This Is How I Buy the Groceries

For years, I've been supplying Publishers Weekly with one-paragraph book reviews and half-page Q&As. This week, I get my first bylined feature, on what it takes to succeed in the business management book field.

"It's all about platform—and finding more good authors who've got one," says Agate publisher Douglas Seibold. Dealing with an author who understands the importance of platform, he explains, makes the sales and marketing process much easier. "Unless you've got a book that's really the proverbial better mousetrap, it's a huge boon to work with authors whose platforms entail media appearances; speaking to large audiences of potential/likely readers; and, best of all, selling lots of nonreturnable books to locked-in affinity groups or major bulk customers."