How can I ensure my business book is recommended reading?

How can I ensure my business book is used by trainers, companies and universities?

This big question was sent to me, and there's a lot to unpick within. Essentially, it's about scale - how can your book be read by more people? The idea being that if your book is 'recommended reading' on a course, more copies will be bought and it begins to market itself. The author doesn't need to do as much marketing because other institutions are doing that for them. Who doesn't want that?

Almost everything published on the Pearson Professional Business list in the UK is classified as a 'discretionary purchase' - you choose to read this book, unlike a textbook which is often essential. This means we need to do more work to ensure the book is discovered, and seen as valuable enough to buy. It's also very difficult for publishers to do this type of marketing activity - we can't focus on promoting an individual title to universities/trainers/companies as it wouldn't be a good use of time. Much as we would love to do this, we just don't have the capacity. Far better for us to promote a selection of relevant titles, a strategy which plays to our strengths, but does limit the impact of individual titles. For universities, our sales reps are very focused on the one textbook that lecturers might adopt, rather than discretionary books that may or may not be bought, as it reflects student behaviour.

But let's break it down a little more by the different types of market:

• Universities or Business Schools typically want textbooks and for many subjects, the days of long reading lists are over. Even if they exist, very often students don't have the time or money to buy all the books so they'll stick to the one essential book. And to be that one book, it probably means you need to be a textbook such as Logistics and Supply Chain Management by Martin Christopher, or The New Business Road Test by John Mullins.

• Trainers are similar - there's one recommended book for many training courses, and a lot of trainers might have written their own book. Unless they're training following a specific programme or syllabus, your book might not suit their needs. Good examples here are The Coaching Manual by Julie Starr or Yes, You Can Innovate by Natalie Turner.
• Companies might buy a book in bulk for staff but again, it must suit their needs. Very often, these deals are driven by the author working with the company - a personal connection. Good examples here are The Ten Principles Behind Great Customer Experiences by Matt Watkinson and Leadership Plain and Simple by Steve Radcliffe.

In practice, it's much better if authors are able to harness their connections. For a university or business school course, perhaps they lead the unit so the book is their work and their course. Or they're a trainer so they use the book as the course textbook. Or they've worked with a company and the company wants to spread the ideas throughout the organisation, so it makes sense to buy copies of the book. These are much simpler routes to ensuring your book is recommended reading as you've got your foot in the door, and often leads like this will get you a publishing deal.

So what can you do if you don't have these connections? I hate to end on a negative note but you need to build them. Unless you're a recognised expert in the field, why should your book be recommended reading on their list? Unless you run the course or advise the company, why should they buy it? So why not try getting in touch with the relevant organisations to promote your services or work? Can you get an introduction from a friend or colleague? Can you attend any events or conferences attended by such people? It's all about who you know, but you just might not know them yet. And remember, having these leads will make you much more attractive to publishers if you're looking for a deal.

The Pearson Business Book Club

The Book Club is open to all who would like to learn more about our business books, or learn something about a popular topic, and the webinars are completely free to attend.

July's book is?Change Their Mind?by Simon Horton, and his masterclass is "6 practical steps to persuade anyone." To register to attend the webinar on Thursday 21 July at 2 pm (UK time) please click here:?https://www.pearson.com/en-gb/book-club.html.

Change their Mind?outlines the 6 steps you can follow to persuade anyone anytime. By understanding the person you’re trying to persuade more deeply, you can build better relationships and get better outcomes. Based on insights from psychology, neuroscience and business research, this practical book will show you exactly what to do and how to do it well.

Simon Horton?is a world-renowned negotiations expert who has spent 20 years working with an impressive blue-chip client list.

Just Published / Noteworthy books

The Rules of Everything by Richard Templar

Now in a collected edition,?The Rules of Everything?contains the top 100 rules from his bestselling books as voted for by readers, so you can follow the common-sense advice on how to be happier and more successful.

Richard Templar has spent a lifetime watching, learning and distilling the rules of how happy and successful people behave. Whether it’s at work or in their relationships, as parents or managing their money, the Rules have described how happy and successful people behave for over 25 years.?

Create your own Rules to live by and share with others - #RulesofEverything.

You can also keep up to date by following the Richard Templar Facebook page.

Finally

Do you have any ideas or suggestions for future newsletters? Did I strike a chord with anything in this newsletter? Add a comment or email me at [email protected].