The good news on the job horizon, reports Time.com, is that as America's 76 million boomers begin to retire (although possibly not quite as soon as they had once hoped), only 46 million Gen-Xers are waiting to replace them.

In the next eight years, the U.S. will need 711,000 more teachers, 151,000 more auto mechanics, and 181,000 additional auditors and accountants (plus or minus those doing time in federal prisons). On the downside, we'll need 328,000 fewer farmers and ranchers, 51,000 fewer sewing-machine operators, and the ranks of movie projectionists will be diminished by 3,000.

But whatever the changes in job demographics, one thing seems certain. Americans are now asking two very important questions when they consider a new job or career change: Is this a job I love? And will I be able to have a life outside of work—do I have the time to coach my daughter's soccer team, learn how to hang glide or take a cooking class at 6:30 in the evening?

"Quality of life is it," says Davies-Black publisher Lee Langhammer Law. "People are looking for the intangibles in a job—how much does it let me learn and grow, what kind of flexibility is afforded, will the work environment and management culture support me? Money is still a factor, but in a long line of must-haves in a job, it does not top the list." This change in priorities, says Law, has meant a new emphasis for the publisher on the "themes of meaning and balance," as exemplified by David Heenan's Double Lives: Crafting Your Life of Work and Passion for Untold Success (Sept.).

Crown editorial director Steve Ross agrees that it's "quality of life and pride in a job well done, not just the money" that attracts today's workers. This makes Jon Katzenbach's Why Pride Matters More Than Money (Mar.) "a perfect fit," says Ross, not just for the times, but as an appropriate addition to Crown's Business Briefing series, short hardcovers written by business experts. This new perspective on life, work and money is also taking hold down under. Kiwi John Clark's The Money Is the Gravy: Finding the Career That Nourishes You (Mar.) was a bestseller in New Zealand before Warner Books decided to publish it in the U.S. According to executive editor Rick Wolff, "It's all about finding your passion and making money at it."

At Perseus, Nick Philipson, executive editor, business books, reports, "We're publishing more career-related titles this coming year than we have in the past couple of years combined. I think this trend in our program doesn't represent a conscious shift to 'do more career books' as much as it reflects increasing demand for books that will help people make sense of these complicated times." He cites as an example Not Just a Living: The Complete Guide to Creating a Business That Gives You a Life (Sept.), in which former newspaper reporter Mark Hendricks encourages the stressed and dissatisfied to abandon the corporate rat race. "We're all way overworked," says Berrett-Koehler's president and publisher Steven Piersanti. "Companies have gotten rid of so many people and expect those who are left to just suck it up. At lot of us try juggling our work and personal lives and that doesn't work." Help can be found, he says, in last May's Beyond Juggling: Rebalancing Your Busy Life by Kurt Sandholtz et al. In a more general vein, Piersanti cites a February BK title, Answering Your Call: A Guide for Living Your Deepest Purpose as responding to "the need for a return to trying to have a life of significance rather than just earning a living."

Like Piersanti, Financial Times Prentice Hall editor-in-chief Tim Moore also sees a fundamental shift in how Americans regard their business lives. He works one a day a week from home and notes that home-based business may well be "the new American dream." The 60-Second Commute: A Guide to Your 24/7 Home Office Life (Oct.) by Erika Orloff and Kathy Levinson, says Moore, provides the skills needed "for those seeking a different way of having it all."

But publishers be forewarned: books that encourage readers to pursue their passions may prove hazardous to the editorial staff. Jane von Mehren, Penguin editor-in-chief and associate publisher, reports that after working on career counselor Julie Jansen's I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This (Feb.), the publisher's assistant editor quit her job and is now studying fashion design at Pratt Institute.

Getting Job-Specific

So what kind of positions are available for Americans that can fulfill their desire for purpose, passion and free time for sports? Would you believe working for Uncle Sam? Over the next year, reports Dennis Damp, Brookhaven Press editor-in-chief and author of The Book of Government Jobs, 8th Edition (June), 28% of the federal work force will be eligible for retirement. "Hiring will be aggressive, especially in law enforcement and IT, but I wouldn't exclude any government career—all agencies will be looking for people." Anyone interested should note that each and every day, the government posts some 50,000 job openings, from Altoona to Anchorage, on federaljobsearch.com. And with an average salary of $51,000 plus benefits….

"We probably wouldn't have published Bill Endicott's An Insider's Guide to Political Jobs in Washington except for recent events," admits Wiley publisher Larry Alexander. "And not just because of September 11. The last presidential election left a bitter taste in many people's mouths, but it also inspired them—particularly young people—to want to make a difference, to be more interested in public service than the big buck." Geared for those looking for political appointments and jobs, the February release features endorsements from ultimate insiders former Clinton Chief of Staff Leon Panetta and President Gerald Ford.

Out this month, Ten Steps to a Federal Job was originally titled Public Service Resumes, reports Kathryn Kraemer Troutman, president of The Resume Place and the book's author. Troutman went into high gear to revise and expand the book to include material directed at a new audience—first-time applicants for government jobs. "The book became more focused on how to simplify what can be a very complex process." At Barron's, project editor Wendy Sleppin promises that Guide to Homeland Security Careers by Donald Hutton and Anna Mydlorz, due next spring, "will be a forerunner in books of this kind."

But not everyone dreams in red, white and blue. For those thinking in more tinselly tones, there's always show biz. Barron's 100 Careers in Film and Television (Dec.) by Tanja Crouch, is an inspirational tome laced with solid career advice plus tales of those who've hit it big and how they did it. "We want our books to be practical, realistic advice for turning a dream into a career," says Diane Steele, publisher of Consumer Dummies. This year Dummies debuts in the world of the arts—Songwriting for Dummies by Jim Peterik et al. (Wiley, Sept.), Breaking into Acting for Dummies (Aug.) by Larry Garrison and Wallace Wang and Screenwriting for Dummies (Jan.) by Laura Schellhardt.

Flying around the world as a flight attendant has long been considered a "glamour" job. These days, of course, such jobs may come with hazard pay—a fact that meant unexpected but much needed updates for Planning/Communications' second edition of Tim Kirkwood's Flight Attendant Job Finder & Career Guide (Sept.). According to publisher Daniel Lauber, "While Tim couldn't reveal all the recent changes in flight attendant training, now that they are the last line of defense between pilots and terrorists, he's added a significant amount of new information for the 400,000 people who apply each year for these jobs." In order to address concerns about on-the-job safety and security for the thousands of Americans working abroad, Lauber revised the first chapter of his own book, International Job Finder: Where the Jobs Are Worldwide, to include practical advice on how "smart international careerists can still live safely overseas."

Kaplan has high hopes for its Your Bright Future Series, launching next month. Developed, says publishing v-p Trent Anderson, with the Kaplan Higher Education division, the books are "practical guides for high-school students who have dreams and want help achieving them." First up are Your Bright Future in IT by Gene Corwin and Henry Lifton, …in Business Administration by Marilyn Pincus and … in Health Care by Mary K. Kouri. And it was Kaplan's test-prep guides for the NCLEX exam that showed them the need for a guide directed at nurses looking for career options: Your Career in Nursing by Annette Vallano is due in January.

This October, McGraw-Hill's VGM Professional Career series (which boasts 400 backlist and 35 new titles per year) offers job guidance in a wide variety of fields—from the third edition of Careers for Bookworms & Other Literary Types by Marjorie Eberts and Margaret Gisler and the second edition of Louise Miller's Careers for Night Owls & Other Insomniacs to revised editions of Opportunities in Aerospace Careers by Wallace Maples and Opportunities in Social Work Careers by Renee Wittenberg.

Know where you want to live but not what you want to do? In 2002, Adams Media is expanding its Job Bank series which features detailed company profiles and information on executive search firms and placement agencies in major American cities. Included in the first round (with more titles due in fall 2003) are The National Job Bank 2003 (Sept.), The New York Job Bank, 18th edition (Sept.), The Boston Job Bank, 19th edition (Dec.) and, making its debut, The Colorado Job Bank (Sept.). "Consumers," says acquisitions editor Jill Alexander, "are coming back to print references from the Internet—they're convenient, updated and, most importantly, fact-checked."

But what about if you don't know what you want to do? How do you recognize and have the courage to find your true calling? Bestselling author Po Bronson traveled the world in search of people who had found meaningful answers to What Should I Do with My Life? (Random House, Jan.). Says RH executive editor Jonathan Karp, "We believe this will be the deepest and most powerful exploration of career issues readers can find."

Landing the Job

First things first. Before you can personalize your new cubicle, there's the often daunting task of writing a resume and nailing the job interview—tasks for which publishers are well prepared to offer help and guidance.

In October, Wiley will publish the second editions of Robin Ryan's Winning Cover Letters and Winning Resumes and the fourth edition of Joyce Lain Kennedy's Resumes for Dummies; and Adams Media's Knock ' Em Dead series continues in November with updated editions of Cover Letters and Resumes.

Career Press, which does six to 10 career-oriented titles each year, has seen sales of both back and frontlist titles "significantly higher in 2002 than 2001, which was a good year for us," says publisher Ron Fry. "We brought out new editions of six backlist books and all are doing better than previous editions." The updated second edition of Fry's 101 Great Resumes is due in November, and the fifth book in the Five O'Clock series, Kick Off Your Career: Write a Winning Resume, Ace Your Interview, Negotiate a Great Salary by Kate Wendleton will be out next month.

Jeffrey Christian, CEO of one of the world's top headhunting firms (Christian & Timbers, in Cleveland), gives the skinny on what constitutes a great job interview in The Headhunter's Edge, just out from Random House, while executive recruiter Robert Melancon promises "insiders' secrets" in Wiley's The Secrets of the Executive Search: Strategies for Managing Your Personal Job Hunt (Sept.).

Syndicated career columnist Carol Kleiman's Winning the Job Game: The New Rules for Finding and Keeping the Job You Want, out next month from Wiley, demonstrates, says Larry Alexander, "our commitment to the career category in that we're stepping up to big-name authors." The publisher's also stepping up the following month with Princeton Management Consultants' Guide to Your New Job, in which Niels H. Nielsen applies proven business planning methods to the individual job hunter.

And never turn your back on chance when it comes to job-hunting. Impact Publishers editor-in-chief Robert Alberti had always admired Dr. John Krumboltz's work, so it was a happy turn of fate when the two met at a professional conference and Krumboltz mentioned he just happened to have a book looking for a publisher. The result? Planned Happenstance: Making the Most of Chance in Your Life and Career is due in March. "Be flexible, be proactive," says Alberti. "If you meet someone on a plane, see where the opportunity may lead."

Perseus's Momentum series, says Philipson, "encourages readers to buck convention, chase what they really want, and create opportunities for themselves, even against seemingly insurmountable obstacles." Originally published in the U.K., Perseus has licensed 12 Momentum titles, with the first four due next month. The books are supported by an interactive Web site (yourmomentum.com) that invites readers into a community of like-minded mavericks.

Washington Post "Career Track" columnist Amy Joyce ponders a burning question in an October McGraw-Hill title, I Went to College for This? How to Turn Your Entry Level Job into a Career You Love. Other burning questions, says Trish Todd, editor- in-chief of Simon & Schuster trade paperbacks, become as unusual as "what do I do with my nose ring?" Allison Hemming offers guidance for young job-hunters in WORK IT! How to Get Ahead, Save Your Ass, and Land a Job in Any Economy (Fireside, Dec.). Also from Fireside is Robin Ryan's What to Do with the Rest of Your Life: America's Top Career Coach Shows You How to Find or Create the Job You'll LOVE (Sept.). And the editors of MBA and JD Jungle magazines tell first-time job hunters as well as career-changers how to Nail the Job: Every Tool You'll Need to Land Your Dream Job and Master Your Career (Perseus, Sept.).

Finally, for all of us whose aspirations may land somewhat short of a 90-hour work week, Ernie Zelinski, author of The Joy of Not Working, offers The Lazy Person's Guide to Success: How to Get What You Want Without Killing Yourself for It (Ten Speed, Oct.). "To be successful," says publisher Kirsty Melville, "doesn't mean you have to live at the office—you can sit back, kick up your heels and use the power of creative loafing to get the most out of life."

Life at the Office

"Let's be honest," says Hyperion editor-in-chief Will Schwalbe, "most people don't have the luxury of having jobs that they love passionately." How true. Your officemate bathes only on national holidays, the boss expects an immediate response to his weekend e-mails, you haven't had a raise since Ford was Vice President and finding another job just isn't in the cards. What we need, to paraphrase Stephen Stills, is to love the job we're with.

Following on the best-selling fins of Hyperion's Fish! (one million copies in print) and Fish!Tales, is Fish Sticks: A Remarkable Way to Adapt to Changing Times and Keep Your Work Fresh by Stephen C. Lundin, John Christensen and Harry Paul. Schwalbe promises that the January release will help keep your energy going even after the initial enthusiasm for your job has faded. At NAL, says editor Jennifer Heddle, "We don't do a lot of career books, but we're certain that Paul Hellman's Naked at Work:How to Stay Sane When Your Job Drives You Crazy (Dec.) will have a broad appeal—it deals with the issues and fears we all confront at work, whether it's 'am I about to be fired?' or 'who took my tuna sandwich out of the refrigerator?' "

Hate the "work" you? Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career by Herminia Ibarra (Jan.), says Carol Franco, director of Harvard Business School Press, "is not about how to make a series of moves that will propel you up the career chain. It's about radical career reinvention, done in a very deliberate way—seizing opportunities in various work situations to "try on new identities" until you find the one that truly fits."

What does it takes to work successfully for a demanding boss? Rosanne Badowki, longtime executive assistant to former GE CEO Jack Welch, shows how employees at every level can forge effective office partnerships in Managing Up (Doubleday/ Currency, Mar.). Want to be a corporate powerhouse like Welch? Latch onto The Go-Getter: A Story that Tells You How to Be One (Times Books/Henry Holt, Jan.) by Peter B. Kyne. First published in 1921, the motivational tale has been updated by Alan Axelrod for the modern reader.

If you're trapped in an office environment that resembles Survivor's most hostile day ever, HBSP suggests you explore the solutions offered by Peter J. Frost in Toxic Emotions at Work (Jan.). For those who meet workplace scheming, treachery and downright meanness with a sense of humor, HarperCollins has worked overtime to add Scott Adams's Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel (Oct.) to its fall list—fittingly acquired, says associate publisher Lisa Berkowitz, "just as the news of corporate crime began to break." Speaking of weasels: if you think Big Brother's watching you from 9 to 5, it may not be paranoia. Just ask Frederick S. Lane III, author of The Naked Employee: How Technology Is Compromising Workplace Privacy (Amacom, Feb.).

And is there any better perk to a less-than-fabulous job than vacation time? Joe Robinson, founder of the Work to Live campaign (which is lobbying Congress for a minimum of three weeks of vacation for all Americans), makes his case in Work to Live: The Guide to Getting a Life (Perigee, Jan.). Wish him luck.

Honing Your Skills

Okay. You've got the job, the cubicle and are peacefully coexisting with others in your office environment. Now's the time to ratchet up the skills that will get you the perks or the advancement you richly deserve.

Whether you want a raise or an office with a view, it's the result that counts, not whether the person you negotiate with becomes your friend, believes negotiation guru Jim Camp. In Crown's just-published Start with No... and Other Negotiating Tools: What the Best Negotiators Don't Want You to Know, says Ross, "he's turned the 'let's compromise' paradigm on its ear." Von Mehren at Penguin reports that Peter Goodman's Win-Win Career Negotiations: Proven Strategies for Getting What You Want from Your Employer (Sept.) "tells people what to do at a time when they're often very anxious and overwhelmed by too much information."

Adams Media has expanded its Knock 'Em Dead series this November to include Business Presentations That Knock 'Em Dead by Martin Yates and Peter Sander. "The Knock' Em Dead books," Alexander tells PW, "have always helped people get a job; the new books—we plan to add a title every year—will help them manage their careers and move up the ladder." For early- to mid-career professionals, Ten Speed offers Pam Lassiter's The New Job Security: Five Strategies to Take Control of Your Career. As Melville puts it, "You can no longer rely on work to provide security—you have to find it within yourself."

Earlier this month, HarperCollins launched HarperBusiness Essentials, a series of repackaged and updated classics for executives on the go; early entries include Peter Drucker's The Effective Executive and Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras. And for anyone who wants to remain and advance within an organizational structure, Ellen Kadin, senior acquisitions editor at Amacom, recommends David W. Brown's Organization Smarts: Portable Skills for Professionals Who Want to Get Ahead. "It teaches job-changers a sophisticated set of skills that will enable them to hit the ground running in any organization. It also teaches employees how to be better prepared for any turn of events or change in corporate climate—particularly timely in a volatile business environment."

Since its June publication, Crown's Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by former Honeywell Chairman Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, has appeared on several national bestseller lists, notes Ross, with plans set for a major publicity "relaunch" in the fall. Warner Books has teamed with the Gallup Organization—now one of the world's largest management consulting firms as well as pollsters—for the second in a five-book series aimed at those choosing business management as their career path, Discover Your Sales Strengths: How The World's Greatest Salespeople Develop Winning Careers by Benson Smith and Tony Rutigliano (Feb.).

And from McGraw-Hill comes what might just be the most useful book for the year ahead: 101 Ways to Recession-Proof Your Career by Wendy Enelow.

Looking Down the (Career) Road

It's a pretty sure bet that Gordon "greed is good" Gecko would have a tough time getting a book deal in these days. Americans, most publishers agree, are looking for the good life both at home and on the job, and will be hunting down books that support them in that quest.

"People," says Adams Media's Alexander, "are now realizing that they, not the company, are responsible for their work life, even if they continue to work for a corporation." She sees career books teaching people "skills to make their work life better—qualitatively and quantitatively—and how to market themselves whether it's for a promotion with their present employer or a completely new opportunity."

Prentice Hall's Moore anticipates five areas of growth in career publishing: balance between work and life, choosing a career ("as opposed to making your first million before your college degree is dry"), satisfaction and work, a continued emphasis on knowledge work, and lifelong learning ("the global economy puts us all in the situation where we need to stay ahead of the global workforce, not just our countrymen and women"). Davies-Black's Law sees a strong future for books that track the career development needs and values of the different "signature" generations—"boomers as they progress along the timeline and reinvent notions of aging and work, Xers as they bring new paradigms for management and new boundaries for work and the work environment and the upcoming digital generation who will find their own ways to transform the game plan."

And while Philipson at Perseus believes that buyers are getting tired of the "this is the formula that will make you and your company successful" approach, he also suspects that we'll see "some trends at different ends of the spectrum, with some publishers focusing on the mechanics and practical issues of getting, keeping and excelling at a job and others focusing on emerging trends."