Paperback Release Day (UK)!!

I unboxed a new version of The Collective Edge - the new-look, new-subtitle UK paperback! Rather than rambling on with 837 words of slick, stylish salesmanship, I thought I’d tell you a bit about how the redesign came about.

For many authors, covers and titles are the most fraught parts of the publishing process (see takes from Courtney Maum here, and Jeffrey Yamaguchi here). And you might not know that publishers—not authors—usually have the final word on covers and titles.

The cover is perhaps the most prototypical cause of publisher-author strife. I’ve heard many stories of authors who are less than enamored with their covers. And that sucks.

I see why it is an emotionally fraught process. The title and cover are essential to strong book sales. Most debut authors have no idea what sells books. Instead, a book is a dream, a spirit animal, or a baby.

And no one wants an ugly baby.

Moreover, as an author, you don’t know whether you’ll ever have another chance at a cover. You might never want to write another book. And, even if you do, you might not get the chance if the debut doesn’t go well. Covers can feel like life and death.

Lucky for me, I love my covers! Although my stomach dropped at a few early options, my publishers have given me a lot of input. I’ve now been privy to the cover/title design for my book in six different markets so far (more on the way!).

With a rapidly expanding stable of covers, these new editions feel more like pets than babies. And they aren’t always my pets — most live in other countries and I rarely, if ever, encounter them.

The funny thing is, because I live in the UK and paperback books are more numerous than hardbacks, the new version is probably the one I’ll see most. (Dear WHSmith - wouldn’t you like to prominently display this in your Heathrow bookstores?)

So why the redesign for what may become my “home” version? We have to start with an important premise: Although we might say “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” EVERYONE judges books by their covers. Titles and covers can sink even the best of books.

Covers need optimal distinctiveness - they need to remind readers of books they enjoyed, but also stand out on the proverbial shelf. Thanks to trailblazers like Adam Grant, Daniel Pink, Angela Duckworth, Charles Duhigg, Amy Edmondson, and many others, there’s a clear genre that bridges Big Ideas, Science, Self-Help/How-to, and Business. Those kinds of books have titles and covers that resemble The Collective Edge's classic lightbulb cover.

Regardless of our intentions, booksellers (both physical and online) still need to place books in a particular category or section. Initially, some booksellers were placing The Collective Edge in the “self-help” or “wellness” categories. That seems…wrong. And the cover and subtitle might have been part of the issue.

So, the team at Simon & Schuster UK wanted to clarify that The Collective Edge is best viewed as a business/management/leadership book. It needs to look and feel like it belongs in that section of the bookstore. Thus, we changed the cover and subtitle to encourage booksellers to place it where it is most likely to grow fruitful and multiply.

To hasten this multiplication process, order your copy today! It will help if you order in the first week (before August 20) and review the book on Amazon, Goodreads, or similar (even a few words does the trick).

And, if you post a review or picture of yourself with the book on social media, let me know, and I’ll comp you six months of the paid version of the newsletter, complete with my popular “Guides for Groups”. (And, if you already any of these things, DM me — the offer is also open to you and my apologies if I missed an earlier missive!)

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