IVP - Andy Unedited - July 2012 Archives

Steve Jobs: Genius or Jerk?

Jeff Crosby, our associate publisher for sales and marketing here at IVP, said Walter Isaacson’s book Steve Jobs was simultaneously among the most inspiring and disturbing books he’d ever read. The uncompromising despot of perfectionism at Apple regularly screamed obscenities at coworkers and rolled out one megahit product after another, making Apple one of the most successful companies of our era.

Fifteen Minutes a Day

When I first entered publishing, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, the folks at InterVarsity Press had a slogan for a reading program they were promoting: "Fifteen Minutes a Day Is Fifteen Books a Year." The idea was that if you could give on average fifteen minutes a day to reading, over the course of a year you could read fifteen books.

The Sparrow Again

I can't remember the last time I read a book a second time--except perhaps for Goodnight Moon.

But when our neighborhood book club decided to discuss The Sparrow, I was delighted to read it again.

They Just Love My Title

"I asked five friends, and they all told me they loved the title I'm thinking of for the book."

"I randomly surveyed a dozen people at the mall and most liked my title best."

"I've been speaking on this topic lately, and when I mention my working title for the book, I get a very positive response."

Over the years we at InterVarsity Press have heard many variations on this theme from authors. They mention their working title to friends, relatives, coworkers or people in the intended audience, and the reaction they get leads them to believe they have a winner. And they might. But why should a publisher be cautious about such a conclusion? Why should an author also be cautious about such a conclusion?

First-Book Syndrome

The other day one of our editors, Dave Zimmerman, came to me with a proposal from a prospective author for a book. It was on prayer, mission, evangelism, the history of global Christianity, the future of Christianity, the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom of God and justice.

I looked at Dave and said, “First-Book Syndrome.” He grimly nodded in agreement.

What is First-Book Syndrome?