"The Celebrity Apprentice" Gives Back March 27 2008 at 11:00 AM

As the parent of a child with food allergies, I'm always happy to see someone spreading the word about the good work done by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. This week, NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice will feature a showdown between country music star Trace Adkins and vociferous Brit Piers Morgan... More

It all started with a bag... March 24 2008 at 12:50 PM

I really feel like I'm going to earn the designation of BAG LADY around these parts, but here I go...

I've never been one to fret about using reams and reams of paper and plastic bags when I go to the supermarket. I always felt that reusing them once or twice was justification enough to get them.

TV Alert - Autism: The Musical March 21 2008 at 7:25 AM

My BlogHer friend Susan, who authors the most excellent blog The Family Room, recently attended a screening of a new documentary called Autism: The Musical. She wrote about her experience on her BabyCenter blog and asked that people spread the word about this most excellent film.

According to the... More

SXSW's Big Bag and a Call to Marketers March 19 2008 at 5:19 PM

Last week, I attended the SXSW Festival in Austin TX for the first time. Before you ask me what cool films I saw or if there were any rocking bands performing, just chill for a moment. I went to the Interactive Festival. No flicks or tunes, just geeks.

Anyhow, that's not really the point of the... More

A Case Study in the Making March 18 2008 at 12:32 PM

At SXSW, I had the good fortune to connect with a lot of people.  One of them was Wendy Piersall, aka eMom.  She made a point of telling me that she’s been spreading the word about Wiley.  How we understand how bloggers operate and really seem to want to exist in a Web 2.0 world.  I was really proud to hear that, because her positive experiences seem to have come not from me or others in the tech group, but from our PR and marketing teams on our parenting books.  It makes you as a marketer... More

LA Stories March 18 2008 at 7:02 AM

If you work in publishing, odds are you and your company are working on your presence at BookExpo right now.  The main conference in the publishing industry, BookExpo America, aka BEA, takes place the last weekend of May in Los Angeles.  It’s where booksellers meet publishers, authors, agents, media - basically anyone involved in the business of books. 
At Wiley, we started having weekly meetings at the end of January to plan for BEA.  There are so many internal deadlines that have already... More

You say it’s your birthday… March 17 2008 at 9:54 AM

A big giant “happy birthday” goes out to my pal Patricia today.  I’m not normally one for marking the tick of the clock in this blog, but it’s as good an excuse as any to direct you to her blog.  For someone who just started in the blogging game, she’s already made an impact.  She’s an incredibly talented designer and all-around nice person - now she’s the publisher of a wonderful blog where she’s working to create an “artful life.” ... More

Party Like a Poet March 17 2008 at 8:45 AM

Tomorrow, I will be representing my company at Poets & Writers’ annual “In Celebration of Writers” awards dinner.  What is this event?  I refer to the press release:
Held at the Ritz Carlton, New York City, “In Celebration of Writers” is Poets & Writers’ largest fundraising event, attracting luminaries from the arts, publishing industry and media.
And me.  My boss usually goes, but he’s out of town on business, so I got his invite.  He refused to say how... More

Photo Effects - Who Knew? March 17 2008 at 5:56 AM

I’ve blogged before about Wiley author Erin Manning and how I learned more about how to get the most out of my point and shoot camera through talking to her and reading her book.  So this is going to be another one of those name dropping posts…beware.  But you might get some useful photography tips out of it, so don’t run away so fast.  Net net, you have camera with automatic settings.  But through some knowledge and very little fiddling, you can select custom settings that will... More