Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Publishing Perspectives Article on Book Fairs Past and Present
Friday, May 20, 2011
StoryCorps Update
fe was beyond repair at age 56, but listening to Mr. Levin, made me realize that I have many possibilities in front of me. He was 61 and started to fulfill a desire to become a lawyer.Don Linn to be Editor-in-Chief of the Golden Rules Newsletter
I am delighted to announce that Don Linn has agreed to be the Editor in Chief of the Golden Rules Newsletter that will be available exclusively to our readers!
Don has a a broad and diverse business background. He has worked as a Mergers & Acquisitions investment banker at two major Wall Street Firms, ran a large and diversified Agribusiness concern (including cotton and catfish farming) in the Mississippi Delta, and served as Head of Corporate Development for one of the country’s largest printers. In the publishing industry, he was in distribution (as owner/CEO of Consortium Book Sales & Distribution, which he sold to Perseus Book Group in 2006), publisher of The Taunton Press, and a serial entrepreneur.
He earned his MBA at Harvard Business School and graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University. He is endlessly fascinated by the convergence of technologies with media and with the challenges and opportunities arising from their collision. Don will continue his consulting practice.
Subscribe now to the FREE Golden Rules Newsletter!
Monday, May 16, 2011
StoryCorps Interview to air
Monday, May 9, 2011
Dutch edition of All I Know About Management
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Listen to my StoryCorps interview
Those who have heard it (other than family who cannot be believed) have said that it is warm, funny and very informative. I hope you enjoy listening to the interview as much as I enjoyed giving it. Listen Here.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Book Expo America 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
All I Know About Management on Beliefnet
PBS StoryCorps

Tuesday, April 5, 2011
New features on my website
Friday, March 25, 2011
Amazon and B&N now shipping, London Book Fair news

Monday, March 21, 2011
Meet the new star!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Unknown Author - Revealed
I do not know why it was such a shock to me when Linda Biagi, who represents Skyhorse in selling foreign rights, reminded me that I should be grateful for 7 deals she made. “After all, she said, you are an unknown author”. It never occurred to me that after decades in publishing and being the “go to guy” approving deals with authors such as Stephen King, Erica Jong, Ken Follett, Robert Ludlum, Harold Robins, Gay Talese, that I would be “unknown”. And beyond my connection with authors, how could an “unknown “ who with his partner made the deal that allowed the Reader’s Digest to be published in the Soviet Union without censorship. Or that in 1999, the Association of American Publishers, gave me a lifetime award. My mind ticked off the events of the past and considered how could anybody be “unknown” when he went to law school at night while holding his full time job running the fifth largest book publishing company, graduating at 65, passing the bar and having a very successful law practice, and at 92 write not one, but two books that will be published…..and so on, and on.
I was delighted that at least one person, Joan Lappin, was paying attention and wrote it all down in a review of my book, “All I Know About Management I Learned From My Dog.” I met Joan in 1969. She was the young analyst assigned to cover the Times Mirror Company. She was very, very good at what she did, getting important information for her clients that no other analystwas able to get. Her style was to ask only a few questions during the open session, then wait until the room cleared to ask you the tough questions. I knew I could expect a telephone call from her after the announcement of the earnings report and to hear the usual, “ tell me about this.”. She knew the industries she covered, made money for her clients, and then went on to establish Gramercy Capital Management which she still runs.
Until I read her review, I did not realize she knew so much about me. I am like most authors. We live with a book for a long time (and in this case a dog, too) so that once the book is published, we are not sure if we achieved what we set out to do. We need the reaffirmation from readers and reviewers. Angel taught me that “management” need not be that complicated. Joan showed me that I really was not “ unknown”. I would be pleased if you would read her review that follows.
Thank you, Joan.
Click here to read Joan's review and article at Deduced Reckoning, her blog on Forbes.com.
My book, All I Know About Management I Learned From My Dog, will be published by Skyhorse on April 12, 2011. Available for pre-order now at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Borders.com, IndieBound, or your favorite online retailer.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
An Angel Passes Away
Angel was on center stage for the almost five years that she was with us. She taught us many important things but in the last four months, as she struggled with a growth on the brain, weakness in her back legs, and a failing liver, she kept going, generously giving of her love.
She was the force that drove the household. She walked as briskly and as often as we would take her, going as far as she could without a whimper. She loved to swim. And, as many of you have read, on October 2, just a little over a month ago, while we were in our house in Rye (which is located on the water) she disappeared in the late evening. She was out for her regular evening outing but slipped away while Paula was not looking, found her way in complete darkness down a 12-foot rocky embankment, and went swimming in Long Island sound. Paula, searching frantically with a flashlight, saw the sparkles on her collar and flew down the embankment, catching Angel just as she was paddling to get into the deeper water. Paula, shoeless, in her soggy nightgown, dragged Angel up to safety. Rather than being apologetic, Angel was frustrated and fretted at not being able to enjoy her midnight dip.
When we brought Angel to Sarasota, hopefully to spend the winter in a warmer climate, she was reunited with her friend Winnie - a one-year-old female small dog. Angel towered over Winnie, but when they met, Angel would chase after Winnie to show her affection, girl to girl. Angel had respect for males, including me, but she adored women, especially Paula. At the last hours of her life she sought me out for a treat, but cuddled up to Paula.
It was Angel that inspired me, as you will read in our book, to select “Perseverance” as the most important of the Four Golden Rules. She tried to keep going through her illness, despite the frailties of her body. She persevered with a passion. She walked to strengthen the back legs, took the medicines to get well. Her love never diminished, even when she was in pain. She played with her tiny friend Winnie as though she were a puppy. When the time came to go, she sat quietly in the back seat of the car on our way to the vet. When we took her into the room from which she would not return, she went gently, quietly seeking us out for a last pat on her golden coat. When the vet asked her to lie down for the injection, she obeyed with the signal dignity of a lady. As the injection went into her veins, she closed her eyes, accepted the relief from pain and passed on without a murmur to join the other Angels.
In death, as in life, Angel is an inspiration. Maybe Rule Five should be “Make Certain You Make Every Minute Count”, treasure the short time we have together, make certain that we use this time to learn, lead, love what we do, and when the time is right, leave in dignity.
Martin Levin
Sunday, October 3, 2010
The Further Adventures of Angel
Angel is a wise and adventurous dog who at 15 years of age is having some health issues. She is making great progress and here is her latest adventure.
Angel decided last night, October 2, when Paula left her out for her 11:00 PM pee in the back yard to vanish into the darkness while Paula's attention was diverted. It was very dark, the moon was obscured and the temperature was a cool 55 degrees. The back lawn is about 50 by 100 feet and drops off into a deep water inlet leading into a Marina.
Paula realized when she could not pick up the sparkle from Angel's collar that something was really wrong. She rushed up the stairs, alerted me and found a flashlight. Both of us started searching in the dark. There was no sound or hint as to where Angel was until Paula surmised correctly that Angel had decided since it was low tide to walk down the 12 feet of exposed rocks leading to the water.
Paula climbed down the abutment in her night clothes, her flashlight finally picking up Angel swimming energetically away from the shore. Paula stepped into the muddy bottom and plodded until she could finally reach Angel who was just about to get into the deep water.
Paula turned Angel around and dragged her back to the shore and then, in her soggy PJs, Paula dragged a reluctant Angel, step by step, rock by rock, up 12 feet to the lawn. Angel in typical frustrated dog fashion, shook herself vigorously spraying even more water on Paula.
Angel was dragged back to the house and deposited by Paula in a warm soapy bathtub, looking frustrated that her first sign of progress, since her terminal illness was diagnosed, was interrupted so unceremoniously. After Angel was dried and brushed she walked to her Posturepedic mattress, turned over on her side, and was covered by a blanket to dream about her almost impossible dream. After the rescue and clean up, Paula got her hot shower and dry PJ's.
As for me, I was the reporter on the scene keeping everyone up to date.
Martin Levin
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Yale Publishing Course, July 18-23: A Smashing Success
| The Inaugural Class and the Resident Faculty taken on the steps of the Greenberg Conference Center July 18, 2010 |
On the afternoon of July 18, 2010, the 86 seat capacity in the Greenberg auditorium on the Yale campus was filled with “students”—enterprising leaders in book, magazine and digital publishing. They came from 16 foreign countries and from 18 different states in the U.S. During the next week, the “students” met with the 40 members of a faculty comprised of industry leaders, experts, legendary publishers as well distinguished members of the Yale faculty. The intensive course started at breakfast and continued through the evening hours with frequent breaks allowing for networking. It was major download of crucial publishing information.
The goal of the course was to mark where the industry was, where it was going, and to have the faculty and “students” share their insights and experience about the ongoing reconfiguration of book and magazine publishing. At the end of the week, the post mortems indicated that students felt they were now better prepared to deal with the challenges that they faced.
It was also gratifying that the “students” who came to the course as strangers went home as colleagues. The applause for each other at the closing ceremony, where the certificates from Yale were awarded, demonstrated that in a week these students had developed a kinship with each other.
I am a very tough critic, and ever more when I am involved. However, the Yale Publishing course in its inaugural year made a significant contribution to the future of publishing. It set a very high standard for the years to come.
Martin Levin
Credit is due to Tina Weiner, the Director, who led the effort brilliantly along with her Assistant, Jackie. Don Filer the Director 0f International Affairs at Yale and Tina’s boss, a strong supporter and Linda Koch Lorimar, Secretary of the University, who gave this course a final blessing and its life. The course that Stanford University closed down permanently on January 5, 2010 would never have been if it were not for their work and support.
Credit is also due to the veterans of the Stanford Professional Publishing course: Robert Baensch who devoted his every free minute to the Yale course, Richard Stolley an icon in magazine publishing, Dorothy Kalins, Kevin McKean, Mary K. Baumann, Will Hopkins, Keith Clinkscales, Peter Kreisky and the scores of faculty and students who were there when support was needed. It was a long journey that began on August 5, 2009 when we first were told the SPPC was terminated. Special thanks to Paul Saffo, the leading expert in the future of technology and publishing. He is the longest serving member of the SPPC faculty. He came from his teaching post at Stanford to give the opening session.
Additional information about the notices from Stanford about the termination of the course can be found on this blog. For a complete description of the 2010 Yale Course go to Google for Yale Publishing Course.
MPL
Publishing '10: The Tipping Point
The Tipping Point of Publishing in 2010
Major challenges and opportunities (13:24)
How to Handle Change
The Changed M&A Marketplace
Protecting Your Personal and Business Assets
The Mixed Blessing of Technology
(28:33)
Jan F. Constantine, General Counsel, The Author's Guild
__________________________________________________________________
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Book Designer Wanted 6x8 Paperback and Hardcover
Author who has commitment from publisher is seeking an experienced book designer for a book requiring:
- Front and back cover design
- Design of front matter
- Interior page designs
- Creative separation of Part I and Part II
- Design of four segments in Part II using full color PDF provided
- Design of chapter title pages, running heads
- Each page bottom will have small full color illustration (provided)
NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
Monday, June 21, 2010
The Future Is Here
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Yale Publishing Course Announces Program and Faculty
Almost all of the SPPC faculty will move to the Yale Course. Go to http://publishing-course.yale.edu/ to get all the details: pictures of the classrooms and campus, the classroom schedule, and the faculty. Read the brochure and press the "sign up" button that will take you to the application process. The class size is set for 80 students. It is expected that 40 students will come from abroad.
The Yale Publishing Course is the Only Leadership Course in the World for Mid Career Professionals in Book, Magazine, and Online Publishing.


