Wiley Joe is Well-Above Average

Perhaps the most dramatic event so far in the saga of this book, was when the Wiley team flew to Scottsdale where Robert and I were attending Demo. They got their for Valentine's Day and took us to pricey Mason's Steak House where we tried to talk business while surrounded by noisy well-lubricated couples. Wiley had flown there in an effort to close a deal with us and they did it with a generous offer.

But the deal could not be sealed.  Robert wanted a publisher who "got blogging" and no one at Wiley blogged. That's when Joe Wickert, our publisher said he would start a blog if Robert would coach him.

Joe started "The Average Joe," just a few days later. Robert did very little, except to post once that Joe had picked an indistinctive title because no one would know what the blog was about.

Joe's blog, less than two-months-old, ranks third at Google if you type in "The Average Joe." Five days ago it ranked 6th. Technorati gives it 25 inbound links, in less than two months, a lot better that this blog was doing at that point.

I recommend the Average Joe to anyone who wants to write abook or understand the top tier of the publishing business. It's getting lots of comments and building a following.  I'm told that more Wiley team members will soon be blogging.  We planted a seed.  Here comes a tree.

Robert, thanks for offering the advice, but they seem to be doing just fine on their own.

Comments

[Jozef Imrich]

It is a insider's insider's blog ... I totally agree with you Shel the tree is worth climbing on ;-)

By the way, in the hurry you left out the URL between the codes - Joe started "The Average Joe,"

[Robert Scoble]

My advice still stands.

How do you think a new reader would find Joe's blog? By searching Google for "Average Joe" or searching Google for "book publisher blog?"

Yesterday at the geek lunch we were talking about some insider knowledge: that most Google searchers only click on the first link (and virtually no one goes to the second page).

So, when you search for "book publisher blog" you do not find Joe Wikert.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2005-08,GGLD:en&q=Book+Publisher+Blog

He could change that with a simple change to his title tag.

[Naba Barkakati]

Shel, Yes - Joe is certainly well above average! He got me started on my blog and I'm glad you and Robert got him to start The Average Joe. Otherwise, I won't have gotten into this new world of blogs :-) It seems I have many more conversations with Joe now that I read his blog and respond than I ever had during all these years that we have had an author-publisher relationship. By the way, good luck with your book!

[Jozef Imrich]

Good point Robert,

I think the future is in a Dewey type, 'specific and professional kind,' of classification of website as the jungle of the growing free text will get less and less user friendly.

I rather like what one Australian company is doing (I have come across them last week on one of the library blogs), but there is nothing on the market that tags businesses in a specific way ...
http://www.factbites.com

[Joe Wikert]

Robert, I'm rather fond of my blog's description: Book Writing, Publishing and Technology Perspectives. I feel it effectively captures the essense of what I talk about there. Nevertheless, your point about somehow including "book publisher blog" is valid. I'm not sure if this is what you had in mind, but I tacked it on to the main title itself, which now reads "The Average Joe: A Book Publisher Blog". I'll make a note of the date and see if this results in a traffic boost going forward.

[Robert Scoble]

Cool, that'll be an interesting test to watch!

[David Mayhew]

And now, when you Google "book publisher blog", The Average Joe is #1. Consider the test a success.