First-time author secures
Ms. Foundation approval
for take-kids-to-work day
Minneapolis author Bev Bachel’s first book is Ms. Foundation’s official choice for “Take Our Daughters & Sons to Work Day,” this year slated for April 22, the national program to motivate young people about careers that drew 14.4 million participants last year.
The book — “What Do you Really Want? How to Set a Goal and Go For it!” — was released by local press Free Spirit Publishing. The Ms. Foundation’s selection will have “a significant impact on sales,” figures Bachel (pronounced BAH-kel), because it’s offered on the Web site for the highly promoted day.
“A lot of local corporations are considering giving it as a gift rather than a t-shirt,” Bachel says. She is also part of the official speakers’ bureau, members of whom can be tapped for paid appearances around the country.
How did she score the marketing coup? “In a lot of ways it’s happenstance, but you and I both know that happenstance usually takes a lot of hard work. Like any book author, I’ve been writing articles, giving speeches, getting it in catalogs,” Bachel says. “One of the women who sits on the board of Ms. Foundation knew about it,” and championed it.
It’s aimed at 11- to 18-year-olds, and does not show a preference for girls over boys. It encourages goal-setting for a broad audience, from the kids who want to be president to at-risk kids who want to get to school on time.
“The writing business is difficult to make money at,” Bachel says, noting it was especially sweet that a small local press, Free Spirit, prevailed. “We beat out books from Random House and Simon & Schuster.” In all, more than 200 books were considered for the selection.
A smaller press was an advantage, she says. “The book came out in 2001, and they say you need to make a big splash right away,” Bachel says. “But one of the nice things about a small publisher, they tend to keep books in print much longer.” There are 20,000 copies in print now.
Bachel is starting a new company, Idea Girls, which will be aimed at helping women set and achieve goals. “There are so many people with great ideas, but they don’t do anything. I want to help women take their ideas and make them real,” she says. She’s finishing another book to that effect, tentatively titled “The Idea Girl’s Guide to Goal-Getting.”
Bev Bachel, Idea Girls: 612.379.7166; bev.bachel@ideagirls.com; www.ideagirls.com
