Publishers Design Group | Custom Publishing: Case Study

Book Packaging: Expert Author

CUSTOM PUBLISHING: ESTABLISHING THE EXPERT AUTHOR
Experts in any field can benefit from a book packaging or custom publishing program. Each year, experts release books about business techniques and theory, law practice, education, architectural design, alternative medicine, pet care, religion and theology, marketing, hobbies, financial planning, and on political and cultural opinion, to name a few. The benefits for the author are enormous in advancing ones career or promoting a product or service. A published book, explaining an author’s expert opinion, is a great way to establish someone as a seminar speaker or contributor to articles and columns in any field of study. A business expert who offers counsel and services to prospects gains a great advantage over the competition, simply by being published.

CASE STUDY: RYLINN Publishing Program

Publishing Goals: Jim Sapp and Rylinn Publishing approached PDG with a concept for a how-to book on starting a business. A rough manuscript was accompanied by the Project Questionnaire and Marketing Assessment. Mr. Sapp, an acknowledged expert in business start-ups, had two reasons for publishing: to share his experiences, successes, opinions, and techniques with aspiring entrepreneurs, and to extend market-reach for his consulting business. Ultimately, his long-range goal was to establish himself as one of the top experts/consultants on small business start-ups and management.

Primary Consideration: How to structure and create the best hands-on guide for aspiring entrepreneurs and compete in an overly saturated market category against well-entrenched, renowned experts.

Primary Solution: Define the audience: who buys books on starting businesses, why do they buy them, and what do they want from a book like this one? Identify the most successfully published experts and compellingly distinguish Mr. Sapp’s book from them.

Client Consultation: Research showed that 60% of business start-up books are purchased by people who never actually start a business. PDG recommended restructuring and rewriting the book to be balanced with theory, application, and real-life examples. It was also recommended that Mr. Sapp establish a nonprofit, small business entrepreneur association. The original, working title was changed, as well.

Editorial & Manuscript Development: Manuscript development was the most challenging aspect of the project. This book needed to rise above all others in presenting small business theory, business-personality assessment, and hands-on practical application.

The book was divided into five major sections with 21 chapters. Targeting the book to aspiring entrepreneurs meant that information had to be presented in a step-by-step format, with summaries and opportunities for readers to test and apply what they learned. Each step of the way a “Reality Check” feature was included, along with assessment tests to help the reader determine his fitness for starting a business under varying circumstances, asset levels, and skills. Two true-to-life start-up scenarios were created (Betsy’s Computer Service and Asa’s Auto Repair) and were threaded throughout the book as examples for the subject areas of study, and were monitored and evaluated along the way.

Project Coordination: The project was measured against the client’s goals as described in his Project Questionnaire. Because the manuscript needed to be carefully rewritten, writing and editing were the most unpredictable factors, both in budget and content. Another area that needed to be tightly coordinated was the constant research that kept turning up new information about the target audience and their buying habits.

Marketing Approach (pre-launch): Early research at the Wall Street Journal showed that 65% of all people working for someone else desired to start their own business (only 15% to 20% actually follow through). The survey also showed that the two top reasons they wanted to start a business were to gain independence and, to work at something they love. (Interestingly, the goal of making-it-rich was at the bottom of the list.)

Armed with this research, PDG suggested changing the title of the book to Starting Your First Business, because 60% of book buyers in this category have yet to start their first business. (A quick survey of the bookstore shelves showed that no other books included the words first business in their titles.) The subtitle was changed to Gain Independence and Love Your Work, the two top reasons why people claim they dream of starting a business.

The marketing copy, in-trade literature, advertising, and back cover blurbs, emphasized the easy, entry-level presentation with the tools and hands-on features. The author’s credentials, awards, and citations were touted along with several key endorsements.

The final trim size was enlarged to 7” x 10” -- an attempt to get the spine noticed on the overcrowded bookstore shelves that contained primarily 6” x 9” paperbacks. 

Design & Production Approach
Navigation, presentation, and interesting page layout were keys to handling so much material. Readers needed to be able to identify a “Reality Check,” an “Example,” or an “application” of Besty’s or Asa’s business plan and implementation, or special “insider tips” without the pages looking busy.

To ensure the cover would to stand out on bookstore shelves, the book not only needed to be one inch larger than competitive tiles in overall size, it needed a unique color, as well. The majority of business books were either red or blue, with serif fonts on the spine. We chose to use a light mustard color scheme and Stone Sans Bold font treatment. Three photos of upbeat looking, sharp, business people graced the well-designed front cover.    

Marketing Approach (Post-launch)
Starting Your First Business was promoted heavily with a complete media kit that communicated clearly the features and benefits of the book. It was entered in ForeWord Magazine’s Book of Year Award program that was held at BookExpo America in New York in 2005. It won first place as the best business book for 2005 and went on to garner many citations and mentions in trade and consumer publications. 

Line Extension
Rylinn Publishing has since capitalized on the momentum of Mr. Sapp’s first book and has developed a very successful online consulting program for small businesses. They continue to release related books and publications for aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Publishing Model
Starting Your First Business was a Book Packaging project that was published by Rylinn Publishing in Indianapolis, IN.