NP new book for the Gang of Five + 1 groupuscule to read asap

[pynchonoid]

from:
Religion BookLine, October 29, 2002
Religion BookLine from Publishers Weekly
Your source for religion publishing and bookselling
information
http://publishersweekly.reviewsnews.com

(Note:  see also
http://publishersweekly.reviewsnews.com/index.asp?layout=eletters&industry=Religion+BookLine)


Campaign Aims to Tame the Tongue

Pssst. Guess what's happening on November 6? A bunch
of people are
going to--you're not going to believe this--give up
gossip. But don't
tell anyone, because I heard it through the grapevine.

Ironically, word is traveling fast about International
EndGossip Day,
thanks to organizer Bob Burg, coauthor of  "Gossip:
Ten Pathways to
Eliminate it from Your Life and Transform Your Soul"
(Simcha Press,
Aug.) and a self-described former "gossip-aholic" "I
was totally
caught up in it," admitted Burg. "It wasn't until I
realized that I
was hurting my relationships, hurting people and
hurting myself that I
decided to give it up. And for me, it was like going
on a diet. I
can't eat just one Oreo."

Coauthor Lori Palatnik and Burg are urging others to
do the same--in
part to promote their book, but also for more
altruistic reasons.
"Just for one day, we are asking everyone to give up
all forms of
negative speech," said Burg. "Gossip can ruin lives,
split families,
eliminate friends and destroy businesses. I don't
think people realize
how nasty a thing it is."

Harmless chitchat is OK, said Burg, who defines gossip
as "any type of
harmful or hurtful communication that's not necessary
to share." For
those who might find it hard to hold their tongues,
the book offers
tips culled from the Bible and Jewish wisdom. Both
Palatnik, an author
and educator, and Burg, a motivational speaker and
consultant, are
Jewish.

Burg is a marketing whiz, having sold more than
100,000 copies of his
1998 self-published book, "Winning Without
Intimidation." For
"Gossip," Burg convened what he calls a "MasterMind"
group of
volunteers to help market the book, launched a Web
site
(www.endgossip.com) and e-zine, "EndGossip Now!" and
e-mailed his
15,000-subscriber list just before the September pub
date. He plans
substantial Internet presence just before November 6,
as well as radio
and television interviews on the big day.

"We've been trying to increase our Internet presence
and Internet
marketing, as are most publishers," said Kim Weiss,
director of
communication for Simcha Press, an imprint of HCI
Books. "We just
happened to land an ambitious and skilled networker
who had the skills
to do this."

Simcha also has been busy marketing the book,
garnering a
recommendation on Dr. Laura's radio show and exposure
on Fox News
Online and in other media. But perhaps the
highest-profile and most
ironic publicity had to be an early mention of the
book in gossip
maven Liz Smith's syndicated national column. Said
Weiss, "It shows at
least she has a sense of humor." --Heidi Schlumpf




__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
HotJobs - Search new jobs daily now
http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/