How many books can you publish on one topic?

We publish 20 or so books a year currently, and at the time of writing, have 535 print books available. We cover the core topics that people need to excel at work and given that most of the popular business topics remain stable (management, communication, coaching, strategy, etc), we often have more than one book on a particular subject. In fact, almost all of the books I've commissioned this year are topics we've already covered previously, so it's not necessarily a barrier to being published.?

We just need to be clear on how the new book would be different, and it's something I ask of authors when they share book proposals or ideas. The art is in slicing or angling the same topic in different ways so each book has its own angle and position in the list. Let's take coaching for example. Coaching in the sense of learning how to coach others at work. Currently, we have 13 in-print books about coaching available.

Here's a bit more detail about those 13 books, from oldest to newest:

1. Solution-Focused Coaching (Momentum, 2004) by @Anthony Grant and @Jane Greene - ￡21.99
2. The Seven Cs of Coaching (Pearson Business, 2005) by Mick Cope - ￡19.99
3. The Coaching Secret (Pearson Business, 2010) by @Andrew Machon - ￡16.99
4. How to Coach Your Team (FT Publishing, 2011) by Pam Jones , Viki Holton and Angela Jowitt- ￡20.99
5. How to Coach with NLP?(Pearson Business, 2011) by Robbie Steinhouse - ￡16.99
6. How to Coach (Pearson Business, 2013) by jo owen - ￡16.99
7. The Little Book of Big Coaching?Models (Pearson Business, 2015) by Bob Bates - ￡14.99
8. The Leader's Guide to Coaching and?Mentoring (FT Publishing, 2016) by Fiona Dent and Mike Brent - ￡14.99
9. Key Coaching Models (FT Publishing, 2017) by Stephen Gribben FRSA - ￡28.99
10. Coaching on the Go (FT Publishing, 2019) by Phil Renshaw and Jenny Robinson PhD - ￡16.99
11. The Financial Times Guide to Business Coaching 2e (FT Publishing, 2021) by Anne Scoular - ￡26.99
12. The Coaching Manual 5e (Pearson Business, 2022) by Julie Starr - ￡17.99
13. Brilliant Coaching 4e by Julie Starr (Pearson Business, 2023) - ￡16.99

As you can see from the titles and jackets, they all sound and look quite different but we can be more specific:

• Publication date - The oldest is from 2004 and the newest is 2023.
• Imprint - 5 are FT Publishing, 7 are Pearson Business and 1 is Momentum (an imprint we don't actively use anymore).
• Audience - The Pearson Business books tend to be more introductory and mass-market. The FT Publishing books are higher level and for professionals and leaders.?
• RRP - 7 are priced between ￡14.99 and ￡16.99, 6 are between ￡17.99 and ￡28.99.
• Edition - 10 are first editions, and 3 are subsequent editions.
• Authors - 9 are solo-authored, and 4 are co-authored. Two of the books are written by Julie Starr.?
• Standalone or series - 5 are in a Pearson series (Key, The Leader's Guides, The Little Book of Big X, FT Guides and Brilliant).
• Extent - The shortest is 208 pages (Solution Focused Coaching) and the longest is 320 pages (The Coaching Manual).
• Style or approach - Some cover a lot of models (Key Coaching Models) and some have the authors' model. Some are straightforward theory and practical content, some have a storytelling approach (Coaching on the Go). Some are specific areas of coaching (The FT Guide to Business Coaching or How to Coach with NLP).

Hopefully, given all these variables you can see that each book is quite different and serves different purposes. We can market and promote these books to different audiences at the same time. And of course, these are just Pearson books, never mind the many other competitor books on coaching.

So, do your research. If you're approaching a publisher and they already have a book in this area, be clear on how yours is different and better. Who will it sell to that the others won't? What's your angle?

The Pearson Business Book Club

The Pearson Business Book Club is open to all who would like to learn more about our business books or a particular topic, and the webinars are free to attend. You can also view the on-demand videos of previous sessions on the Book Club website.

Our Business Book of the Month for November is Be Your Own Financial Adviser 2e by Jonquil Lowe. Her webinar is on 6 ways to control your financial destiny. Join us on Thursday 26 November 2024, at 2 pm?(UK time) and register at https://www.pearson.com/en-gb/higher-education/students/careers/book-club.html, and let me know if you have any questions in advance.

The essential guide to making better financial decisions

Navigating the financial industry isn't easy. While there is no shortage of commercials, advertisements, mail, emails and marketing calls to entice you to take out loans, buy insurance and invest your money, choosing which of these products is right for you can be difficult. Sound financial planning requires a systematic strategy.

This book will empower you to take control of your finances, helping you to make well-informed, confident decisions to achieve your financial goals and avoid pitfalls, equipping you with the strategy and tools you need to do so.

Just Published

Just published - Trust your Gut: Go with your intuition and make better choices by Eugene Sadler-Smith (Pearson Business, 2024)

Print ISBN 9781292462165, eBook ISBN 9781292730332

Intuition is a uniquely human skill, that can’t be replicated by AI or machines. It boosts decision-making and problem-solving and builds interpersonal skills, creativity, and innovation. It’s your business superpower for the information age.

This book will show you how to nurture your intuitive intelligence in more authentic, satisfying and sustainable ways because it comes from the head, heart and gut. By harnessing the unique power of your intuitive intelligence, you’ll be able to:

• Make quicker and more accurate decisions in fast-moving situations with limited information.
• Gain insights into other people’s states of mind, motives and intentions.
• Sense what’s the right thing to do when you’re ethically challenged.
• Seek out creative solutions to your decisions and dilemmas, and much more.

“A hugely engaging book. By the end of the book you will have a firm understanding of how to improve your decision making, when to ‘use your gut’ and just as important - when not to!” Richard Williams, former Global MD Mott MacDonald

“I wish I'd had this knowledge much earlier in my life. I'd have relied less on 'sensing' when I should have been relying on 'solving' and vice versa. A riveting read.” Sally Bibb, author of The Strengths Book.

Eugene Sadler-Smith is Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Surrey Business School (University of Surrey, UK). He worked in industry for a major plc for the best part of a decade before he became an academic.

Eugene is an experienced author, speaker, researcher, university teacher and executive educator. He is an internationally recognised authority in the areas of intuition (in decision-making, creativity and innovation), hubris (in leadership in business and politics) and learning and development in business organizations.

What am I reading?

The AI Revolution in Book Publishing: A Concise Guide to Navigating Artificial Intelligence for Writers and Publishers by Thad McIlroy - I saw this book mentioned online and bought it immediately given my work. It is a very concise guide to AI and a good introduction to how it might affect different areas and processes. The main part is quite focused on what is happening now with more reflective questions or suggestions. There's an interesting essay at the end which is more future-facing.

Finally

As mentioned, the subject of this newsletter was prompted by a reader, so please get in touch. Do you have any ideas or suggestions for future newsletters? Did I strike a chord with anything in this newsletter? Is there a business book you've enjoyed recently that you'd recommend? Add a comment or email me at [email protected].