'More than just books': Simon & Schuster launches video classes
Did you recently finish a health or finance nonfiction book and want to learn more? Simon & Schuster wants to teach you.
The publisher has started a program titled SimonSays in which authors teach video courses about their topics, according to the . The three authors kicking off the program are David B. Agus of 鈥淭he End of Illness,鈥� 鈥淟ife by the Cup鈥� self-help author Zhena Muzyka, and Tosha Silver, who wrote the book 鈥淥utrageous Openness," which focuses on spiritual suggestions. The writers are charging various prices for viewers to enroll in their course and between 12 and 15 more classes will debut this year.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 consumers have made it plain that they want and expect more from authors than just books,鈥� Simon & Schuster president and chief executive Carolyn Reidy said in a statement. 鈥淭his initiative is also another way for us to expand what Simon & Schuster can provide to our authors, building audiences for their books and creating new revenue streams.鈥澛�
And Simon & Schuster executive vice president and chief marketing officer Liz Perl told the NYT that the process could even work in reverse. 鈥淭he videos might lead the way to a book [for the teacher],鈥� she said, with someone who has not yet been published teaching a class.
On the website, consumers can now enroll in Agus, Muzyka, and Silver鈥檚 classes. The prices range from Agus鈥檚 at $25 to Silver鈥檚 at $85. Course are also various lengths. Agus鈥檚 is listed on the website at 70 minutes, Muzyka鈥檚 at 80 minutes, and Silver鈥檚 90 minutes. All offer live question-and-answer sessions with the authors and some supply course workbooks.
