Crowded shelves

From management gurus to career coaches, local authors have a title for every business need

To better understand how North Carolina sees the business world, grab a cup of coffee and gather all the business books you can find by local authors.

But keep the coffee coming: It's going to be a big pile of books.

From business ethics and market strategy to biodiesel power and irrational choices, Triangle authors can't seem to keep themselves from weighing in on business issues of the day.

"In the United States, there are an unbelievable number of people who write books," said Dan Ariely, a Duke University professor who grew up in Israel.

"In fact, I have come to appreciate there are people here who write books about writing books."

So Ariely was only mildly surprised to find that his book -- "Predictably Irrational" and due out in February -- is one of just a dozen recent business titles written by local authors.

Chances are good that consumers won't recognize most local authors by name. They're just looking for a good book on career advancement, personal finance or some marketing title the boss says employees should read.

Being local also doesn't count for much when authors try to elbow their way onto store shelves.

Publishers released more than 9,000 business titles in 2006, according to RR Bowker, which tracks U.S. books sales.

That means a lot of local books never get the chance to compete directly in the stores.

Even online, where every title is available every day, no one really thinks a book called "Climbing the Ladder in Stilettos" is trying to reach the same market as "Private Label Strategy: How to Meet the Store Brand Challenge."

And that's one of the wonderful things about writing a business book. When you are talking about money to be made and lost, you just don't dive too deeply into some subjects.

"We noticed in our consulting work that brand managers have all kinds of questions about private labels," said Jan-Benedict Steenkamp, a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan- Flagler business school.

"And there wasn't any book out there that addressed that particular issue."

So Steenkamp co-wrote a book about how to retain market share in the battle between generics and brand names.

Maybe this topic doesn't do much for you, but somebody likes it. In 10 months, 12,000 copies of the $35 book sold, it has been translated into Chinese, and it's coming soon in Russian, Spanish and Portuguese translations.

Steenkamp isn't overly surprised. "There was a gap in the market, and we helped to fill it," he said. "We aren't going to make a lot of money by writing a book, but if managers use it to make better sales, it will succeed."

Sales matter

It's not that authors wouldn't be thrilled to find a million buyers for their books.

"If we had launched the book and sold eight copies, I don't think the 'pride of completion' would have eased our pain," said Dan Heath, who co-authored the book "Made to Stick" while working as a corporate education consultant this year at Duke.

"But let's be honest: We're talking about business books here -- we're not exactly making a big contribution to the world's art and culture," said Heath, who is now a consultant for a leadership institute in Washington. "We viewed our book as helping people solve a practical problem -- how to give their ideas impact."

So for every "Made To Stick," which made the best- seller lists of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Amazon.com, there are countless more like "Courting Your Career" by Shawn Graham.

Graham, associate director of the MBA Career Management Center at Kenan-Flagler, uses a dating metaphor throughout his paperback to explain how graduates can find that perfect job.