On publishing Joe Wicks’ Lean in 15: Carole Tonkinson interview

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Carole Tonkinson is the founder of Bluebird and publisher of the record-breaking Number One bestseller Lean in 15 by Joe Wicks, The Body Coach. Here Norah Myers interviews her.

1) What made Joe Wicks a good fit for Bluebird?

Joe epitomises the best of healthy eating and his motivation is to help people feeling more energetic and happier and fitter. His goals are completely aligned with the Bluebird ethos: books to help people live more fulfilled, healthier lives. As the founder of a new imprint, I was looking for talented authors with staying power and Joe struck me immediately as a brand author who was going to go on to great things. It was easy to envision a multi-book publishing programme for him.

2) Joe works as an online nutrition coach and actively uses social media. Why was a book an important addition to his brand?

A book is a great way for people to get to know Joe and test out his recipes and plan. For a modest expenditure they can familiarise themselves with his work, as opposed to the options before (free quick videos which are really fun but can require a lot of rewinding to actually cook from, or the other option which was signing up to his bespoke plan which is pricier). A lot of the people who are on the plan seem to be buying the book and a lot of fans of the book love the recipes and workouts so much they are signing up for the plan. The book launch provided a huge surge of concentrated media coverage and that coverage plus the retail placement in every book outlet from all the supermarkets to the independents, high street and Amazon meant people had a chance to discover Joe who might not have before.

3) As a publisher, what element of his platform appealed to you the most?

Joe’s personality and fabulous recipes appealed to us most. He is a wonderful guy with his heart in the right place. The thing I liked about his social presence was the engagement of his fans. Joe communicated regularly with them: recipes, food, fun and transformation photographs from people who were feeling great on his plan.

4) How much does a prospective author’s social media metrics factor into your commissioning decisions?

The content of the book proposal is the most important thing. But social can be important, particularly in some genres. I think there are review-led books and books where social can lead discovery. I think velocity is important: how fast are they growing rather than overall platform size. You’re trying to look into the future when you buy a book, not just serve an existing readership/market.

5) How much have the 15-second cookery videos on YouTube helped with the growth of the community? Has YouTube or Instagram had more of an impact?

The workout videos tend to be longer and on You Tube. The videos are great — people love Joe’s voice and his energy and they can see that this is food they can make after work in a limited time, even if they don’t have much cookery experience.

6) With the success of the book, where do you see the community heading in the future?

I think Joe is going global. We’ve sold rights in seven languages already and lots more to come. The world is Joe’s oyster.

 

MY3A4594Carole Tonkinson is the Founder and Publisher of Bluebird, an inspirational lifestyle imprint at Macmillan UK publishing into the UK and subsidiary markets.

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