Business Expert Press Digital Library
The Business Expert Press Digital Library [www.business expertpres.com] is faced with similar marketing challenges. Founded in 2008 by David Parker, formerly an executive with Pearson, it began with seed money and international marketing support from iGroup [www.igroupnet.com].
The titles published in this digital library are designed as practical, applied, concise, executive-oriented guides to discrete business topics, available for purchase in print or as an ebook. The price points for individual titles — $25–$30 for print copies, with the ebook going for $15 — make single pur- chases affordable, and sales to individuals are growing. (There were 50 titles published in 2010 at a cost of $3,750 for the entire package, now available for $3,000; there are 60 titles in 2011 at a cost of $3,600. The company plans to issue 50 new titles in 2012.)
Targeted to the business executive, upper-level undergrad — in other words, juniors and seniors — and graduate (MBA) students, the ebooks are distributed through Safari and XanEDU and available for ereaders (e.g., Kindle, iPad). The books are designed to translate real-world business experience to the academic world. They offer professors a legitimate alternative to highly priced basic business textbooks, focusing more narrowly on courses often offered today in business schools as two-credit courses. They can serve as a companion to alternative readings (i.e., articles and case studies), filling publishing gaps for support of progressive curricula which address “hot topics.”
Business Expert Press (BEP) is developing collections of complementary titles within specific business disciplines and across topics of interest. It is the collection editor (or editors) — with only two exceptions all are associated with universities — who actively charts the strategic direction of the
collection, identifying new authors and “hot topics.” Authors focus on narrow topics and present concise and actionable books to which business students and executives can turn as their studies or work require. “Collection editors work with new authors to focus the work in a concise and applied direction to deliver immediately actionable concepts.” Each book represents the most current and applied review of the theory and practice of the author’s area of expertise. Collections have a cohesive focus, and the volumes composing each collection are similarly structured.
The 21 collections of titles can be segmented into three areas. The strengths of the books published to date are clearly in the Marketing and Management arena, though Corporate Governance and International Business are coming on strong.
One key to the company’s success lies in its editors’ ability to predict the next hot topic within their discipline and select the appropriate author to produce a work that would appeal to students and businesspersons alike. So don’t be shy. Let BEP know what you think it should publish. If you think you can produce academically reliable, instruction-oriented content, submit your book proposal [www.business expertpress.com/author].
With a limited number of universities purchasing the entire collection, the company’s ability to market individual titles to the strategic business sector and individuals just starting out will ensure its longevity as a player in this market space. There are logical approaches to this, such as modifying basic Sales Force Management with industry-specific works (e.g., Insurance Sales Force Management), and there are plenty of business topics and potential authors out there to keep Business Expert Press busy for years to come.
