How to Fail Your Way to Success
November 25, 2013

Scott Adams, in new book, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, gives us some tips for success that seem contradictory to what we have always thought.

Metadata and the National Book Awards
November 22, 2013

Noted in NPR's Thursday, November 21 report on the National Book Award winners was that "a visibly shocked (James) McBride accepted the fiction prize. Considered the clear underdog, he said he wouldn't have minded if any of the other finalists won because they 'are all fine writers.'"

McBride's novel The Good Lord Bird is about a young slave (delightfully named 'Little Onion') who joins the abolitionist John Brown in his anti-slavery mission.

Reach Your Goals This Year
November 14, 2013

Time is running out in 2013 to still reach your objectives.  Here are five things you can do to make your numbers this year.

Publishers Must Sell Brands, Not Just Books
November 12, 2013

The Association of Publishers for Special Sales (APSS) held its first annual Book Marketing Conference in Philadelphia last week for publishers looking to sell titles in traditional and non-traditional bookstores. To do that, many speakers emphasized, takes a great deal of creativity and plenty of branding.

Death By Irrelevance
November 11, 2013

Now that I'm no longer in the book publishing industry I've realized something very important: Amazon isn't killing book publishers. Publishers are killing themselves. Book publishers, or more accurately, their products, are becoming less and less relevant every year.

The Path to Happy Customers
November 4, 2013

Publishers typically think about the individual contacts they have with prospective or existing customers (touchpoints). Perhaps a more profitable way (for both parties) is to examine the interaction among touchpoints - the journey the consumer takes with the publisher. Here are the Top Ten Considerations for a Rewarding Series of Customer Interactions.

Take Action, but Act Effectively
October 11, 2013

Success occurs when you become effective (doing the right things) rather than efficient (doing things right). You can become very busy doing the wrong things right, and that will lead you away from your goals. Remember, action is not the same as accomplishment. Like the revving engine of a car stuck in traffic, you can be busy working without moving ahead. 

 

Take Action, But Act Intelligently
September 26, 2013

Intelligent action is based on the understanding that knowledge is different from wisdom. Knowledge is information, but intelligence is the prudent application of knowledge earned through experience. It is the good judgment that prevents mishaps from recurring or enables you to act differently when they do.