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Originally Posted by KazeCraven  I suppose you guys make a good point. Though if I really am a beginner, I go for beginner stuff, not stuff for dummies. I always got the impression that stuff "for dummies" implied that I was getting some dumbed down mush that is only a semblance of the true intricacies of the thing I really want to know. |
I tend to agree with you. I look at the popularity of "Dummie's" guides as an extension of the glorification of unintelligence in America. (People may often think of themselves as being smart but there's a definite push against real intellect. The image is more important than the substance.) I know it can be a good bit of self-depreciating humor, too, and I even appreciate some humor in the material I use to learn. However, I don't appreciate gimmicks. Even if the information is sound, gimmicks cheapen it.
I don't think "Smart People" lessens sales because people are turned off by the idea of having to be smart in order to benefit from the book. If it lessened potential sales, I'd wager it's because the immediate response is, "What does that mean?" Successful marketing is poingnant-it gets right to the point and evokes an immediate response which is favorable to the purchase of the product. If you're trying to sell an economic survival guide, you need an apocalyptic title and a quote from a mainstream outlet verifying the book's claims right on the cover. ("Chilling."-N.Y. Times. It may have nothing to do with your book, but technically they said it at some point about something! Who's gonna know?)
This book's title provokes a very cerebral response. "What's that?" Most people won't buy it based on that. Marketing is based on emotion. If you're not evoking an emotion, you're not going to get the impulse buys which fuel the top sellers. Considering Steve's take on things, I think he prefers it that way. He'd probably say something like, "What's the point in writing the book if most people who buy it never actually read it?" Desperation, particularly the desperate need to feel good, fuels the self-help industry. That's clearly not the audience he wants.