Entrepreneur Press Broadens Book Publishing Scope

Entrepreneur Press, the book publishing division of Entrepreneur Media, continues to expand its program since it released its first two titles in 1998. The division will publish 10 titles this year and plans to release 13 titles in 2002. Its big book for fall, Power Tools for Women in Business, will have a first printing of 10,000 copies and will be Entrepreneur's first hardcover. Also set for this fall is At Work with Thomas Edison by Blaine McCormick, the author of Entrepreneur's successful Ben Franklin's 12 Rules of Management.

National Book Network distributes Entrepreneur's line to trade outlets, but Entrepreneur Media president Neil Perlman is also a strong advocate of cross-platform marketing. Many of the press's authors speak at Entrepreneur's conferences and write columns for Entrepreneur.com. Books are often excerpted in Entrepreneur magazine, and subscribers to the company's e-mail newsletters receive promotions to sample a book. In addition, the magazine's sales reps promote the company's books when they make ad calls for the magazine.

The 2002 list will bear the stamp of Jere Calmes, the press's editorial director, who joined the company about one year ago from Adams Media. The company has extremely high hopes for Making Horses Drink: Lead to Succeed by Alexander Hiam, set for a June release, and CEOs Who Sell by Anthony Perinello. Each hardcover will have a $100,000 marketing budget and both authors are hiring publicists to help promote their books.

Perlman noted that under Calmes's leadership the press has broadened its niche beyond start-up titles and now is publishing books on general business and business management. Perlman told PW that Entrepreneur is in the book business "for the long term," and he is looking at acquisitions to help accelerate the book unit's growth.