Early word from African-American booksellers is that Wiley's Black Power Inc.: The New Voice of Success (May 7) by Fortune magazine staff writer Cora Daniels is a daring departure from the usual fare on black corporate success. With an initial printing of 25,000 hardcovers, Wiley is betting the book will ignite debate across generations and communities, and brisk sales as well.
Drawing on interviews with more than 50 college graduates in their 20s and 30s who've entered corporations with stronger credentials, greater expectations and less patience than earlier generations, Daniels exposes attitudes and ideas that older African-Americans and mainstream America may find a bit shocking. For example, many young black professionals believe that corporate diversity efforts hurt African-Americans, and many are planning to absorb corporate experience and then start their own businesses unless overall upward mobility opens up significantly. Oh, and the social integration their parents fought for beyond the office is no longer expected or desired. For those who've ever wondered why blacks sit together in the company cafeteria, the young professionals interviewed for Black Power Inc. unapologetically explain why.
For Wiley, Daniels's visibility as a Fortune magazine staff writer made her the right person to deliver this message. "This book should do even better than Reginald Lewis's Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?," said marketing associate Michelle Patterson, referring to the memoir by the Beatrice Foods magnate that sold 90,000 copies after Wiley published it in 1996. "We have more black bookstores now, and we have the Internet to tap into—that's a huge factor in generating buzz and [accessing] black professional networks."
Having two African-Americans on Wiley's promotion team doesn't hurt, either. "I am the type of person this book is talking about," said Patterson, who is working with associate publicist Lissa Brown to reach as many black professionals as possible. In addition to the National Black MBA Association, which is hosting a series of panels moderated by Daniels and featuring black executives, Patterson and Brown are going after many other black professional groups and support networks. "We're working with the Black Employee Network at American Express and Black Employees at Time Inc., which Cora belongs to," said Patterson.
Print coverage of the book is planned in Essence, Black Enterprise and other black media, but Wiley understands that the publicity must also reach beyond the primary target audience to attract mainstream readers. "We're getting a lot of interest from the mainstream women's and business press, primarily because Cora writes for a mainstream business magazine," said Jessica Church, Wiley's associate director of publicity. " So far, Cosmopolitan and MSN Money are set to review the book.
Several booksellers observed that the book's publication and message are right on time. "I expect a good turnout at Daniels's signing here in May," said Clara Villarosa, co-owner of New York City's Hue-Man bookstore. "There is an economic resurgence here in Harlem, and our customers are increasingly interested in business books, in learning about wealth, how to succeed and about our new black elite." At Karibu Bookstores, with four locations in Maryland and one in Virginia, the book struck a more personal chord. As co-owner Simba put it, "I can relate to this book because I worked as an auditor in a corporate environment, and took that experience and put it to work here in this bookstore, in my own community."
