The Great American Idea Book : How to Make Money from Your Ideas [Hardcover]

Bob Coleman (Author), Deborah Neville (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1993

Ever had a great idea, but didn't know how to turn it into concrete, profitable success? This book will help you transform that idle notion into money-spinning reality. The authors outline the five steps that you must master to turn an idea into income.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It is difficult to think of an area that businessman Coleman ( New Small Business Survival Guide ) and patent attorney Neville do not touch on in their account of how to develop a business idea, from brainstorm to profit statement. Their general outline covers five principal steps: securing the legal rights to your idea via copyright or patent; developing the idea to attract investors; marketing the idea; defending it legally and financially against the almost inevitable suits success will bring; and profiting from the fiscal arrangements you make. Each step is elaborated with myriad details on how to make an effective presentation, find an agent if your idea involves one of the arts, choose a "magic" name, get inexpensive promotion and even franchise your concept. An extraordinarily helpful book.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Written by a businessman and a patent attorney, this book answers that proverbial query, "How do I protect my idea?" and explains how you can use copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, licensing agreements, and so forth to do so. It also answers the "how much" questions, as in how much will it cost to do a record demo or get a patent. It doesn't claim to be more than an overview and should be used in conjunction with more in-depth books on the specific subjects covered. There are occasional glitches (the usefulness of mailing copyrightable material to yourself in a sealed envelope is questionable, and while the section on patents is excellent, the information on doing searching at patent depositary libraries needs correcting), but most advice seems sound. The writing is readable and upbeat, even humorous, and uses plenty of real-life examples to make its points. Recommended for collections serving small business, inventors, or the artistic community.
- Johanna Johnson, Dallas P.L.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 334 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 1st edition (March 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039303447X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393034479
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,177,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great education -- stimulates creativity -- fun to read, May 6, 2000

By 

Dial911book (Rockin, ON) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Amer Idea Book (Paperback)

Over the years I've used this book frequently for several reasons. First, it gives an overview of the creative process and how a person can take an idea and move it to a completed, marketable book, movie, or invention. I like this aspect because I sometimes need to check to see if I have overlooked any important steps.

Second, it contains an excellent introduction to patent and copyright law. Anybody trying to make money with ideas needs to know the basics of the law that protects a person's property in ideas. I have referred to the book often to refresh my recollection of the legal aspects.

Third, the book contains many short vignettes about other creative people who succeeded in turning an idea into a book, screenplay or product, and how they succeeded. These stories cheer me up and motivate me to keep looking for new ideas and new ways to bring them to market.

Fourth, it discusses many of the "nuts and bolts" of the business aspects of negotiating, publishing and selling. From the book I learned many of the terms of art, and how industry insiders think and act.

It's a fun book to read, too. Well-organized, light and direct writing style, easy on the eyes. The book has an excellent table of contents and index, which really make finding information easy.

Mr. Coleman is a professional writer and knows a great deal especially about writing and selling articles, books and screen plays. Ms. Neville is an accomplished intellectual property lawyer. Together they have produced a fine volume that will help inventors, writers and anybody else who wants to understand the business of creativity.