In examining the growing numbers of books in this field, it seems appropriate to lead with illness-related titles. Why? Because the American population is aging. Because people with something the matter are more likely to want medical information than people who are sailing along just fine. Because ailments are concrete and experts are everywhere. Because the statistics about sickness that publishers bandy about are huge and would seem to augur the, well, health of this category.
For example: did you know that one-third of all Americans suffer from abdominal pain of one sort or another? That one in four women suffer from some kind of GI disorder? Up to one million Americans have Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Sixteen million people have type II diabetes, and at least that many people are in a prediabetic state. (All figures are taken from press or catalogue material related to forthcoming health books.) About 44 million Americans live with low bone mass, a condition that can lead to osteoporosis, and 28 million Americans will actually develop the condition. A conservative estimate is that six million suffer from fibromyalgia and 800,000 have chronic fatigue syndrome. Roughly 1.3 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in 2004, at least 147,000 of them colorectal cancer. Some 61 million Americans have some form of cardiovascular disease. Allergies and/or asthma plague 15% of the population.
Anxiety and depression affect over 38 million Americans. One out of every 75 people will experience a panic attack at some point in their lives. One in 100 Americans suffer from schizophrenia and, sadly, only one in five recovers. Of every two families in the U.S., one has a member with Alzheimer's or a related disease. About 40 million Americans suffer from some form of sleep disorder (sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome).
And this is just the tip of the iceberg, not even touching upon a host of other ailments—antiphospholipid syndrome, high blood pressure, stroke, incontinence, bipolarity, gout, epilepsy and much, much more.
"The health category is still being driven by several things, chief among them demographics and the aging population," says Tami Booth, editor-in-chief of women's health books at Rodale. "People are living longer and living with their conditions longer, so diseases of aging will continue to demand attention." Taking on Heart Disease by the Larry King Cardiac Foundation and Spotlight Health, says Booth, is a good example of a book intended to help people make the best of their condition. The June release presents stories of celebrities and public figures—Dick Cheney, Kate Jackson, Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell—who have suffered from heart disease, along with advice from their doctors. Two October releases relating to cancer are Breast Cancer Husband, in which Marc Silver combines medical information with practical tips and psychological insight; and The Answer to Cancer by Carolyn Runowicz, M.D., and Sheldon Cherry, M.D., which explores the cutting-edge chemopreventive drugs. Some claim those drugs can actually stop the cancer process from starting, a general approach that characterizes several titles on the market. Another example of this emerging prevention subcategory is Plume's May reprint of Before the Heart Attacks by H. Robert Superko, M.D., with Laura Tucker.
H. Gilbert Welch's Should I Be Tested for Cancer? Maybe Not and Here's Why (University of California Press, Mar.) concludes that testing healthy people for cancer often has little effect and may in fact be harmful. Expecting the book to attract significant media attention, the publisher has hired an outside publicist to orchestrate a three-city author tour, reports Amy Torack, director of special project promotion.
Hatherleigh Press publisher Kevin Moran agrees that boomers are the driving force in the health category: "They still represent the biggest demographic block, and they buy books. As they age, their health concerns grow and we plan to be there with them." Among Hatherleigh's upcoming books are Living with Chronic Pain: A Patient's Guide by Jennifer Schneider, M.D. (June), the latest in the Living With series, and Exercises for Arthritis by Erin O'Driscoll.
"Even more than regular publicity, the Internet is key to marketing health books in general," Moran notes. "We routinely reach out to online support groups and health-related Web sites to build awareness and generate word of mouth. In many instances, we will make direct offers with special prices available to members of support groups."
Hunter House Publishers capitalizes on the Web as well with its new series, Positive Options for Health. The line was created to address unusual, underrepresented and rapidly increasing disorders, and the Internet plays a key role in the books' success, says publicist Lisa Lee. Forthcoming in the series are Positive Options for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) by Christine Craggs-Hinton and Adam Balen, M.D. (June) and Positive Options for Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) by Elena Juris (July). According to Lee, "These are books that people turn to both before and after diagnosis. Each book usually comes with resource listings, and these Web sites and organizations are often the first place to find motivated buyers or reviewers and promoters of the book."
Hearing from the Patient
Having a "condition" is not a precondition for active interest in many of the health books on the market, as prevention has often become as important a component of the book's content as diagnosis and treatment. But a whole slew of literature by people who have particular diseases has given rise to what Marlowe & Company publisher Matthew Lore calls "the patient expert," people with firsthand experience of an illness who reach out to others to explain the confusion that usually ensues when sickness is diagnosed. "The electronic media—TV and radio—may prefer credentialed medical experts," he says, "but there's a market for this kind of book."
Patient expert books come in all varieties. What they share is not only a down-to-earth approach, but a friendly, authoritative and understanding voice. The First Year Scleroderma: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed by Karen Gottesman (Mar.), is the most recent entry in Marlowe's First Year Series, which was created to help people deal specifically with their first diagnosed year, all written by people who have gone through the experience.
Da Capo's Lifelong Books imprint has two such titles: Intimacy with Impotence: The Couple's Guide to Better Sex After Prostate Cancer (May) by Ralph and Barbara Alterowitz; and Voices of Alzheimer's (Nov.) by Betsy Peterson, who cared for her husband during his 14-year siege. "Their personal stories make the books uniquely authoritative," says senior publicity director Lissa Warren. Learning Sickness: A Year with Crohn's Disease by James Lang (Capital Books, Feb.) is about the author's battle with Crohn's, with advice on how to live with the disease.
Coming from St. Martin's in May is Cereal for Dinner: Strategies, Shortcuts, and Sanity for Moms Battling Illness by Kristine Breese, a supermom who suffered heart failure after repeated warnings that she ignored—an experience which led her to realize that to take care of her kids, she needed to learn how to take care of herself. Living Well with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You... That You Need to Know by Mary J. Shomon (HarperResource, Mar.) is by a well-known patient advocate who became an activist when she was diagnosed with these twin ailments. Her Web sites devoted to thyroid problems, autoimmune diseases and nutrition garner a total of one million hits monthly, according to the publisher, and her newsletters reach 150,000 readers.
A more unusual patient expert book is Steven D. Hsi, M.D. with Jim Belshaw and Beth Corbin-Hsi's Closing the Chart: A Dying Physician Examines Family, Faith and Medicine (University of New Mexico Press, Apr.), which is based on a journal kept by Dr. Steven Hsi, a family practitioner who was interested in exploring the role of spirituality in healing after he developed a rare coronary disease that caused his death at age 44. The authors (Hsi's wife and her collaborator) will visit Presbyterian church groups to speak about the role of spirituality in recuperation, "a captive audience for the writers to speak about the book and possibly provide a large market for sales," says UNM publicist Amanda Sutton. Luisa Margolies's My Mother's Hip: Lessons from the World of Eldercare (Temple University Press, Apr.), draws on the wrenching experience of caring for an aging mother with a double hip fracture, whose convalescence was complicated by various crises. The book is part of TUP's efforts to establish a list in the discipline of Aging and Health.
Harvard University Press is introducing a new series about illnesses as they affect the family unit. The launch titles, coming in September, are Stroke and the Family by Joel Stein, M.D., and Chronic Pain and the Family by Julie Silver, M.D. The goal, says Ann Downer-Hazell, associate editor in science and medicine, were small books "that dealt with an individual illness as it affected the whole family or household, from the disruption of communication and daily routines to the upset of the family dynamics and the compromises disease can wreak on emotional and sexual intimacy, and personal independence and dignity."
Another family-minded title, Scribner's From Boys to Men: A Woman's Guide to the Health of Husbands, Partners, Sons, Brothers and Fathers (Apr.) by Emily Senay, M.D., and Rob Waters, is pitched to women, the unsung heroes who care for the men in their lives.
Doctor Knows Best
In contrast to the patient experts, whose presence on the Web can be significant—"My authors in the health field are involved with Internet discussions both before and after publication; they're out on the Web daily or weekly talking to people with conditions," says Marlowe's Lore—medical experts are the darlings of the media, frequently booked onto morning TV shows and followed by the popular press. According to McGraw-Hill executive editor Judith McCarthy, these medical "stars" offer something essential to publishing houses trying to compete with the plethora of medical information on the Net. "The books are the voice of one doctor or leading light who is doing interesting research in their field and has gotten good results from a proven program. Most of their books include lifestyle information, nutrition and recipes. They are personality-driven books. The Internet doesn't offer this."
McGraw-Hill's Creating Optimism: A Proven, 7-Step Program for Overcoming Depression by Bob Murray and Alicia Fortinberry (Mar.) is an example of a book with innovative researchers and a successful program behind it, says McCarthy. "Depression can be treated with medication, but the authors say it's more about dealing with relationships and being able to tell people what you need from them. It's harder to find soft stuff like this on the Internet." The husband-and-wife team will embark on a 30-city tour to universities, churches and bookstores to raise awareness of their program. "We can't do just a general health guide anymore because people's perceptions are that they can get that on the Web," McCarthy says. "We are looking either for a very focused market we can reach or a broader one centered on authors with good platforms. Broader topics are harder to find on the Internet so we like to do them."
Just so, says Marcia Burch, director of publicity at Touchstone Fireside, speaking for Caroline Sutton, a senior editor who has just decamped for Random House. "You can go on the Net and research specific health problems and may not feel the need for a book. However, many Web sites are poorly organized and only skim the surface. Niche books such as Allen J. Dozor, M.D., and Kate Kelly's TheAsthma and Allergy Action Plan for Kids: A Complete Program to Help Your Child Live a Full and Active Life [Fireside, Apr.], by a noted physician in this area, provide much more than a Web site would give." A series from Sheldon Press (distributed by International Publishers Marketing) covers a broad spectrum of emotional and physical illnesses, from blushing to chronic fatigue to stress. Coming in October are Coping with Dyspraxia by Jill Eckersley and Coping with Gout by Christine Craggs-Hinton.
One lively medical topic, patient information, offers a variety of books covering such things as taking care of yourself and taking care of the health care system itself. Self-care, for instance, is the focus in the eighth edition of a Da Capo/Lifelong Books backlist mainstay, Take Care of Yourself: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Medical Self-Care by Donald M. Vickery. M.D., and James F. Fries, M.D. (Oct.); 14 million copies have been sold of the earlier editions combined. According to publisher Perigee, R.N. Patricia Carroll provides "fast, reliable answers to your health-care questions" in July's What Nurses Know: And Doctors Don't Have Time to Tell You. In a similar vein, What Your Doctor Won't (or Can't) Tell You by Evan S. Levine, M.D. (Putnam, Feb.), reveals the scams that doctors, hospitals and drug and insurance companies resort to in their quest for bigger profits.
Diagnosing the System
In a related area, it's not surprising that books on health care itself seem to be proliferating. Special Treatment by NBC media reporter Kevin Soden, M.D., and Christine Dumas (Berkley, Sept.) explains how to receive the same care that physicians enjoy (good luck!). The Savvy Patient: How to Get the Best Health Care by Mark Pettus, M.D., (Capital Books, Nov.) is a guide to understanding the health care system.
On a broader, less personal but more society-minded scale, Fulcrum's The Brave New World of Health Care by Richard D. Lamm (Feb.), codirector of the Institute for Public Policy at the University of Denver and a 1996 U.S. presidential candidate, is packed with information, facts and charts on the state of American health care. The book inaugurates Fulcrum's Speaker's Corner Books, a series designed to stimulate, educate and foster discussion on significant public policy topics. Nolo's Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions, 9th edition by Joseph Matthews with Dorothy Matthew Berman features a new section on prescription drugs. The book is designed with large type fonts and careful instructions on how to access Web sites and social security offices. The future of the health care system is addressed in Jossey-Bass's Toward a 21st Century Health System: The Contributions and Promise of Prepaid Group Practice by Alain C. Enthoven and Laura A. Tollen (Apr.), which argues that prepaid group practices are a cost-efficient, high-quality alternative to commercial HMOs.
Hot-Button Issues
Among the hottest medical topics are heart health, obesity and diabetes, each field spurred on by research findings and blaring newspaper headlines. ("Scientists Begin to Question the Benefits of 'Good' Cholesterol," read one front-page New York Times headline earlier this month; "Death Rate from Obesity Gains Fast on Smoking," read another.) With HDL cholesterol under intense scrutiny, books such as Heart Disease for Dummies (Mar.) by James M. Rippe, M.D., a cardiologist associated with Tufts University and the Center for Clinical and Lifestyle Research, lay out the basic information for people with only rudimentary knowledge. And Jay S. Cohen, M.D.'s What You Must Know About Statin Drugs and Their Natural Alternatives (Square One, Oct.) is an alternative medicine guide to cholesterol-lowering substances. Publisher Rudy Shur says he looks for credentials in his authors but "the key to alternative health books has always been valid alternatives."
On the obesity front, the University of California Press plans to take advantage of fortuitous timing with Our Overweight Children: What Parents, Schools, and Communities Can Do to Control the Fatness Epidemic (Apr.) by nutritionist Sharron Dalton, a book with practical suggestions for action. "Though there are a lot of books out there on this subject, we have high hopes for ours because it is solution-oriented," says Torack. Beyond its national print and broadcast campaign, the press has "significant electronic marketing plans for the book," including a special Web resource guide for parents and schools, which will include tips and suggestions, a Q&A forum and other useful free material. "We'll also be working to reach parents directly, via PTA conferences around the country," Torack adds.
The Obesity Myth: Why America's Obsession with Weight Is Hazardous to Your Health (Gotham Books, May) takes a different tack, arguing that our preoccupation with weight is a cultural and political issue rather than the product of valid medical concerns. Author Paul Campos maintains that poverty, poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyles are greater threats to our well-being and are more critical public health issues.
Prediabetes, a term formally adopted only a couple of years ago, has added a new dimension to the health bookshelves by opening up the condition to a great many more people and paving the way for books such as The Complete Diabetes Prevention Plan: A Guide to Understanding the Emerging Epidemic of Prediabetes and Halting Its Progression to Diabetes by Sandra Woodruff and Christopher Saudek, M.D., former president of the American Diabetes Association (Avery, Apr.); and How to Prevent and Treat Diabetes with Natural Medicine (Riverhead, Nov.) by Michael Murray and Michael Lyon, M.D., both authorities in their field. Out last month from Marlowe & Company is Think Like a Pancreas: A Guide to Managing Diabetes by Gary Scheiner, for the four million people who control their condition with insulin.
Other diabetes books forthcoming are Action Plan for Diabetes by Darryl Barnes (Human Kinetics, Apr.), part of the press's new Action Plan series that focuses on the use of exercise to help manage debilitating symptoms experienced by people who suffer from various illnesses; Prickly Pear Cactus Medicine: Treatments for Diabetes, Cholesterol, and the Immune System by Ran Knishinsky (Healing Arts Press, July), Richard S. Surwit and Alisa Bauman's The Mind-Body Diabetes Revolution: A Proven Program for Better Blood Sugar Control (Free Press, Mar.) which shows how stress, depression and anger affect blood sugar; and A Field Guide to Type 2 Diabetes by the American Diabetes Association (American Diabetes Association, Mar.). Charting a Course to Wellness: Creative Ways of Living with Heart Disease and Diabetes by Graham Kerr, also from the American Diabetes Association (May), is a journal with advice from 130 health professionals.
The Black Dog Has Its Payday
Books on stress reduction and mental health are a definite growth area, say several publishers. "The numbers of people suffering from anxiety, stress and depression are staggering," says Rodale's Booth. "Straight-ahead stress books don't work very well, but stress is an epidemic, so there will be books about the health implications of stress. People still aren't aware of what they are." For a reminder, take a look at Mind Your Heart: A Mind/Body Approach to Stress Management, Exercise, and Nutrition for Heart Health by Aggie Casey and Herbert Benson, M.D., with Ann MacDonald (Free Press, Apr.), which presents the Cardiac Wellness Program to reduce cholesterol, blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.
In the alternative arena, Avery offers The Stress Effect: Discover the Connection Between Stress and Illness and Reclaim Your Health (Feb.) by California chiropractor Richard Weinstein. Two CDs are included with Stress Management Made Simple: Effective Ways to Beat Stress for Better Health by Jay Winner, M.D. (Blue Fountain Press, Santa Monica, Calif.), a self-published title endorsed by Dean Ornish and available via Amazon. Other books that address the subject are Common Shock by Kaethe Weingarten (NAL, Sept.), about the biological and psychological responses triggered when we witness violence; and The Stress Cure: A Simple 7-Step Plan to Help Women Balance Mood, Improve Memory and Restore Energy by Vern Cherewatenko, M.D., and Paul Perry (HarperResource, Sept.)
At Gotham Books, Thomas Moore's Dark Nights of the Soul (May), is stirring up strong feelings, as the author puts his unique spin on depression: "Depression is a label and a syndrome, while a dark night is a meaningful event," he writes. "Depression is a psychological sickness, a dark night, a spiritual trial." Says publicist Jean Anne Rose, "The book is an expansion of many people's favorite chapter in Care of the Soul, 'The Gifts of Depression.' Moore offers practical, thoughtful ways to confront periods of sadness, pain and loss." Responding to popular demand, Gotham brought the mega-selling author to its in-house sales conference and will send him on a 10-city national tour. "All of this will be supported by national television, radio and print interviews, as well as online promotion," says Rose.
Paul Raeburn's Acquainted with the Night: A Parent's Quest to Understand Depression and Bipolar Disorder in his Children (Broadway, May) is the story of Raeburn's search for medical help for his bipolar adolescent son and his depressed teenage daughter, who fell ill at nearly the same time. Broadway executive editor-at-large Gerry Howard says the book "is about as moving and harrowing a story as you're ever going to come across." But, he adds, "it's instructive for any family remotely touched by these problems, and may help them to get proper diagnoses and medical care." Howard says the house expects national appearances on the morning shows for the author and either his son, daughter or both.
Another story with a promotable main character is Dante's Cure: A Journey Out of Madness by Daniel Dorman, M.D. (Other Press, Apr.), a tale of Catherine Penny's battle with schizophrenia as written by her doctor, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA. "We are planning a big push for Dante's Cure," says publicity director Sarah Russo. "We are launching the book at Dutton's Brentwood in L.A. and following up with an appearance at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books." Tours up the West Coast and to the East will follow, culminating with an appearance at BEA.
As large as the market is for books about depression, it pales in comparison to the market for antidepressants, which are a $20 billion annual business. LetThem Eat Prozac: The UnhealthyRelationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression by David Healy (NYU Press, June) is a double-pronged exploration, first of the SSRI drugs used to treat depression, and second of the drug industry. "The book is meant to be a wake-up call," says acquiring editor Jennifer Hammer. "The author has become a talking head, spearheading public discussion about the pharmaceutical industry and how drugs are approved." Other books that consider drugs and other therapies for treating mental illness include The Peace of Mind Prescription: An Authoritative Guide to Finding the Most Effective Treatment for Anxiety and Depression by Dennis S. Charney, M.D., and Charles B. Nemeroff, M.D., with Stephen Braun (Houghton Mifflin, May). Charney spearheaded the National Institute of Mental Health's 10-year plan for research on depression and anxiety disorders.
The Monster in the Cave by David Mellinger and Steven Jay Lynn (Berkley, Aug.) offers techniques including cognitive behavioral therapy, SSRI antidepressants and the authors' own step-by-step approach to help calm fears. Healing Depression Naturally by Lewis Harris (Kensington/Twin Streams) discusses the use of natural healing therapies to treat depression.
Master Your Panic and Take Back Your Life: Twelve Treatment Sessions to Conquer Panic, Anxiety & Agoraphobia (Third Edition) by Dennis F. Beckfield (Impact Publishers, Mar.) and two Ulysses Press titles, The Panic Diaries: Real-World Advice from Panic Attack Survivors by Jeanne Jordan and Julie Pedersen (June) and Panic Attacks Workbook: A Guided Program for Breaking the Panic Cycle by David Carbonell (May) are aimed at people with fears and phobias, their spouses and family, and professional therapists. "Some of our most successful marketing has been targeted to university counseling centers as well as panic and anxiety self-help groups throughout the country," says Impact marketing manager Connie Magee. "While most readers want a 'fix' for their panic and anxiety, many also struggle to understand why they are vulnerable to it."
Weather or Not
And finally, in case you were wondering about the weather and its effect on health, two upcoming books provide answers. The first is The UV Advantage: How to Harness the Power of the Sun for Your Health (ibooks, May) by Michael Holick, M.D., with Mark Jenkins. Executive v-p Roger Cooper calls Holick, who discovered the active form of vitamin D, "the Dr. Atkins of the sunlight movement" and expects major coverage for the doctor including articles in O magazine, Family Circle, Prevention, Shape and Men's Health.
Under the Weather:How Weather and Climate Affect Our Health (Vision/Fusion Press, June), is health columnist Pat Thomas's look at the weather's influence on health matters. "Deaths from heart disease are more common on days when there are blustery winds, mothers of schizophrenics are more likely to conceive in early summer, the onset of labor is more common when barometric pressure is falling," says publicity manager Catherine Bosin, adding that the book is being pitched to the Weather Channel, as well as to areas of the country experiencing alarming weather conditions. "The publicity opportunities are endless," Bosin says. She might well be speaking to this entire category: although publicity campaigns are almost as varied as the books themselves, the need for aggressive promotional activities is clearly key to success in this increasingly crowded field.
