperStudio is already doing. Most intriguing was his suggestion that "marginal titles" or ones with a smaller potential audience, be published in digital format exclusively and only brought to print in a physical book if need dictates. Others, including marketer Seth Godin and novelist Stephen King have played with this idea -- offering either books or chapters online ahead of a book's physical release, or in King's case, in lieu of it.

While Kirshbaum's solutions might not be the ultimate solution for a world that's growing increasingly digital, it's clear that he's headed in the right direction.