Although I neglected to blog, last year was my best year so far at the agency and I am enthusiastic about the future.
There’s no doubt that the sea change from print to digital is continuing but the effect is not as large yet in the non-fiction market. Still, my clients are increasingly working on projects that are e-only, not just books but online education and training.
Some highlights from 2012:
I’ve been an enthusiastic partner with Lynda.com, and Fresh Books’ clients were featured prominently in the growing business skills category especially.
Projects include:
An entire series of live action business skills video from client Dave Crenshaw, including courses on Discovering Your Strengths, Becoming a Thought Leader, Enhancing Your Productivity, Building Your Professional Network, Insights from a Business Coach, Achieving Your Goals, and Insights from a Business Coach.
Two new Peter Kent courses on SEO: Analyzing Your Website to Improve SEO, and SEO: Link Building in Depth.
A live action Christopher Matthew Spencer course on Sales Skills Fundamentals.
Rounding out my new Lynda titles was Sue Jenkins’ course on Designing Web Sites from Photoshop to Dreamweaver.
2012 was a great year for building an even bigger education list at “for Dummies” with new clients and old. Highlights include:
The Physician Assistant Exam Test Prep for Dummies, by Rich Snyder, D.O., and Barry Schoenborn.
Medical Billing and Coding for Dummies, by Karen Smiley.
Medical Transcription for Dummies, by Anne Martinez.
Biology Workbook for Dummies, by Rene Kratz.
Alecia Spooner followed her Geology for Dummies with her new book, Environmental Science for Dummies.
Leading Business Change for Dummies, by Christina Schlacter and Terry Hildebrandt.
Corporate Finance for Dummies, by Michael Taillard.
And a brand new edition of Investing Online for Dummies by Matt Krantz.
And the technology list was as busy as ever, including:
Nexus 7 for Dummies, Droid 4 for Dummies, Samsung Galaxy TAB for Dummies, Android Phones for Dummies, and Samsung Galaxy Note for Dummies, by Dan Gookin, who was not only the first but also among the most prolific and bestselling authors in the series.
Ed Baig updated new editions of iPhone for Dummies, iPad for Dummies, and iPad Mini for Dummies.
John Paul Mueller added the Windows 8 for Dummies Quick Reference and has now officially written over 90 books in his career.
Stephanie Diamond contributed to Social CRM for Dummies, and co-authored Social Media Marketing for Dummies, with Shiv Singh.
Sue Jenkins wrote the Tumblr for Dummies, Portable Edition, and revised her bestselling Web Design All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies.
Bill and Christina wrote two new gaming titles for Que Publishing, My Xbox, and My Playstation Vita.
Barrie Sosinsky wrote the Windows 8 Visual QuickStart Guide, published by Peachpit.
Harold Davis released two big books last year, Creating HDR Photos: The Complete Guide to High Dynamic Range Photography, published by Amphoto, and Photographing Waterdrops, published by Focal Press.
Gary Bouton updated his CorelDRAW X6: The Official Guide, for Osborne/McGraw-Hill.
Brett Stern wrote a great book in the A Press “at Work” series with his Inventors at Work.
And finally, I was thrilled to do a book with the talented Marsha Collier, Social Media Commerce for Dummies, which appeared on a number of lists of best social media books for 2012.
Clients have launched two new courses with online education provider Ed2Go:
Introduction to Biology, by Rene Kratz; and Creating WordPress Websites II, by John Agress.
As to my newest irreference title, I was thrilled to see the newest book from Roger Ma, The Vampire Combat Manual: A Guide to Fighting the Bloodthirsty Undead, with Berkley Publishing.
I’d like to thank my clients for working with me. It’s been a privilege to work with so many talented writers and educators. Thanks!