MPC Press International

“Rhyme” may not have been the best name for our most recent title.  (And the cover of our cookbook, “No More Mac & Cheese, A Bachelor’s Guide to Cooking with Ease” was in this color green, maybe not the most appetizing for a cookbook.)  But what is wrong with calling a book “Rhyme”?  Rhyme is the name of the protagonist in the story, a pig who only speaks in rhyme, so it seems a fitting title.  Here is the problem.  When I refer people to Amazon to purchase the book, and they type “Rhyme”, our book is #5 on the list.  You may first find: “Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young” or “Nursery Rhymes, Mother Goose.”  Actually, we are proud to have moved up to #5, but for many months “Rhyme” was nowhere to be found, perhaps listed at about #100, until sales began to kick in a bit.  When I asked Amazon why my book would not be listed first, considering it is the only book simply titled “Rhyme”, it was confirmed that the best selling titles on Amazon with the word “Rhyme” as part of the title would appear in order.  It is possible that Rhyme becomes a best seller and is indeed #1 on the Amazon list, but for now, one needs to type “Rhyme Will Marks” (title and author) or “Rhyme, A Pig in Politics” (informal name) to find the book quickly.  So, prospective authors, think carefully about using one word titles! 

Tags: amazon, mother goose, pig, Pigs

We didn’t expect to be flooded with feedback after citing the possible imperfection of Dr. Seuss rhymes: Should Rhymes Include Only “Real” Words?  December 8, 2009.  But opinions there were, and total disagreement…In fact, we did not hear from a single reader who found Dr. Seuss’s rhyming schemes flawed.  No one had a problem with rhyming “My throne shall be higher!”  his royal voice thundered with “So pile up more turtles!  I want ’bout two hundred!”  And no one had any issues with manufactured words, many that Dr. Seuss likely created only for the sake of rhyme, and few that have found their way into the dictionary.  Perhaps it is time to overhaul Webster’s and add “enormance” and “whuffed“?  Truly, we (but not my mother) are defenders of the great Doctor and we were only trying to ask, “What is a rhyme?” and “Should a writer create nonsensical words when he has the opportunity to teach children new vocabulary?”  In terms of feedback, one clearly educated reader, from Summit, Mississippi, wrote:  “I too believe REAL vocabulary is essential and powerful…but like Seuss, I lam a lover of nonsense….and nonsense can bring wonderful giggles and encourage creativity and stimulate a love for literature of all kinds….Nonsense, I believe, can develop deliciously even when using ”real” words…and adding rhythm.”

Interestingly, Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) really was an innovator in terms of expanding the vocabulary of children.  According to Wikipedia, Dr. Seuss and his publisher were influenced by a 1954 Life magazine report on illiteracy among school children, “which concluded that children were not learning to read because their books were boring.”  The publisher apparently took 348 words he thought important and asked Dr. Seuss to cut the list to 250 words and write a book using only those words.  The Cat in the Hat used 236 of the 250 words, and was a success to say the least, with its simple vocabulary providing a fun and interesting read for young children.

Tags: Mississippi, The Cat in the Hat, Wikipedia

Books sell best when more than just the spine is showing.  When 5,000 copies of No More Mac and Cheese, A Bachelor’s Guide to Cooking with Ease, landed on our doorstep, we at MPC knew that creativity was in order.  With No More Mac and Cheese being our first title, sales of this magnitude were certainly ambitious.  Why had MPC Press taken on an inexperienced author who was not a very good cook yet had written a cookbook…and in rhyme?  And why would the author of No More Mac and Cheese hire a publisher with no experience?  First, it is always challenging for a new publisher to attract a well regarded author, so signing a contract with any author was a good start for MPC.  Second, the author of No More Mac and Cheese could not find anyone else to publish his book, so he turned to this young publishing company as a last resort.  When one learns that the author of No More Mac and Cheese actually created MPC Press in order to publish his book (that had been rejected by every publisher), the relationship seems to make sense.  As for selling the book, we had no problem finding bookstores to carry the title.  Shelves were stocked with No More Mac and Cheese, particularly in our Bay Area market.  But, it is challenging for the consumer to locate a book (particularly a wire-bound book, but really any book) when only the spine is showing.  Placement is key!  So, we sought other angles and Nordstrom at the time had a “Gift Gallery” in most of its stores that carried candle holders, plates, picture frames, snow globes, and a small selection of books.  Fortunately, MPC had a connection with a Nordstrom employee who introduced us to the Gift Gallery buyer.  Similar to the experience with bookstores, we had no problem generating orders from Nordstrom.  But unique to Nordstrom’s Gift Gallery, No More Mac and Cheese was placed on tables and shelves with the cover, not the spine, in full view to the customer.  Sales exploded, and we can attribute this to the least recognized of the “4 P’s” of marketing: placement (and to a lesser extent the author’s 50 Nordstrom gift cards purchased that Christmas for friends and family).  So, we now look for every opportunity to place our books in unique non-bookstore environments.

Tags: Bay Area, Christmas, Cookbook, Nordstrom

When your new book is published, it is impossible to be overprepared for incoming calls from the press. With No More Mac and Cheese, A Bachelor’s Guide to Cooking with Ease, we heavily publicized the book when it was launched in 1990.  Knowing the appeal of a wire-bound, bachelor’s cookbook written in rhyme, our publicist set up a separate phone line (no email in 1990) and braced herself for heavy demand…and then waited, and waited.  Believe it or not, we were disappointed.  But why?  To start, we had not focused enough on local press.  The Denver Post didn’t really give a #&*&$# about No More Mac & Cheese, even though plenty of bachelors live in Denver.  So, we changed our approach.  And then, it really began to click.  With a local San Francisco author, it made sense to concentrate efforts on Bay Area television and radio, as well as the San Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland Tribune, and the San Jose Mercury.  First, a couple of great reviews were published in the Chronicle and the Tribune.  Then, the local NBC television affiliate came calling.  A newscaster and cameraman showed up on the doorstep of my San Francisco bachelor pad, where I lived with two roommates.  They wanted to film me cooking my quesadilla and chocolate mousse recipes (page 28 and page 50, respectively).  I alerted my roommates to stay out of the apartment for fear of embarrassment and I cleaned up the kitchen.  I hadn’t noticed that a picture of one roommate’s girlfriends and his University of Colorado pennant had been hung behind the stove in his quest for attention sharing.  The filming began and I was asked to rap (sing in my cool ghetto voice) the recipes while cooking.  Fortunately, I had seen enough Julia Child episodes to know that the meals should be completed first and placed in the refrigerator for future display.  So, I donned my cool “Hail to the Chef” apron and did my song and dance with the meal, and then cleverly pulled out the finished result from behind the scenes.  I think the reporter was impressed, but I still wonder why most of my show was cut from the final version.  Still, the media attention really did work and sales took off, and 1,000 books were sold in a matter of days.  And, I still have a copy of the segment on betamax because I knew that would allow people to watch it for years to come.  By the way, the word betamax can’t even be spell checked anymore, gone from the dictionary.

Tags: bachelor's cookbook, chocolate mousse, Julia Child, NBC, Oakland Tribune, quesadilla, San Francisco Chronicle, University of Colorado

It is so nice to have an empty inbox. But I have not ended a day achieving that goal in years.  How many of us have?  And does it count as a clean inbox if you simply create new folders and place your emails in these folders?  As with most people, my inbox functions at least partially as a To Do list and I won’t delete an email until I’ve read (at least the subject line), responded to, or acted on the email.  I even go through my spam email to make sure I’m not missing an important item.  A full inbox does drive me crazy; I keep a written To Do list at my desk which often includes “email Bob Bishop” or “reply to Jackie Jones”.  This allows for a cleaner inbox and provides me with a slightly better mindframe when I leave the office or turn out the light.

Tags: email, inbox