Weinheim, February 2009

Dear Authors and Editors,

By now, the New Year has started for all of us around the globe: Whether we devote it to the year of the ox, to astronomy (see www.astronomy2009.wiley-vch.de), to Darwin & evolution (see Michael Ruse "Charles Darwin", and Adolf Heschl "Darwins Traum"), or to science in general. Whatever your choices are – we wish you all the best in all your endeavors and hope to support you with information and knowledge so you may achieve what you want and desire.

 

Time for feedback

This newsletter now enters its fifth year. Time to review its usefulness for you and to adapt it to your needs. The first 100 of you who take the time to fill out the will receive a copy of the book "Nobel Faces - A Gallery of Nobel Prize Winners" by Peter Badge.

Thank you so much!

 

Bestsellers & Longsellers

It has become a custom to take a retrospective look at the bestsellers of the previous year. At our publishing house we post monthly updated bestseller lists across our entire book program on an advertising pillar in our entrance hall (see snapshot). And everybody is curious to see the developments.



The 2008 list reads as follows and represents a good mix of new books, hard-core science, coffee-table books, translations of books we first "tested" in German and real long sellers, as well as books related to the above-mentioned Year of Astronomy.

 

       
 

  1. Nicolaou / Montagnon
    Molecules that Changed the World


  2. Schilling / Christensen
    Eyes on the Skies


  3. Badge
    NOBELS


  4. Griffiths
    Introduction to Elementary Particles


  5. Schrör
    Acetylsalicylic Acid


  6. Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
    Status and Perspectives of Astronomy in Germany


  7. Wengenmayr / Bührke
    Renewable Energy


  8. Christensen / Fosbury / Hurt
    Hidden Universe


  9. Rothenberg
    Catalysis


  10. Krauss
    Biochemistry of Signal Transduction and Regulation


       
 

Long sellers and long-standing relationships - that's what we're proud of developing jointly with you, our authors and editors. Both parties have to work hard to achieve that. Sometimes we are sure to publish a bestseller and sales just don't meet our high expectations, despite many initiatives. A case in point is Harald zur Hausen's book "Infections Causing Human Cancer". Here the Nobel Committee's recognition of the author has been able to "corriger la fortune", and the sales figures of "Infections Causing Human Cancer" are starting to reach their deserved level. Our congratulations to Harald zur Hausen, winner of the Nobel Prize of Physiology/Medicine in 2008!

This year, at least two books in our program are celebrating their 40th birthday: Christian Reichardt's "Solvents and Solvent Effects in Organic Chemistry" and a German basic text on chemistry by Joachim Nentwig / Manfred Kreuder / Karl Morgenstern "Lehrprogramm Chemie" - true long sellers!

We are always proud to publish new editions, such as Vincenzo Balzani's influential and timely book "Molecular Devices and Machines"; George Olah's "Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy" will follow later this year and the 23rd edition of the "Organikum" - a classic developed in the former GDR in the early 1960s and translated into many languages - is on the horizon.

 

Piracy

Today the definition of "bestseller" is blurring: more and more books are also being published/sold online. Please allow at this point a short digression about piracy - a new challenge we all are facing:

Unfortunately, no doubt just like you, we are witnessing an increase in illegal downloads. This is why Wiley has taken various measures worldwide to put an end to this practice. For example, we employ colleagues to track down these infringements on the Internet. We have also commissioned various firms of lawyers in the USA and Germany to carry out the relevant long-term investigations and follow up violations. Furthermore, Wiley as a member of several associations is active in a number of Piracy Task Forces and is striving on a political level to improve the situation and protect your rights and royalties. However, this is not enough. We are obviously fighting a nine-headed hydra here, and so ask for your support: Tell us if you discover any of these sites on the Internet, so that we can act immediately. Because together we are in a better position to stop this criminal activity. Many thanks for your help.

 

Bestseller planning

Bestsellers have been defined according to the numbers of print copies sold, and listings go back to 1889 when the Kansas Times & Stars first published a "bestseller list". There are a lot of best and especially long sellers which never make it on to the lists we see published today: loose-leaf updates, cook books, religious books like the Bible and the Koran… And only a few years ago, in pre-GPS times, road atlases would also have been on the list.

Despite all of this, bestseller and long seller planning is almost impossible. Almost every book is "new game, new luck" - but to be honest, our 2008 bestseller has always been predestined to be the top candidate. And for 2009? Please choose your own bestsellers from our program at such meetings as:

Here are some snapshots from recent meetings

20th International Congress of the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry, Vienna


Our author and co-founder of the series "Methods and Principles in Medicinal Chemistry", Professor Hugo Kubinyi, was awarded the Nauta Award. Peter Gölitz congratulates Hugo Kubinyi.

213th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Long Beach, CA


Launch of the book Schilling / Christensen "Eyes on the Skies".

Perhaps one of our new "Classics in…" titles are candidates for 2009 - at least among chemists:

  Carreira / Kvaerno
"Classics in Stereoselective Synthesis"
 
  Berger / Sicker
"Classics in Spectroscopy"


And remember your authors' discount if you are interested in one of our many titles.

All the best and hoping that you don't need too much aspirin in 2009, but if so, please read our bestseller no. 5 of 2008 Schrör "Acetylsalicylic Acid"!

With a passion for science and publishing

Dr. Eva E. Wille, Vice President, Executive Director, Wiley-VCH, ewille@wiley-vch.de
Dagmar Stehle, Publishing Director Books and References, dstehle@wiley-vch.de
Dr. Carol Bacchus, Publishing Director Life Sciences, cbacchus@wiley-vch.de

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