Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508110082
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FARRELL KRAMER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Long
The folks at IDG Books Worldwide, who nearly four years ago brought out the first ``dummies'' book with ``DOS For Dummies'' and have kept them coming ever since, believe people aren't shy about admitting a certain befuddlement with complex topics.
Computers and the software were the first area IDG targeted, and the books did well. In early 1994, the company turned off the information superhighway with ``Personal Finance For Dummies.''
``Sex For Dummies'' by Dr. Ruth Westheimer, available in mid-September, represents IDG's biggest and boldest departure yet. The company hopes the volume's title won't be off-putting for a book that discusses the most personal of life's endeavors.
``In the Talmud, in the Jewish tradition, it says that the lesson taught with humor is a lesson retained,'' explained Westheimer, the sex therapist known widely as Dr. Ruth.
Her volume, as is the case with all the ``dummies'' books, uses a dose of humor and a breezy style to simplify and demystify a complex subject. The books all use catchy overlines and a variety of icons to alert readers to important information.
An advance copy of ``Sex For Dummies'' included the following highlighted points:
A target with an arrow in the bullseye alerts readers to a ``Tip.'' One example: ``The next time your friends kid you about being a virgin, tell them that you're not one anymore. You don't have to say more than that, except maybe to give them a wink.''
A lighted bomb provides an ominous ``Warning.'' An example: ``You can also carry intimacy too far and think nothing of, say, burping loudly in front of your spouse as if he or she weren't there. That's not intimacy, that's being gross.''
As a whole, the ``dummies'' series offers 154 titles and boasts sales of more than 20 million volumes since its inception, by far the most widely disseminated book line catering to the less-than-brilliant.
Various other series have come along, to varying levels of welcome. Most successful is a line targeted at ``complete idiots,'' such as ``The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Internet.'' It has produced 64 titles and sold more than 2 million volumes since it started in early 1993.
Selling books to ``dummies'' and ``idiots'' quite obviously runs the risk of offending book buyers with fragile egos. Even the difference between the words ``dummy'' and ``idiot'' has created some debate.
``I would rather be a dummy than an idiot,'' said Amy Gugig, browsing in the computer books section at a Barnes & Noble in Manhattan.
Milissa Koloski, group publisher of IDG Books' Dummies Press unit, expressed a similar sentiment: ``We think `dummies' is a term of affection, whereas `idiots' is a little offensive.''
Don't tell that to Macmillan Computer Publishing, home of the ``complete idiot's'' line of books and the world's largest computer book provider. ``We're both going after the same customer,'' said David Israel, its vice president of publishing.
In the battle for the book dollars of ``dummies'' and ``idiots,'' the two sides are using many of the same approaches.
Both lines feature soft covers with easily identifiable bright colors. Both feature the generous use of graphics and illustrations to guide readers though the material.
Both have similar titles and subjects: There's ``DOS For Dummies'' and ``The Complete Idiot's Guide to DOS,'' ``Personal Finance For Dummies'' and ``The Complete Idiot's Guide to Managing Your Money.''
Also, both publishers can rely on deep corporate pockets.
IDG Books is a unit of International Data Group Inc. in Boston, a computer publishing company. IDG Books generates annual revenue of $50 million and says a good portion of that comes from the ``dummies'' line. It would not disclose profits.
Macmillan Computer Publishing is owned by New York-based entertainment conglomerate Viacom Inc. Its ``complete idiot's'' line has produced sales of more than $15 million since its inception. Profit figures were not available.
Writing for ``dummies'' and ``idiots'' clearly can be lucrative.
John Helmus, a divisional merchandise manager for Barnes & Noble Inc., says the ``dummies'' guides to Windows and DOS have both been top sellers. ``I believe from time to time they're within the top 15 or 20 trade paperback titles we have in our stores,'' he said.
If computers represent the past in ``dummies'' and ``idiots'' literature, the future is business and general interest topics.
Jeffrey J. Mayer, a Chicago-based consultant, has written ``Time Management For Dummies,'' a book designed to help individuals become more organized and efficient in a frenzied world. For those too busy to read it, IDG Books will soon publish a quick reference volume.
Some other non-computer titles in the works include ``Parenting For Dummies'' and ``Wine For Dummies.'' But the biggest splash is expected from ``Sex For Dummies.''
So what if people are shy about buying the book because of its title? Dr. Ruth suggests a time-honored solution: ``Pick it up, put another book on top and walk to the counter.''
by CNB