Books For Dummies Smart Publishing Idea
What’s been one of the smartest ideas in publishing in the ‘90s?
Books for dummies and idiots.
With titles like “Taxes for Dummies” and “The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Living With a Cat,” the books promise to simplify the learning curve for modern life.
They started as guidebooks for computers, a subject that can make anyone feel stupid.
Now you can find a “Dummies” title or “Complete Idiot’s Guide” for just about any pursuit: golf, wine, personal finance, dating, programming your VCR, even sex.
The “Dummies” books, published by IDG Books Worldwide, came first and are practically an institution after 5-1/2 years on the market. They’ve been wildly successful. Revenues for the company last year were $100 million. More than 30 million copies of “Dummies” books are in print and they have been translated into 30 languages.
“The Complete Idiot’s Guides,” which are put out by Alpha Books, a division of Macmillan General Reference, followed closely on the heels of the “Dummies” series. More than 5 million copies of “Idiot’s” titles are in print.
Who’d have thought you could make a fortune calling your reader an idiot or a dummy?
The man behind the “Dummies” phenomenon is John Kilcullen, co-founder and CEO of IDG Books Worldwide in Foster City, Calif. Back in the ‘80s, when he was working for Bantam Doubleday Dell publishers in New York, Kilcullen overheard a customer in a computer software store saying he needed a basic book about computers. “Something like DOS for dummies,” the customer said.
Kilcullen filed the idea away and resurrected it when he co-founded IDG, enlisting author Dan Gookin to write “DOS for Dummies.” The first printing was 7,500 copies. Today there are 2.4 million copies of the book in print.
IDG has since published more than 300 technology “Dummies” books, many of which have become best sellers. The company’s computer titles range from “Windows 95 for Dummies” to “Netscape Plug-Ins for Dummies.”
In 1994, IDG branched out, publishing “Personal Finance for Dummies.” The book went on to sell half a million copies. Realizing it had tapped a new market, IDG published additional generalinterest (or trade) “Dummies” titles, such as “Beer for Dummies” and “Roses for Dummies.”
Like “Dummies,” the “Idiot’s” guides started with computer books and then ventured into lifestyle topics. Alpha Books also published its first trade “Idiot’s” title in 1994, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Making Money on Wall Street.” With more than 100,000 copies in print, “Wall Street” is one of the best-selling “Idiot’s” trade titles.
Both publishers see a growing market for lifestyle books. Unlike IDG, Alpha is now publishing more trade than computer titles. IDG has 50 trade “Dummies” titles in print. Alpha published three “Idiot’s” trade titles in 1994, 12 in 1995, 25 in 1996, and this year will bring out about 50 trade titles, ranging from “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Elvis” to “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Bringing Up Your Baby.”
Both series have uniform looks - the “Dummies” books use a black-and-yellow motif and sport the nerdy-looking “Dummy” character on each cover. The “Idiot’s” books have a more sophisticated look with cleaner graphics: orange, blue and white are the jacket colors of choice.
Topics for upcoming “Idiot’s” titles include mixing drinks, philosophy, skiing, Europe, writing the perfect cover letter, the perfect wedding, yoga and cigars. “Dummies” 1997 titles include low-fat cooking, weight-training, consulting and cats.
When it comes to spotting hot trends, these publishers are no dummies.