Random House Kodansha Scores Business Book Rights with Fleet Bid

In an offer remarkable for at least three reasons, Random House Kodansha has acquired world Japanese language rights to what promises to be the next mega-best-selling business parable, If You Want It Done Right, You Don’t Have to Do It Yourself!: The Power of Effective Delegation, by Donna M. Genett, Ph. D. (Quill Driver Books, $19.95)

Following the well-beaten path of the Godzilla-like best-sellers The One Minute Manager and Who Moved My Cheese?, but claiming a greater degree of immediate practicality, Genett’s new book traces two "identical twin" cousins as they learn how to delegate effectively and how to teach their bosses to delegate effectively.

The Random House deal is noteworthy for the swiftness with which Random House made the offer and for its potential payout. Japanese publishers, reflecting the general state of the Japanese economy, have been rather quiet in the international rights market lately, but Random House Kodansha expressed immediate interest and made the winning offer within weeks of being notified that rights to the book were on the table.

According to Betty Ann Crawford of New York City-based Rights Unlimited, the agency handling the sale, Random House’s offer also includes the "highest royalty rate" conventionally paid for Japanese rights. Crawford says she expects Dutch, UK, German, and other foreign rights to be gobbled up in the near term.

The deal is also notable because the book is the first business book published by Quill Driver Books, an independent publisher primarily recognized as a publisher of writing books and self-help and how-to titles for those over 50.

"Japan is a very business-oriented society, but the economy over there has been in the dumps lately. Maybe this book is exactly what they need to get their workforce back on track," said Steve Mettee, publisher at Quill Driver Books.

Donna M. Genett is a licensed psychologist who has spent the last 15 years coaching business executives at major corporations including Boeing, Weyerhaeuser, Nestle, and Seattle’s Best Coffee. If You Want Something Done Right, You Don’t Have to Do It Yourself!, due out this fall, is her first book.