Each day
in America, about 7,000 people die, whether from illness, accident, murder,
suicide, age, or other causes. Scores of
them are authors. At today’s rate of
2,000 newly published books each day, we are likely to mourn the loss of
hundreds if not thousands of authors decades from now on a daily basis.
One such
author just passed away and he had been my client.
At the
time I represented John C. Whitehead, he’d been retired from once serving as
the long-time successful chairman of Goldman Sachs. He was running the Lower Manhattan
Development Corporation, which in 2005, was helping to establish the September
11 Memorial and to rebuild the area devastated by the bombing of the Twin
Towers. He had his memoir published, A Life in Leadership (Basic Books) and
utilized the firm I work for, Media Connect (then known as Planned Television
Arts), to promote him to the news media.
I read
his obituary in The New York Times on
February 9. He lived to be 92 and I’m
sure he impacted many lives, having served in some powerful positions,
including the Reagan State Department.
He also served in the military and fought in World War II. He was the embodiment of The Greatest
Generation, sacrificing for his country and later living the American Dream on
Wall Street. He also led the boards of
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Asia Society, and Harvard.
My
friend, Steve Mariotti, who heads up the National Foundation for Teaching
Entrepreneurship, has introduced Mr. Whitehead to me and I was immediately
impressed with his story.
Now he
is gone and like most people, leaves behind a family, memories, and some
wealth. His legacy has already been
defined by his life, set in motion by the deeds or misdeeds he had
committed. But he will live on through
his words. Every author has the chance
to live another day every time someone reads his or her book.
I’ve had
my share of clients (authors) due over the years, even one while I was working
with her. I’ve also promoted the books
of authors after they died. But it’s the
books themselves that keep people alive and relevant. As much as authors feel they die when a book
bombs in the marketplace or with reviewers, they get a second life when people
discover their books long after they are gone.
What
could authors do to position their books to survive their lifetime, to be
relevant generations beyond the time they directly impacted?
Certainly
writing a great book with fans to continue championing you helps. Get schools to make your book required
reading is a good idea too. Or maybe, if
you are wealthy, you create a foundation and leave funding for the continued
marketing and promoting of your book long after you’ve moved on from this
world.
Books
give not only meaning and relevance to the world they write about, but to both
the reader’s life and that of the author’s.
Books capture not just our experiences and ideas, but our thinking
process and approach to life.
Mr.
Whitehead may have died, but his book shall live another
day. Like all authors, his legacy will
ultimately be defined by those who come to read his writings.
DON’T MISS: ALL NEW RESOURCE OF THE YEAR
2015 Book PR & Marketing Toolkit: All New
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