Talking to Other Dummies Authors

I’m in San Francisco for the first ever Dummies Authors Conference. There are about 50 Dummies authors here, and the day is packed with discussions about marketing books, the uses of agents, and general Dummies best practices. It’s going to be an interesting day! You can check out the agenda here.

There’s been a bunch of press already, but the most exciting news of the day is that the conference is up for being featured on the Evening News with Katie Couric. In fact, you can actually vote to send Steve Hartman to the conference tomorrow by going to http://www.cbsnews.com and clicking on Assignment America. We’re up against some guy who can talk really fast and a California prison program to send female juvenile delinquents to finish school ("Can etiquette, fashion and dance really set a girl straight?"). Wouldn’t you rather get the inside scoop on the For Dummies books? Of course you would. Go vote.

And, if I haven’t convinced you already, check out the other press coverage today:

Here’s a nice quote from the SFGate.com article:

The “dummies” label could be the weirdest aspect of the whole franchise, as the authors are not really supposed to assume their readers are dumb, just uninformed. The publisher, in an official statement on the matter, calls it a “term of endearment.”

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 11/04 at 09:32 AM • About the Book(s)

Comments

  1. I’m not offended by that term at all.  I have lots of the Dummy books and I like them because they usually trim out most of the fluff and fat and leave practical useful information.

    http://www.cbrkelvinrealestate.typepad.com

    Posted by Kelvin Stokes  on  11/23  at  11:14 AM

  2. Your blog is very bloggy. Okay, so I’m another Dummies author and I have added Digital Art Photography to the mix. So what is that. Guess you’re gonna have to buy my book to figure it out.

    Good luck w/ yours!

    Matthew Bamberg

    Sorry, didn’t make it to that event. But it sounds like a groovy time.

    Posted by Digital Traveler  on  11/26  at  12:07 PM

  3. Susannah:
    Like I say in my review about your “BitTorrent For Dummies” book (I also posted it on Amazon, but still waiting -as of this comment- to see it live), I’ve always loved “For Dummies” books!

    I don’t take offense at the term and think they fulfill a very specific goal, in helping people get started with topics, which I found your book on BitTorrent excellent at!

    Keep up the great writing!

    Posted by Manny Hernandez  on  12/21  at  09:24 PM

  4. You have to be very smart to “know what you don’t know.” And that is why I like the “… For Dummies” Series.  It allows smart people to acquire knowledge and skilss on a subject that they do not know (just yet) in a practical, breezy and effective manner.

    Susannah - I am reading your “Buzz Marketing with Blogs ...” book just now and enjoying it very much!

    Personally, I think that the “...For Dummies” branding is one of the smartest publishing ideas I have ever seen!

    Posted by Danny Rocks  on  01/09  at  12:56 PM

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