Twasn't the name, it was the game

One of the more unique aspects of the hit book, The Convenant with Black America, edited by Tavis Smiley, are its back pages. These resemble the last pages of a program from a high school graduation: pages and pages of names. Each name resembles a thumbprint of someone who helped to include valuable, and from the ground up, stories in the book. People contributed through many forums: church seminars; black literature study groups; writer edit sessions and political discussion coffees.

Thanking each contribution in the book may have been seen as unusual or generous, but Ms. Obie thinks it was a savvy investment. Including each name inspired each name to become a champion of the book. After the book was published, each contributor was encouraged to host a Convenant party. Across the country, there were hundreds of these parties to discuss the ideas, and to buy the book.

While this book was certainly one of the biggest successes for small press Third World Press, publisher Haki Madhubuti must have sensed the buy-in was already there. In its first month of release, over 300,000 copies were sold.

For those authors and publishers, particularly in nonfiction, make sure to not forget your first customers: those in the book. Some audiences are right there waiting; look no farther than your own address book.