Our 6th Hit of the (Very Short) Year
2007 is off to a blistering start for my editorial team. Prior to today I was able to tout the fact that this group has produced 5 titles that have made Amazon's Top 25 on the Computers & Internet list. Now we have a 6th: Introducing Character Animation with Blender. This book was #24 earlier today and is currently #9 on the list. Congrats to editor Pete Gaughan and the rest of the team that produced this hit!
For anyone who is keeping score at home (or is just curious), the other titles from our team that have hit Amazon's Top 25 in 2007 are: Windows Vista Secrets, Lifehacker, Second Life: The Official Guide, Skin and Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day. We're not talking flash in the pan either...most of these have remained on Amazon's Top 25 to Top 100 since they were published. Quite an accomplishment by a great team!
The obvious fact that the books cover such a wide range of subjects jumps right out at me. Does this speak to diversity as an element of success? I see a number of publishers following narrow subject tracks, hewing to that which has brought them their greatest success--at the expense of experimenting with possibly even more profitable lines.
--Mike
http://www.michaelabanks.com
Posted by: Michael A. Banks | February 23, 2007 at 04:47 PM
Joe,
I just spent most of the day today in the exhibit hall at the Texas Community College Teachers Association (TCCTA) convention in Austin, TX, where our booth was just across from Wiley's and I wanted to say it looked great. Everything from its layout to the sales reps to the titles on display were all of top-notch quality. It was our first trip to this conference and now we know how high the bar has been set!
Posted by: Mark | February 23, 2007 at 05:50 PM
Hi Michael. You raise an excellent point. This group's success isn't focused in any one or two areas. The entire team has been very opportunistic in identifying new and emerging areas. In some cases we've also been able to not only be first but also "official", which helps build a solid foundation. This diversification also helps protect us as one or more areas go through an inevitable decline.
Mark, thanks so much for posting these wonderful comments about Wiley. I also wanted to let you know that I've been subscribing to your RSS feed for awhile now and enjoy your blog as well (http://tstcpublishing.wordpress.com/).
Posted by: Joe Wikert | February 23, 2007 at 07:58 PM