Thursday, February 14, 2008

One Thing That's Great About Professional Publishing

Is that we don't have to pretend that we're head-over-heels in love with every last book on our list, the way many trade publishers (particularly of fiction) do.

Oh, sure, if you catch the right editor in the right mood -- say at 2 AM in the bar at World Fantasy -- they'll admit that they bought that rotten fantasy trilogy because they thought it would sell a billion copies, keep the list afloat for three years, and make them finally eligible for the corporate bonus program. But that never comes out in public.

When you publish books for accountants, it's different. I'm never going to say I love Wiley GAAP 2008, but I'm very happy for what it does to my bottom line, and I know it's a damn useful book that makes the jobs of thousands of accountants easier. My sales force is happy knowing that, too, as are the people who sell the book on to the end consumers. No one has to pretend to be in love with anything, and that's nice.

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