We recently contracted with a company to convert the Canadian version of our Teen

book to the ePub format to join its U.S. counterpart in the Apple iBookstore. In an

effort to save us money, the company did the conversion by ignoring the design

layout. “What’s the problem?” they asked. “All the words and pictures are there.”

“Yes, but they’re all in one long, continuous column. It’s boring” I replied.

When we did the book’s original layout we spent months – and thousands of dollars

– testing out different designs to see which one would capture the reader’s interest

and maintain it the longest. The point was not to figure a way to sell more books –

after all, no one would know how well the layout worked until after they had made

their purchase – it was all about engaging the reader. We don’t want readers to go

through the book, then put it down and forget it. We want them to get excited about

taking control of their lives; to stop being ripped off by unscrupulous marketers; to

figure out how to save for college, for a home, for a fun, comfortable retirement.

Whatever they want and need. That’s the point of our books; that’s what we’re both

passionate about. That’s why we do what we do.

I know that the material, especially the “Hero Stories” will captivate most of the

readers because the stories are very powerful. But, we want all readers to be

affected. Most, just isn’t good enough. No one has to be broke. No one has to live

paycheck to paycheck. No one has to stay awake at night worrying about their

finances. It’s not rocket science; in fact it’s relatively easy to start taking control.

In the information era, where there are websites, books, courses and videos

explaining what to do – many of them free – it’s almost inconceivable that people

have money issues. The problem is that content providers have failed to engage the

reader/viewer. That’s why the layout of our Teen series is so important to us,

because we know that it works. It engages the reader. It’s why Yale University and

Jr. Achievement Worldwide are just a few of the organizations that have called our

books the best in their field. And, that’s why the ePub converters were sent back to

the drawing board: it’s all about Engagement.