What kind of works are the 4 editorial departments participating in the #BusinessCategory looking for? [#CreativeAwards2024 Business Category Editorial Department Cross-Talk Report]
The "Creative Awards," one of Japan's largest creative contests, kicked off on April 23rd. For this third installment, we are holding it on the largest scale ever, with 21 media outlets participating—far exceeding the previous number—across 12 categories, including four newly established ones.
This article reports on the "Creative Awards 2024 Business Category Editorial Department Cross-Talk" held on May 23rd.
What kind of works and writers are the four editorial departments participating in the Business Category looking for? Please use this as a reference for your submissions.
Speakers:
・Kazuho Ishii, Diamond, Inc.
・Tetsuya Kuwahara, Toyo Keizai Inc.
・Kei Naito, President Online
・Hina Yasunaga, Discover 21, Inc.
▼ You can watch the archive of the stream here.
What are the recent trends in business books?
Even for those thinking of entering the "#BusinessCategory" of the Creative Awards, many people likely struggle with "what angle should I write from?" when creating an article. Therefore, we asked each editorial department about recent trends in business books.
Diamond, Inc.
Balancing "Practicality" and "Self-Improvement"
Mr. Ishii There was a time a little while ago when self-help books were a boom, and books that made you feel fired up when you read them were popular. Now, after the COVID-19 pandemic, I feel that practicality—that is, "is it useful to read?"—is being sought after more.
On the other hand, it's not just about being useful; self-improvement that changes your mindset itself after reading is also important. I think that in this day and age, being able to balance both is what is required.
Toyo Keizai Inc.
A demand for "not being harsh" from a "horizontal or bottom-up perspective"
Mr. Kuwahara It is a prerequisite that business books contain useful information. Beyond that, to sell, you must move the reader's "emotions." To move a reader's emotions, the author's face must be visible. When you can see who the author is, why they have those thoughts, and what they have done up to this point—reading the book becomes like a one-on-one dialogue between the author and the reader.
What is important at that time is the relationship between the author and the reader. There was a time when the stance of the author teaching from above was popular, but that hasn't been popular at all recently. For over 10 years now, I think the trend has been books with a stance of teaching from a horizontal or bottom-up perspective, saying things like, "I was originally this hopeless, but I did this and got better," or "If a hopeless person like me could do it, you can do even better."
President Online
An antithesis to "cost-performance, time-performance, customer-first, and self-responsibility"
Mr. Naito After the COVID-19 pandemic, more people have a vague anxiety about what lies ahead after everything has been rationalized and focused on efficiency. There is a backlash occurring as a result of pursuing cost-performance and time-performance to the extreme, and I feel that themes like that are getting a good response from readers.
Regarding the customer-first principle, there is a current situation where if it goes too far, it induces complaints, leads to online backlash, or leaves people exhausted from dealing with it, so I think content that can challenge that is becoming a trend.
Discover 21, Inc.
A demand for systematic and comprehensive works like "Complete Guides" and "Full Histories"
Ms. Yasunaga This has also been a trend for over 10 years, but since free information has started circulating on the internet, in order to get people to buy them as paper books, there is a trend toward books that are comprehensive or systematic and that people want to keep on hand for a long time.
As for business book themes, as everyone has been saying, giving orders from above no longer works, so there has been a trend of management and teamwork books selling well over the past few years.
What are the angles when creating a book project?
In the Creative Awards, the participating editorial departments conduct the final judging, and an important judging criterion at that time is "whether it can become a book." Therefore, we asked them about their perspectives when planning books.
Diamond, Inc.
Planning for your "past self" and those "within a 5-meter radius"
Mr. Ishii There are broadly two ways editors create plans: starting from the "plan" and starting from the "author." I often start from the plan, and in those cases, it usually begins with things I struggled with or found painful in the past, or things people close to me are having trouble with.
Even if it seems like a personal problem, I think it can surprisingly resonate widely with the world, so I believe it is good to focus on that.
Toyo Keizai Inc.
"Author side: What will you write based on what achievements?" and "Reader side: Who will read it, and for what purpose?"
Mr. Kuwahara I believe that a plan exists at the intersection of this "author side" and "reader side."
The reader side is easy to understand, but in short, it means there is demand. If someone with a problem is willing to buy a book for 1,500 to 1,800 yen to solve it, that becomes the angle.
On the other hand, for the author side, it is first important that the content is backed by their achievements or experience. As a major premise, what I want to convey most here is that this achievement does not necessarily have to be a story about accomplishing something amazing. A story about overcoming your own weaknesses or shortcomings can, depending on how it is handled, become content even more powerful than a story about "accomplishing something amazing."
President Online
The angle for online articles is "thinking about the future half a step ahead," while for books it is "thinking about the future 10 steps ahead"
Mr. Naito For example, when writing an online article about convenience stores, we pick up topics like which sweets are delicious right after they are released, but for a book, we conduct interviews with the theme of "the future of the convenience store industry," so the angle is completely different.
Trying to write 10 steps ahead inevitably requires the power of experts, so it might be difficult for the general public, but I think the starting point of a plan is always half a step ahead, and from there, the perspective expands.
Discover 21, Inc.
Combining universal challenges with new solutions
Mr. Yasunaga Universal challenges have remained the same since classic masterpieces, things that everyone has continued to worry about. However, because those also change little by little due to changes in the external environment, I think it is hard to pick up a book unless it has a new solution.
What kind of writers do you want to meet at the Creative Awards?
Finally, we asked everyone from each editorial department what kind of writers they want to meet at this Creative Awards 2024 and what they expect.
Diamond, Inc.
Someone who can verbalize and solve the "fuzziness" that everyone is feeling
Mr. Ishii I would like it if there were know-how on how to improve things by giving a name to the "fuzziness that hasn't been put into words before, but that everyone vaguely feels."
Since general individuals can often notice things from the same standpoint as the reader, I want to meet people who can verbalize that fuzziness, raise the issue, and present a solution.
Toyo Keizai Inc.
Someone with unique know-how and passion who loves to write
Mr. Kuwahara Unique know-how refers to the author's original experience or background. As a major premise, I want to meet people who love to write and have the passion to convey their message. In other words, rather than writing just as they want to write, I want them to think together about how to devise ways to write so that it gets across.
I believe that those who write on note are people who love writing, as they are choosing to write of their own volition despite being busy with their primary jobs. That is precisely why I want to meet people who have the tenacity to, for example, rewrite everything and find a different way to convey their message if they feel that what they have written is not quite getting the point across.
PRESIDENT Online
Someone who can take an interest in the lives of 'ordinary people'
Mr. Naito I think there are two types of writing: one is about who is writing, and the other is about what is being written.
Books by famous people gain value just because they wrote them, but since most people are not famous, I think they should focus on what they are writing.
I believe that people who can write compelling prose are those who can think about the individual lives of people walking by as the world flows on. I hope to meet such people in this year's Creative Awards.
Discover 21
Someone who will think through with us who the readers are and how to reach them
Mr. Yasunaga First of all, I want to meet people who can speak their minds on a flat level, without any hierarchy between editor and author.
Also, I think many people on note write with the premise that someone will read it. I believe many of you are thinking about how to reach your readers, so I hope to meet people with whom we can have that kind of communication.
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The Business Category was newly established starting this year. We look forward to your submissions. For details on the Business Category, click here
Creative Awards 2024 Schedule
Submission period: April 23 (Tue) 11:00 - July 23 (Tue) 23:59
Reader support period: April 23 (Tue) 11:00 - July 31 (Wed) 23:59
Mid-term announcement: Mid-September
Final results announcement & Awards ceremony: End of October