Who's Who and the Business of Being Recognized

Yesterday I received a call from a senior editor of Universal Who's Who, informing me that I had been selected to be featured in its upcoming publication.  This is probably the sixth or seventh Who's Who publication that's contacted me and advised me that I have been selected for inclusion in their database and/or print-publication.

While I am honored at the recognition, I have found consistently that, to enjoy more recognition, I need to make some kind of investment in the publication--for materials they offer celebrating this recognition, for print copies of the publication, etc.  As I look at my bookshelf, I see my copies of the 2003 edition of the Marquis Who's Who in America.

Over the years I have learned to offer my input as long as there is no dollar investment.  I've leaned to do that after investing several hundred dollars in various Who's Who publications.  It's nice to be recognized, though, to date, I am not aware of any new business generated by being recognized in these publications.

One of my grandfathers was a minister recognized on a Who's Who publication of his time.  I'm glad I'm carrying on the tradition, though I've now forgotten how many Who's Who publications I'm listed in--or, indeed, if they continue to remember me after my money stops going to them.

Being recognized is nice, though, as a business, it leaves something to be desired by the people being recognized.

Preparing DrM-Blog for Publication (Printing)

Today was largly invested in preparing posts from the DrM-Blog in Centaur MT font for publication (printing).  The posts are then put into Adobe Pagemaker 7.0 and then distilled by Adobe Acrobat Pro 9.0 Expanded.  The finished book (in Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] format) will then be transmitted electronically to Lightning Source for printing.

As I work I make editorial changes with regard to themes and chapters.  I need to finish some administrative details such as purchasing a block of ISBN numbers, completing my Lightning Source registration, and exploring options for sales of the book.

The real challenge will be to see how to motivate readers to purchase the book.  I had to decide whether to keep the journal/diary (day-by-day) format or to organize it by related themes and chapters.  So far, themes and chapters are winning.