Book Description
This volume is available individually, or as part of the 7 volume set Emergence of International Business 1200-1800 (0-415-19072-X; $910.00/Y [Can. $1365.00/Y]).
Book Description
The indispensable resource that has helped the writers and editors of The Wall Street Journal earn a reputation for the most authoritative business writing anywhere -- now fully expanded and revised for the twenty-first century
In the field of business, the words you use -- and how you use them -- can either bolster your credibility or undermine your intelligence. For anyone who is faced with the task of writing a memo, report, proposal, press release or even an e-mail, The Wall Street Journal Essential Guide to Business Style and Usage is an invaluable one-stop resource.
Originally intended exclusively for use by the paper's staff, the book is organized in a user-friendly A to Z format, with appropriate cross-referencing, that helps you solve almost any question of spelling, grammar, punctuation or word definition. For those seeking a competitive edge for succeeding in the world of business, The Wall Street Journal Essential Guide to Business Style and Usage is the definitive reference to keep close to your desk -- the last word for everyone who works with words.
Customer Reviews:
More a basic dictionary than a guide to style and usage.......2003-02-11
I was somewhat surprised that any publisher would consider this text a guide. Basically, it is formatted like a dictionary with various business-related vocabulary listings and their definitions. Usage applies to the spelling and capitalization of the listings. My expectations were that this book was similar to a Chicago Manual of Style within a business writing context that includes recently created words germane to the business world. Unfortunately, it isn't useful in this regard. For example, if you want to find out how to use colloquial business language such as "leverageable", you probably won't have much luck with this text as such words appear to be absent.
...
Lastly, the organization leaves something to be desired as the usage topics such as Abbreviations are mixed in with the vocabulary entries, which essentially is the entire book. I really see very little value in acquiring this book...
Perfectly fine for what it is........2002-07-23
As its title says, this book is The Wall Street Journal's *style* guide and, to a lesser extent, a usage guide. A style guide is something specific to the book-magazine-newspaper publishing world: a volume that tells the writers and editors for a given publisher how they should handle certain recurring situations. ("Style" in this context refers to the mechanics of prose composition, not to a writer's individuality of expression.) Any style guide's main purposes are to promote consistency and to save the time that would otherwise be wasted in continually rethinking issues that the house has already decided. Whether the guide also promotes "good usage" in the sense of Strunk & White or Fowler is almost irrelevant. A style guide is thus a series of more or less arbitrary decrees from the boss -- don't use a serial comma, don't put a comma before "Inc.," capitalize "The" in "The Wall Street Journal," etc. It's not the job of the typical style guide to explain why one usage is preferred over another or to give its user choices; rather, its job is to set forth the rules followed by a given publisher.
The Wall Street Journal Guide to Business Style and Usage is exactly what its title suggests and a bit more. It tells you how The Wall Street Journal has answered the questions that, experience has shown, arise when writing about business. It doesn't debate the wisdom of hyphenating fractions, for example, but simply tells you, "This is how we do it at WSJ."
In addition, it contains helpful definitions of business terms and (much less frequently) of grammatical terms. But, if you want a business dictionary or grammar book, then this should not be your first choice. You should buy this book if you write, or edit writing, about business, and you want to know how the world's foremost business publication handles the same problems you face.
Useful, But Not a First Choice.......2002-01-02
If you want to know the meaning of derivative claims, leveraged buyout, offshore buying units or Brady bonds, this is the book for you.
If you need to know the definition or usage of the words Amish, tort, girl or the location of Exxon, then, by all means buy this book.
But I don't know why anyone would want to spend $30 (the standard price) for this book, put together by the Wall Street Journal's Paul R. Martin, because it is uneven, moving from the obvious (the word girl, for example), offering up tidbits of definitions of rather well-known words (the Amish) and the obscure (offshore buying units.) It is a book of multiple purposes or no clear purpose at all to the public.
Internal stylebooks sometimes suffer from a fuzziness growing out of dual purposes, meant to fix the same errors that crop up regularly, to define the words most troublesome for that publication, to provide consistency in usage and presentation. Sometimes they are little more than a compilation of the memos issued by a copy desk or news editor, reminding people about the correct names of companies or the policies on datelines, or to remind editors on acceptable headline practices.
Other times, stylebooks grow out of a sense of mission to guard the language from silliness and doublespeak while allowing the language to grow, as English does.
What I didn't find in this book was the Journal's obvious ability to teach, as demonstrated in some other WSJ guides. While a stylebook doesn't have to take education as a mission, once it goes public, the educational component would seem to be essential.
Why else would anyone not worried about whether to capitalize executive director buy this book? As an internal publication, the stylebook is useful. It sets standards and clearly tackles problem words, I'm sure fed by repeated misuses of certain words or facts by its own staff. I'd be willing to bet that the items on defuse/diffuse, or bizarre/bazaar, for example, are included because someone(s) on the staff has demonstrated confusion on their proper usage.
This is no knock on the obvious effort that went into putting this book together. Virtually every editor I know flees in terror at the prospect of having to produce a stylebook for the company. But once it went public, it needed some more thought. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes to collect style and language manuals, or people who need more sources of information on certain business terms. But I wouldn't rush out to buy this as a first choice on either language or business.
Book Description
This is the first and only book ever written showing the actual negotiation of a labor agreement. This story places you at the bargaining table, attending every negotiation meeting, from the first to the surprise ending. Few people know how wages and salaries are determined. Why do people doing the same job, but at different companies, receive different wages? Why do some companies give better frings benefits, as insurance or vacation timeoff? Do Labor Agreements affect non-union plants and salaries and executive compensation? For the first time an insider speaks out and explains how the system works. You learn how to negotiate from a Chief Negotiator. No college teaches how to. The story is based on actual events. It is a fast paced, rollicking story with interesting side roads. Since the story affects the lives of 10,000 employees and indirectly the lives of the 80,000 Atwater Industries employees. The story characters talk of the events they live in during 1963. The story is well told and clearly told. You will see the standards and morals of 1963 are reflected in the story's characters. Come! Join us at the bargaining table.
Book Description
Former editor-in-chief for the Project Management Institute (PMI®), Francis M. Webster Jr. refers to himself as "the Olde Curmudgeon." After reading his new book, it is difficult to see how this description applies. What Webster delivers in PM 101 According to the Olde Curmudgeon: An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Project Management is insider information dispensed with a friendly arm-around-the-shoulders approach.
This is a book of veteran do's and don'ts, generously shared with novice project managers. Webster's passion is modern project management, those aspects of the field not given adequate attention in the past. You'll learn the nine essential skills of modern project management, making this an essential book for your project management library.
Writing as the "Olde Curmudgeon," Webster lets new project managers in on the tricks of the trade. By following his advice, the most inexperienced novice should look good. In PM 101, Webster shares his well-reasoned, well-organized observations. This carefully written manual is full of ideas, distinctions, rules, and metaphors—even commandments.
PM 101 is essential for new project managers who need to come off the blocks on the right foot fast!
Customer Reviews:
Getting Started in Project Management.......2001-05-10
If you are new to the field of Project Management this book is very helpful. It draws upon the accepted practices of the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) but is written more for those who don't want to learn directly from a text book style reading. The story follows a character named Sam and how he deals with his first exposure to project management. The flow of the book is very smooth as it takes you from basically describing what a project is, through the skill sets required to be a successful PM, and finally to the development of a Work Breakdown Structures and project planning techniques. This is a great quick read for anyone interested in project management as a profession, or who uses project management skills in their day to day jobs but don't have any guidelines.
Book Description
Fidelity, Hallmark, Michelin, and Wal-Mart are renowned industry powerhouses with long leadership track records. Yet these celebrated companies are united by another factor not generally equated with competitive success: They are all family-controlled businesses. While many view the hallmarks of family businesses—stable strategies, clan cultures, and unencumbered family ownership—as weaknesses, Danny Miller and Isabelle Le Breton-Miller argue that it is these very characteristics that create formidable competitive advantages for many such firms. Managing for the Long Run draws from a worldwide study of enduring, family-run organizations—including Cargill, Timken, L.L. Bean, The New York Times, and IKEA—to reveal their unconventional success strategies and how these strategies can be adopted and applied in any organization. Miller and Le Breton-Miller show how four driving passions of family-run firms—command, continuity, community, and connection—give rise to a set of practices that defy modern management thinking yet ensure a company’s long term competitive advantage. Outlining how these practices can enhance strategic efforts from operations to brand leadership to innovation, this book shows what every company must do to manage for the long run.
Customer Reviews:
Useful Insight into Family-Managed Companies.......2005-12-27
Miller and Le Breton-Miller present a well-researched and well-written study focused on 4 themes in family-run firms: command, continuity, community, and connection. These themes translate into management principles that can and should be used by public companies and other organizations as well. Their (sometimes counter-intuitive) findings show companies such as Cargill, L.L. Bean, The New York Times, IKEA and others manage to survive and thrive. An insightful and interesting book.
A Classic in Family Business Studies.......2005-10-15
Modernisation theorists and chandlerian followers have developed plausible arguments that there are too many weaknesses in family-controlled businesses such as nepotism, small-scale, and short-lived.
Danny Miller & Isabella Le-Breton Miller capture mounting primary and secondary data from 58 family-controlled companies in the US and suggest that family-controlled companies can be as marvellous as their nonfamily-controlled peers. This book provides a rich source of useful insights to business excutives in having a novel understanding family-controlled companies.
According to the International Family Enterprise Research Academy, family-controlled companies dominate every aspect of economic life in the world but the study of family-controlled companies has received scant attention in proportion to the significance of their contribution to the economic growth in the US. This book is a classic in family business research and I highly recommend it to all business executives and researchers.
How Some Acorns Eventually Became Oak Trees...and Others Can.......2005-06-03
In several recent reviews, I have quoted remarks by Jack Welch when explaining why he admires small businesses: "For one, they communicate better. Without the din and prattle of bureaucracy, people listen as well as talk; and since there are fewer of them they generally know and understand each other. Second, small companies move faster. They know the penalties for hesitation in the marketplace. Third, in small companies, with fewer layers and less camouflage, the leaders show up very clearly on the screen. Their performance and its impact are clear to everyone. And, finally, smaller companies waste less. They spend less time in endless reviews and approvals and politics and paper drills. They have fewer people; therefore they can only do the important things. Their people are free to direct their energy and attention toward the marketplace rather than fighting bureaucracy."
In his E-Myth Mastery, Michael Gerber cites the following statistics: "Of the 1 million U.S. small businesses started this year [2005], more than 80% of them will be out of business within 5 years and 96% will have closed their doors before their 10th birthday." Everything Welch says is true in terms of the potential advantages which small businesses have and the statistics which Gerber cites suggests that very few of them know how to achieve and then sustain those advantages.
I include these quotations now because they are directly relevant to what Miller and Le Breton-Miller offer in their own book, Managing for the Long Run. For owners and other decision-makers now involved with family businesses, they explain HOW to achieve and then sustain a competitive advantage. True, various "lessons" were revealed by the authors' rigorous and extensive research on a number of family-controlled businesses (FCB) which have become major corporations, notably Cargill, Hallmark Cards, L.L. Bean, Motorola, and Wal-Mart.
It is important to remember, however, that all of them had modest origins and during that perilous period encountered most (if not all) of the same challenges which FCB start-ups now face. Most of the most valuable business books were written to answer critically important questions. In this instance: What distinguishes great family businesses? (Please see Chapter 1.) A related question: What are the "potent priorities" of great family-controlled businesses? (Please see Chapter 2.) Another related question: Why do so many family-controlled businesses stumble? (Please see Chapter 8.) In between Chapters 2 and 8, Miller and Le Breton-Miller focus on five primary characteristics: brand building, craftsmanship, operations, innovation, and deal making. They devote a separate chapter to each. I prefer not to list their key points which are best revealed within the narrative's frame-of-reference and sequential context. However, I now express my appreciation of various Tables and Grids which so efficiently illustrate the cohesion, indeed interdependence of what the authors characterize as "The Four Cs": Command, Continuity, Community, and Connections.
All of the specific mental and business models, strategies, tactics, values, and applications which Miller and Le Breton-Miller recommend are based on their conviction that "the only way to sustain good performance is to [begin italics] act in the best interests of the company and all its stakeholders. [end italics] First, boards and top managers must be motivated to be courageous and farsighted stewards. Second, they need to concentrate on and invest deeply in a substantive, enduring mission. Third, they must assemble a unified, value-driven staff that uses its initiative for the interests of the whole firm. Finally, they must form enduring, win-win relationships with external partners."
Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Gerber's most recent E-Myth book. Also Gary Harpst's Six Disciplines for Excellence, Steven S. Little's The 7 Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Success, and Jason Jennings' Think Big, Act Small.
Great on the unique advantages of family firms........2005-04-25
This is a great book! It is well grounded in excellent case study research and good theory. The authors bring to life some important and profound wisdom about the sources of advantage that family firms have and what makes them successful. Well written, the book is easily accessible to scholars, public policy makers and the public at large. I am impressed by the depth of the research in the book and the time frame it covers. The diversity of companies examined in the book helps to illustrate how effective management can make a significant difference in the ways family firms surpass their rivals in their performance. This is a "must read" book!
Shaker A. Zahra
Paul T. Babson Chair of Entrepreneurship
Deep Lessons from Successful Family Businesses.......2005-02-05
This book is amazing. I know of no other book in the management literature as cogent, as provocative or as compelling as this one. No wonder family businesses outperform their publicly-held counterparts. This book challenges not only our prejudices about family businesses, but also they way we manage our own. It shows clearly why these companies have succeeded and grown over decades to become the powerhouses they are now - their competitive advantages are sustainable.
The book defies what we think of as best management practices for public companies. It reminds me of Collins's "Built to Last" and Level 5 leaders. The underlying research is THAT good.
For me, the centerpiece of it all is an elegant matrix that describes how these companies have been able to deliver on 5 core strategies through the advantages long tenure, patient capital, etc. No quick accounting fixes here. Locate your own company within this matrix and the companies they studied will offer new guidance as you make your biggest bets and make your toughest decisions.
I was dumbfounded at how short-sighted and small-minded I had become as a manager. It's not a quick read, but read it. And you will never think in quite the same way about your strategy, your core competencies, your markets, or the way you leverage/steward your current resources.
This book is both sophisticated and practical. My hat is off to Miller and Breton-Miller.
Book Description
Awarded the Dexter Prize for Best Book in the History of Technology
"This truly outstanding book will become required reading in the history of technology. The story of steel is important in its own right, and Thomas Misa writes with remarkable clarity and succinctness... The emphasis upon user-producer interactions allows Misa to focus on the social significance of technologies and to bring out nuances and contingencies in the development of critical technologies and industries."--Edwin T. Layton, Technology and Culture
From the age of railroads through the building of the first battleships, from the first skyscrapers to the dawning of the age of the automobile, steelmakers proved central to American industry, building, and transportation. In A Nation of Steel Thomas Misa explores the complex interactions between steelmaking and the rise of the industries that have characterized modern America. A Nation of Steel offers a detailed and fascinating look at an industry that has had a profound impact on American life.
"Each of Misa's six case studies is fruitful, and together they capture the enormously diverse and complex influences on technological change. Taken as a whole, this study constitutes a massive and successful assault on the neo-classical paradigm... This book will profoundly shape the way scholars understand how technologies 'are not only socially constructed but society-shaping.'"--David Bensman, American Historical Review
"A brief review can not do justice to the subtlety with which Misa links steelmaking to a larger socioeconomic environment... Based on new information from archival and other primary sources, this well-written, richly textured work greatly expands our knowledge of American industrialization." -- W. David Lewis, Journal of American History
"In what will surely become a standard history of steelmaking, Misa integrates that industry's development with the industrial growth of America in the half-century following the Civil War. Involved in the interplay between steel production and the production of America were such developments as the railroads' demand for steel rails following the Civil War, the role of urbanization and especially tall-building construction, the armor plate requirements of the Navy, and the emergence and growth of the automotive industry." -- Science, Technology & Society
"A splendid overview of an industry whose fortunes were inextricably intertwined with the railroads... The protions that treat the dynamic interrelations of the steel industry and the railroads clearly stand as the most sophisticated treatment of this complex topic that has yet appeared in print... An immensely rewarding book." -- Robert C. Post, Railroad History
Customer Reviews:
"Nation of Steel" outlined.......2007-05-24
Thomas J Misa, A Nation of Steel, the Making of Modern America, 1865-1925 (1995)
Thesis: "The relationships between producers and consumers are the single most important determinant of the dynamics of technology and social change." (xix) "The view of technology as applied science has served as a powerful myth for legitimating science policy..., but this view is worse than useless for comprehending the dynamics of technical and social change." (xv)
Chapter 1. "The Dominance of rails 1865-1885"
Three RR building campaigns, 1872, 1882, 1887
Henry Bessemer process: air could decarburize pig iron, blew it in from the bottom of a tilting converter.
Alexander L. Holley: designed Bessemer steel rail mills
From 1877-1915 (except depression decade of 1890s) price of steel rails determined by Bessemer Association & successors
Users and producers of rails could be owned by same corporation, ie Pennsylvania RR p 21
Continuous Bessemer process p26
How to determine quality? Chemistry. Distinguish iron from steel? p30
Carbon content: Steel .2-1% p33 Fusion p32, p38
Steel making in US created for a single product: making steel rails. p 42-43.
RR officials promoted funded and founded early Bessemer steel works
Train steel executives in modern management
Influenced scientific knowledge
Shaped pattern and pace of national development p43.
Chapter 2. "The Structure of Cities, 1880-1900"
New steel for urban structures broke the tyranny of the Bessemer steel rail and was a mammoth technical and scientific effort involving new linkages between producers and consumers of steel. p 50
Bessemer mills could not make structural steel for four reasons; p 76.
After rail market stagnated in late 1880s, the mass production of steel in the US depended on steel for urban structures. p 83
fireproof p86, rapid construction p87
Chapter 3. "The Politics of Armor, 1885-1915"
Harvey-Krupp cartel P129
Hayward Augustus Harvey, hardened armor p 120
London financing p122
Krupp patent p123
Never before had so many government officials interacted so intimately with so many managers and executives in private industry. p 129
Huge profits from armor permitted Carnegie to purchase iron ore lands and transportation that made it self sufficient in this vital raw material p 130
Chapter 4. "The merger of Steel, 1990-1910"
Changes in steel industry destabilized the rail and steel system that J. P. Morgan had just salvaged from competitive disarray and economic depression, triggering the events behind the formation in 1901 of the US Steel Corporation p 130
Morgan= worked to forestall destructive competition among the RRs and steel companies
Carnegie= the master of destructive competition p167
US steel was designed not to foster technological change, but to promote stability in the industrial system. p 170.
Innovation, as in high-speed steel for factories and alloy, sheet, and electric steel for automobiles came from beyond U.S. Steel. p171
Chapter 5. "The reform of Factories, 1895-1915"
Frederick W. Taylor: metal cutting research p174
High speed steel and the interplay between its science-inspired invention and its craft-oriented production. p175
One perfected the new steels cut at impressive and unprecedented rates p193
By 1902 a revolution in machine design was under way p200
Not only individual machines, but also the design of the factory itself p201
High-speed steel affected the traditional balance of power and authority in the shop p202
These developments in machine tools, factory design and metallurgy culminated in the rational factory movement in the automobile industry 209
in responding to a new and insistent user (the automobile makers) the U.S. steel was prodded into its fully mature form p209.
Chapter 6. "The Imperative of Automobiles, 1905-1925"
Five key interactions between the producers of steel and the automobile industry p213.
The establishment of standards for steel p213, 215
the use of alloy steel p213, 223, 229, 232
Proper heat treatment p213, 234
Continuous production of steel sheets p214, 241
electric steel making p214. 247
Chapter 7. "The Dynamics of Change"
After 1925 what is remarkable is how little the patterns of producing and using steel changed. p253
The real price of stability as outlined in previous chapters was the stifling of innovation p255
Tech innovation in the steel industry comes from companies other of the U.S. Steel p255
R&D and Tech change
electrical properties of steel containing silicon minimizes heat p255
stainless steel p257
Author's investigation into the decline of US Steel p261
Economics and technical change p 262 Technological development over time tend to be closely related to existing activities, irreversible and path dependent p265
Labor and technical change p266 Ultimately the industry's dismal labor policies represented a social choice to retain profits rather than distribute them as wages p270.
A focus on user-producer interactions complements and extends the sector-based analysis fo this study p274
Centralized interactions p 276 RRs before 1900, armor before 1895
Multi-centered interactions p277 RRS after 1900, armor after 1895
decentralized interactions p277 structures after1880, factories after 1890
direct consumer interactions p 277automobiles after 1910, alloys after 1920
Conclusion: p278 the resulting technology torpidity that doomed the industry was not primarily a matter of industrial concentration, outrageous behavior on the part of white and blue collar employees, or even dysfunctional relations among management, labor and government. What went wrong was the industry's relations with its consumers. p 278
need for public policy mechanisms to deal w/ perils and promise of technology. p 282
Great history about an important american product.......2007-02-10
Thomas Misa's account of how the Steel industry rose to prominence in the years of 1865-1925 is a masterful telling of the all American story. Steel was crucial for the development of this country from the transcontinental railroad to the automobile. The steel industry was dependant upon these contracts in order to grow. It was a highly centralized system in which the railroad presidents personally dealt with the negotiations. After the railroads newer and stronger steels were produced using the open hearth furnace as opposed to Bessemer so that stronger steel could be used in buildings. The rise of the skyscrapers literally reinvigorated the entire industry. This was followed by an increase in armor through the naval build up in the World War 1 era. The steel industry would reach its height during this time after suffering economic hardship from the panic of 1893. Finally the automobile would be the key to it all and bring about a new era of steel production. This book is well written and executed perfectly. Highly recommend for those who want to learn about the steel industry. This book does not go much past 1925 and only briefly addresses the question as to why the steel industry collapsed.
Average customer rating:
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U.S. Politics and the Global Economy: Corporate Power, Conservative Shift
Ronald W. Cox , and
Daniel Skidmore-Hess
Manufacturer: Lynne Rienner Publishers
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ASIN: 1555877710 |
Book Description
Strategies for creating a compelling book marketing kit that draws the attention of book buyers and the media are presented in this insider's guide to successful book promotion. Laying a solid foundation for the development of all book marketing materials, this step-by-step guide includes tips for developing an author biography that makes the author irresistible, organizing an article to position the author as an expert, and getting a foot in the door with an informative catalog sheet. Addressing specific solutions for unique needs, the advice provided is appropriate for those just publishing a book as well as those interested in pumping some life back into already existing titles.
Customer Reviews:
Big advice in a small book.......2007-05-17
Stop me if you've heard this one before. After months--and sometimes years--of dedicated writing, rewriting, and rewriting some more, you've finally finished that manuscript and even found a publisher. Lo and behold, you discover the real work has just begun.
Once upon a lovely time, publishers--the really big ones, anyway--took charge of marketing and promoting new books. As the author, you might be expected to make a few public appearances, but the publisher handled little things like setting up venues and contacting the media.
But enough with the fairy tales. These days, author's are shouldering more and more of the promotional (and financial) load of getting their books to market.
Was that last paragraph enough to make you quake in your comfy slippers? Relax. This just might be a fairy tale after all, because here comes the hero riding to your rescue. (Or perhaps author Dawn Josephson is more akin to a fairy godmother.)
Putting It On Paper: The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces That Sell Books is the first book in The Ground Rules Series and a great starting point.
Once you pick up this handy guidebook, you won't want to put it down. Chapter by chapter, Josephson walks you through all the elements of book promotion, from writing press releases to drafting catalogue sheets and everything in between. She supplements each chapter with real-world samples, frequently asked question (and corresponding answers), and a summary of key points. Josephson manages to cover a lot of ground (rules) in one slim volume without ever seeming over-whelming. Carolyn Howard-Johnson's excellent book The Frugal Book Promoter, by comparison, is far longer and thus more detailed. Both books have value, and both belong in any serious author's resource library. However, the novice book promoter might find Putting It On Paper less intimidating as a starting point.
Whether you've written one book or twenty (or even if you're still dreaming of that first completed manuscript), do yourself a favour and invest in your own copy of Putting It On Paper. You won't be sorry.
Light Shed by Dawn.......2007-02-12
Dawn Josephson has written one of the most useful "how-to" books I've read in my quest to learn how to market my own books.
She gives lots of examples of cover letters, press releases, "sell-sheets" (I had no idea what that was!), and supplementary materials such as bookmarks, post cards and counter cards (I was pretty uninformed about these, too).
Obviously I needed help, and thanks to this book, help is at hand.
Thank you Dawn!
Stylish and Effective Book Promotion .......2006-06-10
"If I had more time, I would have written less." ~Mark Twain
Dawn Josephson interviewed book reviewers and buyers from major distribution houses to find out which press kits get a positive response. The promotional pieces you use help to get your book noticed and create an inviting space where the reviewer can view comments, interviews, extra details and maybe even customized bookmarks with a matching business card.
If you have written your book and it is being published, media kits may then be created for The Media, Book Distributors and Individual Bookstores. Dawn Joesephson encourages authors to create customized professional pieces.
You can choose from a cover letter, press release, mock book review, author bio, sell sheet, catalog sheet, a chachki (give-away) item and article. By dividing the seemingly daunting job of putting a press kit together into easy-to-follow steps, the process is much less complicated.
Should you send a book out with every media kit?
How many articles should I include?
Why does personalization impress?
Authors will especially enjoy the Frequently Asked Questions and Key Points that help to keep the project at hand on focus. A Day in the Life of an Editor (or reviewer) gives insight into how much time editors really have to read books and write reviews. Reviewers might enjoy reading about the Basic Anatomy of a Book Review.
A well-thought out media packet can truly impress a book reviewer and give them the needed all-encompassing impression of your work. This gives a reviewer a good first impression of who the author is, what their mission is in life and how they want their work presented.
~The Rebecca Review
A definite must read!!.......2006-05-18
Reviewed by Bette Daoust, Ph.D. for Reader Views (5/06)
I have read many books that explain what to do when submitting letters, proposals, and documents to prospects, media sources, and others. I have always had to slog through bountiful text to get to the meat of the book and to find something I could actually use. Too often the writer confuses knowledge with practicality. Therefore tips and how to's are often lost in the abundance of explanations. These explanations are often missing good examples and real life scenarios that help the reader apply the knowledge therein.
In "Putting It On Paper," Dawn Josephson gets right down to brass tacks so to speak. She spells out everything you need to know without overwhelming the reader. Her practical tips are spoonfed to the reader to enhance understanding. Each tip is backed by ground rules and frequently asked questions. Each of these components lead the reader to a better understanding of the point and make it applicable to real life situations. Through her examples and samples, the reader is left with no question about how to apply their new knowledge. If you do not want to read the whole book, read all the ground rules! This book is an excellent source for putting together a press kit, introductory letter, and types of other promotional pieces that sell books. A definite must read!
At last! What to include in a media kit.......2006-01-01
When authors ask me for advice on how they can generate publicity for their book, the first question I ask them is, "Have you created all the marketing materials for your book?"
Most times, the answer is "What marketing materials?"
That's when I lead them to "Putting it on Paper--The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces That Sell Books."
Dawn Josephson, a former magazine journalist, knows exactly what editors want to see. Her book takes authors by the hand and shows them how to write materials that will help the media do their jobs. The book is filled with examples from her own client list, so you can see exactly what she is telling you to do. If you're an authors, shorten your learning curve with this handy, detailed roadmap.
Book Description
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Citation Details
Title: Putting It on Paper: The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces That Sell Books.(Book Review)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication:
Reviewer's Bookwatch (Newsletter)
Date: April 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: NA
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Reviewer's Bookwatch, published by Midwest Book Review on December 1, 2004. The length of the article is 4639 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Putting It on Paper: the Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces that Sell Books.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
Author: Judine Slaughter
Publication:
Reviewer's Bookwatch (Newsletter)
Date: December 1, 2004
Publisher: Midwest Book Review
Page: NA
Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
Discover The Decision-making Guarantee and how to use it to make successful daily choices and career transitions. This book begins with a focus on self-discovery, providing participants with the tools and exercises to find new perspective on the true meaning of the daily frustrations they face; find a balance between career and living; and realize their deepest dreams for their life. After personal application of these practical techniques, increasing business profits is the next step. Learn how to use The Decision-Making Guarantee to uplift any organization and the people within it. Discover the true "Psychology of the Sale", and how to restructure co-worker interactions to maximize and find new Marketing Strategies.
Customer Reviews:
Powerful life changing book!.......2002-10-17
Powerful life changing book!
Good things do come in small packages. This book can change your life, if you have the courage to follow Tracey's simple steps. This is a book written from her heart, with a passion to help you have peace in your life.
The Decision-making Guarantee is a formula that you can use over and over again to help you stay on track with your natural self. The book is a great tool to use in any life transition type class. I used the book in my three-day seminar for Marines that were transitioning back to the civilian world. It is very powerful!
To help you get what you want read and use this book!
Average customer rating:
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Bringing Down the Safety Guy
Richard Hughes
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Labor & Industrial Relations
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Risk Management
| Insurance
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Nonfiction
| Safety
| Health
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Public Policy
| Government
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Labor & Industrial Relations
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Federal Government
| Levels of Government
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Safety & Health
| Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems
| Engineering
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Safety & Health
| Technology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0738835471 |
Book Description
Bringing Down the Safety Guy answers the question, "How far has American workplace safety come in the last 100 years?" Even though today's management can be somewhat apathetic, we have come far from management statements like "If there's a labor unrest, I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half." Today's managers may feel the same way, but they are more politically adept at, instead of killing employees, exporting the work then simply eliminating the American job. A much cleaner, contemporary homicide!
The book includes discussions of manufacturing activities, but just as important are discussions of the cultural ramifications that have occurred since NAFTA precipitated the exporting of these types of American jobs to third world countries. Proud people who used to work as seamstresses, assemblers, and warehouse workers and manufacturing employees of every description are not, despite the government's grand ideas, all taking jobs as computer programmers and NASA engineers.
Chapter Summaries include:
Chapter 1 - What safety programs existed, or lack thereof, at the turn of the last century. Working conditions in the early 1900's.
Chapter 2 - The early days--Stories of manufacturing processes in the 1970s, with descriptions of older and more dangerous machinery, working conditions, and unfortunately, horror stories about injuries.
Chapter 3 - Office technology in the 1970s, The early insurance safety man days.
Chapter 4 - Near death experience on fire escape; the many tragic possibilities of bad wiring; several fatal tragedies including China, and Hamlet, North Carolina exacerbated by poor fire evacuation procedures and padlocked exits.
Chapter 5 - Machine guarding hazards, pitfalls, maimings, amputations, fatalities.
Chapter 6 - Accidents: Whose fault are they? A machine-assisted suicide; being mixed to death by a giant blender; some OSHA citations; how the media handles coverage of accidents; lack of public interest or outrage about same; and OSHA's schizophrenic personality.
Chapter 7 - While working as a subcontractor for insurance companies, a particularly harrowing experience involving arson and strong-arming the warehouse guard.
Chapter 8 - The joys of traveling on business. Trips to the back country of Maine to visit a logging operation; Los Angeles to look at an earthquake-proofed parking garage where the wealthy store their spare automobiles.
Chapter 9 - Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); the Turtle Club; the Golden Gate Bridge construction; Lockout/Tagout; Trenching; Confined Space Entry; things that worked.
Chapter 10 - Industrial Hygiene, stink detectors, legal liability on conducting in-house testing. Exxon Valdez' somewhat surprising environmental consequences.
Chapter 11 - Malden Mills fire; it is possible to be a benevolent capitalist.
Chapter 12 - OSHA mandates Workplace Violence measures; some reasons why America is becoming more violent.
Chapter 13 - Another textile mill closes; steady workers in an unsteady marketplace.
Chapter 14 - Unions' perceived lack of interest in safety & health. Maybe too busy on their corruption trials?
Chapter 15 - Designer sweatshops. Lip service to improving working conditions reigns supreme. Printouts from Liz Claiborne's hypocritical web page.
Chapter 16 - "Extreme" trend of risk taking, driving, glamorization of death gives safety a stodgy, "no fun" image vs. life threatening "activities."
Chapter 17 - Changing the nature of American jobs, what will today's workers look back on.
Chapter 18 - Diversifying our company's product mix, having fun with games and belts.
Chapter 19 - George and Al; OSHA? Isn't that a small town in Wisconsin?
Chapter 20 - All the President's Men Go Bungee Jumping, What the future holds, or Do You Want Fries With That?
Chapter 21 - Lincoln's squirrel.
Customer Reviews:
A Real Eye Opener.......2003-01-22
This writer should be in politics with his knack for making bad news enjoyable. The book is entertaining, educational, packed with information and evocative of Michael Moore's enthusiasm, even in the face of adversity. His chapter ending safety asides are sometimes side splitting - no injury pun intended! I'd recommend this book to anyone with a sociological curiosity or an industrial safety career or interest. You're bound to learn something new that makes the price of the book worth it!
Books:
- Entrepreneur Magazine: Starting a Home-Based Business (Entrepreneur Magazine)
- Entrepreneur Magazine's Ultimate Guide to Forming an LLC in Any State (Ultimate Guide Series)
- Environmental & Natural Resource Economics: Harwood Fundamentals of Applied Economics
- Every Child Matters A New Role for SENCos: A Practical Guide
- Forth Worth Business Press Book of List 2003
- Furniture Retailing in Canada; a Report on the State of the Industry.
- G. K. Hall Bibliographic Guide to Business and Economics 2003 (Gk Hall Bibliographic Guide to Business and Economics)
- Getting Started with Pro/ENGINEER: Wildfire (3rd Edition)
- Going to University: The Student Guide
- Guide to American Business Schools, The Penguin
Books Index
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