Women and Books 2007 Press Room: Content Connections Fact Sheet

About the Company: A Brief Story

D. K. Brake, the founder and CEO of Content Connections, has a Sunday morning routine, if not an addiction. He reads The New York Times Book Review, absorbing what’s new on the best-seller lists. Pen in hand and spreadsheet open, he makes careful comparisons to previous weeks’ lists, recording what’s moved up, down, or off the lists.

What’s this former publishing executive turned entrepreneur looking for? “I’m fascinated by people’s behavior when it comes to books. What makes some books shoot to the top of the best-seller list and stay there for weeks, sometimes even years?” he asks. “Why do other books make a quick appearance and then disappear forever? And most books published never even get close to a best-seller list, even though some of them may be better than many books that have been there for weeks. It’s driven by behavior.”

Brake studies the factors that influence that behavior. Each year, Content Connections, the company he started in 2001 after leaving McGraw-Hill, where he published textbooks on Marketing, Advertising—and yes—Consumer Behavior, conducts hundreds of surveys, focus groups, and book reviews. His 50-person operation is a fast-growing publishing services and consulting company that offers publishers and authors “resources for creating content that connects.”

The company employs a special methodology and a suite of online feedback tools designed to look into the minds of an audience, test book concepts, quantify reviewer feedback on manuscripts in development, and ultimately provide metrics on the sales viability of a particular title before it is published. Publishers including McGraw-Hill, Wiley, Prentice Hall, Houghton-Mifflin and others have brought the Content Connections team and tools into some of their most important publishing programs and book campaigns.

The company’s executive team includes a former publisher of the For Dummies series, Roland Elgey, a 25-year veteran of consumer publishing and Content Connections’ President, and Craig Beytien, a former VP and publisher at McGraw-Hill with more than 20 years of editorial, sales, and marketing experience. Beytien, a professional magician who in his spare time builds elaborate illusions in his home workshop, is the EVP of Business Development and Training.

While a lot of authors would like to believe that grabbing a spot on a best-seller list requires some special magic, Beytien is blunt in acknowledging that the vast majority of the 175,000+ books published each year will fail. “Some of them are just poorly conceived and written,” he says. “Others haven’t been focused on the right audience. Audience or market development is a part of the publishing process that most authors just don’t do well by themselves. They leave that to their publisher, if they’re lucky enough to have a publisher. Ironically, however, most publishers want to know, first and foremost, how big is your Rolodex? In other words, what kind of audience or platform does an author already have?”

So what will make a book a bestseller? “When people talk about a book and connect with other people a virus is spread. Some viruses are more contagious than others. You can engineer a book virus if you start early and follow a prescribed plan,” says Elgey. Content Connections’ methodology is based, in part, on engineering such a virus.

According to Brake, connecting your content to people who connect with other people is one key to achieving success. “The book still has to be relevant and able to meet the needs or expectations of your audience,” says Brake, “but your audience is also your best source of feedback for testing your book’s relevance and assessing their expectations.”

Content Connections is based in Mesa, Arizona but has field offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, and Dubuque, Iowa. You can learn more about the company by visiting www.contentconnections.com.

For all inquiries please contact:

Holly McAllister
AuthorBound Project Director

Toll Free: 1-888-822-6419
Email: info@womenandbooks2007.com



About the Book Study From the Authors of the Study Press Room News Releases Women & Books 2007 PDF Logos Questions & Answers Who's Who (Photos, Bios) Content Connections Fact Sheet Press Clippings Media Contacts Joanna Brody (310) 582-0085 joanna@brody-pr.com Jennifer Heinly (949) 716-9829 jjconsultin@cox.net Click the logo to access the results For more information, refer to the Women and Books 2007 Information Page		About the Company: A Brief Story D. K. Brake, the founder and CEO of Content Connections, has a Sunday morning routine, if not an addiction. He reads The New York Times Book Review, absorbing what’s new on the best-seller lists. Pen in hand and spreadsheet open, he makes careful comparisons to previous weeks’ lists, recording what’s moved up, down, or off the lists. What’s this former publishing executive turned entrepreneur looking for? “I’m fascinated by people’s behavior when it comes to books. What makes some books shoot to the top of the best-seller list and stay there for weeks, sometimes even years?” he asks. “Why do other books make a quick appearance and then disappear forever? And most books published never even get close to a best-seller list, even though some of them may be better than many books that have been there for weeks. It’s driven by behavior.” Brake studies the factors that influence that behavior. Each year, Content Connections, the company he started in 2001 after leaving McGraw-Hill, where he published textbooks on Marketing, Advertising—and yes—Consumer Behavior, conducts hundreds of surveys, focus groups, and book reviews. His 50-person operation is a fast-growing publishing services and consulting company that offers publishers and authors “resources for creating content that connects.” The company employs a special methodology and a suite of online feedback tools designed to look into the minds of an audience, test book concepts, quantify reviewer feedback on manuscripts in development, and ultimately provide metrics on the sales viability of a particular title before it is published. Publishers including McGraw-Hill, Wiley, Prentice Hall, Houghton-Mifflin and others have brought the Content Connections team and tools into some of their most important publishing programs and book campaigns. The company’s executive team includes a former publisher of the For Dummies series, Roland Elgey, a 25-year veteran of consumer publishing and Content Connections’ President, and Craig Beytien, a former VP and publisher at McGraw-Hill with more than 20 years of editorial, sales, and marketing experience. Beytien, a professional magician who in his spare time builds elaborate illusions in his home workshop, is the EVP of Business Development and Training. While a lot of authors would like to believe that grabbing a spot on a best-seller list requires some special magic, Beytien is blunt in acknowledging that the vast majority of the 175,000+ books published each year will fail. “Some of them are just poorly conceived and written,” he says. “Others haven’t been focused on the right audience. Audience or market development is a part of the publishing process that most authors just don’t do well by themselves. They leave that to their publisher, if they’re lucky enough to have a publisher. Ironically, however, most publishers want to know, first and foremost, how big is your Rolodex? In other words, what kind of audience or platform does an author already have?” So what will make a book a bestseller? “When people talk about a book and connect with other people a virus is spread. Some viruses are more contagious than others. You can engineer a book virus if you start early and follow a prescribed plan,” says Elgey. Content Connections’ methodology is based, in part, on engineering such a virus. According to Brake, connecting your content to people who connect with other people is one key to achieving success. “The book still has to be relevant and able to meet the needs or expectations of your audience,” says Brake, “but your audience is also your best source of feedback for testing your book’s relevance and assessing their expectations.” Content Connections is based in Mesa, Arizona but has field offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, and Dubuque, Iowa. You can learn more about the company by visiting www.contentconnections.com. For all inquiries please contact: Holly McAllister AuthorBound Project Director Toll Free: 1-888-822-6419 Email: info@womenandbooks2007.com



		Copyright © 2007 AuthorBound™, a division of Content Connections, LLC. For more information contact us at 1-888-822-6419 or email info@womenandbooks2007.com