Friday, February 29, 2008

Exciting New Book in the Making--Need Your Input



So yesterday I was chatting with Kelvin Sampson's agent on the phone. No, really, I was. Molly Fletcher of Career Sports & Entertainment represents the embattled former IU coach and hundreds of other top baseball, golf, coaching, and broadcast personalities. And it just so happens that she's also written a career book.

Molly decided to write the book because she's constantly called upon to share her advice with young people about how she landed such a "dream career" and how they can do it too.

The book is coming together nicely and will be part of our fall 2008 list. There's just one problem: We can't all agree on what to call it. The front-runner right now is

  • Big-League Careers: Five Tools for Landing the Job of Your Dreams

The people who don't like that title say that it might make people think this is a book about careers in sports, rather than advice that will apply to all high-profile careers that young people aspire to. What do you think? I'm open to any and all suggestions about how the title should be worded.

So why, you might ask, is someone with all this clout working with a small-timer like JIST? Molly is all about relationships, so she did her networking homework and found out that JIST not only specializes in career books; it also has a personal touch and a philosophy that is much like that of the agency she helped build. And, all modesty aside, she wanted to work with me. She talked with enough of my authors to know that I will do a good job with her book and treat her well. (My mom is more proud of this than of anything else I've ever done in my life.)

Now, about Kelvin. She hasn't told me much about his situation and I haven't asked, because I don't want to know. All I know is that if anyone can help him salvage his career, it's Molly. I can't wait to see what happens next.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're right; from the suggested title I thought it was about sports careers. How about something like "Be Your Own Agent: 5 Tools for Landing Your Dream Job"?

Incidentally, my nephew Jed Hoyer works the other side of the street; he's Assistant General Manager for the Boston Red Sox and negotiates with agents.

Lori Cates Hand said...

I really like that! I've sent it along to Molly for her opinion.

Meanwhile, anyone else have any thoughts or ideas?