1. Who We Are
Hundreds of Heads Books, Inc. is a two-year old, independent publishing
company with a fast growing number of titles and over 200,000 of our âSurvival
Guidesâ in print.
What We Do and How We Do It
Hundreds of Headsâ âSurvival Guidesâ bring readers sage (and entertaining)
advice from hundreds of people across the country. For each title, Hundreds of
Heads Books sends out its nationwide team of âheadhuntersâ (journalists) to
seek out and interview neighbors, friends, and trusted advisors, and get their
advice and stories on how they dealt with lifeâs big challenges. The result: readers
get the best advice from real people who have âbeen there, done that.â
Our First Book Became a Bestseller
Hundreds of Headsâ very first book, How to Survive Your Freshman Year,
became the #1 best selling college guide two years in a row, and has sold over
60,000 copies. How to Survive Your Freshman Year 2nd Edition is a Spring 2006
release.
Following the Leader
Following the success of How to Survive Your Freshman Year, Hundreds of Heads
Books has published How to Survive Dating (November 2004), How to Survive
Your Babyâs First Year (January 2005), How to Survive Your Marriage (March 2005),
How to Survive A Move (May 2005), How to Survive Your Teenager (June 2005), How
to Lose 9,000 Lbs. (or Less) (January 2006), and âYou can keep the damn china!â and
824 Other Great Tips on Dealing with Divorce (March 2006).
Readers Want More!
Readers are asking for more Hundreds of Heads Survival Guides. No problem.
Hundreds of Heads Booksâ headhunters and editors have been working hard
gathering more survival tips and stories for new titles, including Where to Seat
Aunt Edna and 824 Great Wedding Tips (April 2006), How to Survive the Real
World: Life After College (April 2006), How to Love Your Retirement (August
2006), and How to Survive Your In-Laws (October 2006).
Because Hundreds of Heads are Better than One! TM
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Our Mission
The Hundreds of Heads Survival Guide series grew out of the simple idea that
when you are about to go through one of lifeâs major challenges or milestones,
itâs good to get advice from people who have âbeen there, done that.â Why
make all the mistakes for yourself? Why not find out what worked, and what
didnât work, from others who have been in similar situations?
Hundreds of Heads guides offer the wisdom of the masses by assembling the
experiences and advice of hundreds of people who have gone through one of
lifeâs biggest challenges and came out the other side with some insight to share.
For each title, people from all over the country and all walks of life are
interviewed; men and women, young and old. For the Freshman Year guide, for
example, headhunters interviewed students at big schools, small schools, Ivies,
and state universities; Greeks, geeks, and jocks; men and women.
Hundreds of Heads Books are dedicated to helping readers face some of lifeâs
bigger challenges by reducing some of their âfirst-timerâ anxiety, as well as
getting a few laughs in along the way. Many have said reading a Hundreds of
Heads Survival Guide is like having a few hundred of your best friends (or older
sisters or brothers) in a room, sharing their personal experiences and offering
you great advice on the next big journey in your life.
Our Approach
Hundreds of Heads Survival Guides provide a tool kit for creative problem
solving and âout of the boxâ thinking. Unlike some other guide books that give
only âoneâ answer, regardless of the readerâs circumstances, Hundreds of Heads
guide books enable readers to consider a variety of options; enabling them to
find the solution that works best for them.
Often, one of the biggest mistakes made in navigating lifeâs challenges is to pick
one path without considering alternatives. But in real life, complex challenges
normally require complex solutions. These other âHow-Toâ books often present
a consistent, but incomplete analysis of an issue because they donât want to be
self-contradictory. While consistent, this approach often makes these books of
marginal value to a reader unless the path they suggest applies perfectly to that
readerâs situation.
Hundreds of Heads Books knows that ultimately its reader will have to find his
or her own way. One size does not fit all. Every relationship, baby, teenager,
move, etc. is different Simplistic solutions to complex problems just do not
work. In the end, the Hundreds of Heads approach gains strength and value by
its diversity of ideas and even sometimes, the inconsistency of its many answers.
Author James Surowiecki highlights the same potential genius in the opinions of
the multitudes in his bestselling book, The Wisdom of Crowds.
Because Hundreds of Heads are Better than One! TM
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The Founders of Hundreds of Heads BooksâŚ
New Media Turned Old Media
Mark W. Bernstein and Yadin Kaufmann conceived of the idea of interviewing
everyday people about lifeâs toughest challenges and offering it up in light-
hearted yet practical âHow To SurviveâŚâ guide books in 2003 when Hundreds
of Heads Books, Inc. was formed.
Both Bernstein and Kaufmann bring many years of experience in a wide array of
businesses, including technology and new media, to Hundreds of Heads Books.
âWe thought we could do âreality T.V.â one betterâby getting real, unscripted
wisdom from hundreds of unrehearsed people who have been through one of
lifeâs major challenges. We share their hard won advice with truly interested
people facing those same life challenges. We also saw a novel way to leverage
technology and new media to support the old media world of book publishing.
This project created a fresh way to merge the best of these two media worlds,â
says Kaufmann.
âAt its core, we wanted Hundreds of Heads books to help relieve our readerâs
stress, not add to it. We thought some lightweightâbut valuable and
universalâreal-world companionship would be appreciated. Sadly, people donât
congregate on front porches and cafes much anymore, sharing lifeâs stories. But
they do still crawl in bed with a good book. What better way to gain wisdom?â
adds Bernstein.
Mr. Bernstein, a native of Knoxville, TN, is a graduate of the Wharton School of
Business of the University of Pennsylvania and New York Universityâs School of
Law. He was an attorney with the King & Spalding law firm in Atlanta, served as
senior legal counsel at Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and was a Senior Vice
President of CNN and general manager (and a founder) of CNNâs digital content
division, CNN Interactive (CNN.com).
Mr. Kaufmann is a Founding Partner of Veritas Venture Partners, a venture
capital firm that invests in high-technology start-ups, co-founder of
MainXchange Ltd., an Internet company that delivered financial and business
content to the teen market, and founder of Tmura, a not-for-profit Public Service
Venture Fund. He received his A.B. from Princeton University, A.M. from
Harvard University, and J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor
of the Harvard Law Review. Kaufmann fell in love with the book industry in his
university days, when he and his wife co-authored two books, Summer â79 in
France and The Boston Ice Cream Loverâs Guide; he also was a part-time journalist
while at Princeton.
Welcome to Our Global Office
Because Hundreds of Heads are Better than One! TM
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Hundreds of Heads Books has created a global, virtual office comprised of
publishing professionals (including interviewers, editors, designers, publicists,
and marketing and sales consultants) logging on from locations far and wide,
including New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Herzliya, Israel. The publisher
has nearly 50 headhunters located across the country, interviewing people
throughout the United States, as well as from other parts of the world.
Hundreds of Headsâ books are printed in Illinois, and warehoused and nationally
distributed from Kansas. Hundreds of Heads has created a truly global, virtual
operation for the 21st century.
Hundreds of Heads Books are everywhere!
Hundreds of Heads books are distributed nationally by Publishers Group West
and can be found in local, neighborhood bookstores or at favorite online
booksellers (including Barnes & Noble, Borders, Book Sense, Books A Million
and Amazon). They can also be ordered directly from the publisher at
www.hundredsofheads.com.
Because Hundreds of Heads are Better than One! TM
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What the Critics are Saying about our BooksâŚ
âMove over âDummiesââŚ.can that âChicken SoupââŚhundreds of heads are on the
march to your local bookstore!â
âElizabeth Hopkins, Radio Host, âThinking Outside the Boxâ
âThe seriesâŚcould be described as âChicken Soup for the Soulâ meets âWorst
Case Scenario.ââ
âAtlanta Business Chronicle
âThis book proves that all of us are smarter than one of us."
âJohn Katzman, Founder & CEO, The Princeton Review
âA concept that will beâŚa huge seller and a great help to people. I firmly believe
that todayâs readers want sound bytes of information, not tomes.â
âCynthia Brian, TV/Radio Personality and co-
author of Chicken Soup for the Gardenerâs Soul
âItâs like having a few hundred friends on speed-dial.â
âThe Tennessean (Nashville)
âHundreds of HeadsâŚ.sends interviewers out to talk to âhundredsâ of people,
then compiles the colorful bits of advice into a book of snippets. So simple, so
entertaining, so should have been my million-dollar-idea.â
âPaula Burba, The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
âFor those seeking more than the typical trite suggestions, the new book How to
Survive Dating has dating tips from average folks across the country.â
âKnight Ridder Tribune News Service
âGreat, varied advice, in capsule form...â
âCary Tennis, columnist, Salon.com
âWhether youâre single or not, How to Survive Dating will have you rolling with
laughter. This book contains hundreds of pearls of wisdom....â
âTrue Romance
Visit us at www.hundredsofheads.com for the latest news on all of our books.
Because Hundreds of Heads are Better than One! TM
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Because Hundreds of Heads are Better than One!â˘
Because Hundreds of Heads are Better than One! TM