In an offer remarkable for at least three
reasons, Random House Kodansha has acquired world Japanese language
rights to what promises to be the next mega-best-selling business
parable,
If You Want It Done Right, You Don’t Have to Do It Yourself!: The
Power of Effective Delegation, by Donna M. Genett, Ph. D.
(Quill Driver Books, $19.95)
Following the well-beaten path of the
Godzilla-like best-sellers The One Minute Manager and Who
Moved My Cheese?, but claiming a greater degree of immediate
practicality, Genett’s new book traces two "identical twin" cousins
as they learn how to delegate effectively and how to teach their
bosses to delegate effectively.
The Random House deal is noteworthy for
the swiftness with which Random House made the offer and for its
potential payout. Japanese publishers, reflecting the general state
of the Japanese economy, have been rather quiet in the international
rights market lately, but Random House Kodansha expressed immediate
interest and made the winning offer within weeks of being notified
that rights to the book were on the table.
According to Betty Ann Crawford of New
York City-based Rights Unlimited, the agency handling the sale,
Random House’s offer also includes the "highest royalty rate"
conventionally paid for Japanese rights. Crawford says she expects
Dutch, UK, German, and other foreign rights to be gobbled up in the
near term.
The deal is also notable because the book
is the first business book published by Quill Driver Books, an
independent publisher primarily recognized as a publisher of writing
books and self-help and how-to titles for those over 50.
"Japan is a very business-oriented
society, but the economy over there has been in the dumps lately.
Maybe this book is exactly what they need to get their workforce
back on track," said Steve Mettee, publisher at Quill Driver Books.
