BOOKS

How to Get Happily Published, by Judith Appelbaum. Fifth edition. HarperPerrenial, NY. 373 pp. (paper) $14.00. [Click here to order]

It’s taken me thirty years, writing a dozen books, to have learned what I could have learned in one reading of this book. It's all here -- and more. The publishing mystique, couched in mythology that keeps the industry opaque to the non-initiated. The techniques of writing, and learning how to write. (And learning where to learn to write.) The truth about agents. Writing proposals, submitting the manuscript, negotiating the contract, and dealing with editors. Self publishing. Promoting your book (mostly because the publisher won’t). In fact, almost everything there is to know about promoting your own book.

And an appendix to resources and outlets that’s astonishing in its magnitude.

This, it seems, is the 20^th anniversary edition, and each one gets better and broader in scope. Judith Appelbaum, it should be noted, speaks from experience as an editor, as an author, and as an insider to the publishing industry – all of which contribute to the experience and wisdom detailed in the book.

She makes an important point for writers and would-be writers and "…people who have important things to say from time to time and want to say them in print: it is largely within your power to determine whether your work will get published and whether the public will buy it once it’s released." It’s true, but only with qualifications. First, you really have to have something to say. You really have to learn how to say it. You have to realize that not every book, no matter how good, is for every publisher, and you have to be patient while you collect rejection slips until you find the right publisher. From there on, following the instructions in this book, getting published follows.

It’s still a complex process, involving many people (not all of whom unfortunately, are talented, or even bright). The process is made simpler by this book.

Needless to say, for the professional, there's nothing to more firmly establish expertise, authority, and reputation than writing a book. A good professional book makes a substantial contribution to any profession -- and it's a great marketing tool as well.

Should you write a book? Yes, if you’ll take the time to learn to do it right. But read this book first. It will save a lot of time, trouble, and aggravation.

Note: NEW DIMENSIONS IN INVESTOR RELATIONS -- Competing for Capital in the 21st Century, by Bruce W. Marcus and Sherwood Wallace (John Wiley & Sons, NY, 1997) [click here to order from Amazon.com], is available at leading bookstores and at Amazon.com. Now considered the leading book on investor relations, it serves the CEO, the CFO, the attorney, and the accountant with a marketing perspective on dealing with a company's investors. Included are detailed instructions for best practices in every aspect of investor relations, and it addresses the three things that are most integral to investor relations today -- the new technology, the new factors affecting business and finance, and the principles of marketing. Says Theodore H Pincus, Chairman and Managing Partner, The Financial Relations Board, "In many sectors, investor relations has been lulled into the passive art of keeping shareholders happy -- and little more. NEW DIMENSIONS IN INVESTOR RELATIONS is a book that really challenges corporate management and communicators with the realities of the marketplace. It presents a very practical, no nonsense prescription for a systematic proactive effort in pursuit of the Holy Grail of investor relations."