Beyond Words Publishing
Encyclopedia
Beyond Words Publishing is a book publishing
company located in Hillsboro, Oregon
, United States. Founded in 1983, the company was unprofitable in its early years, though its works were award winning. The privately owned company focuses on non-fiction titles in the New Age
genre, but began as a publisher of coffee table books. Beyond Words has a national distribution agreement with Simon & Schuster
’s Altria Books imprint
and has published works by John Gray
, Masaru Emoto
, and Rhonda Byrne
, including her book The Secret
.
. Black and Cohn later married. The company started after Cohn’s family sold Cohn Bros. furniture company to McMahan's Furniture in 1982 and Cohn was looking for a new direction. The company’s first book, Within a Rainbowed Sea, came out in 1984. The coffee table book
won 11 awards at the New York Art Directors Show and was named the most outstanding book of the year by the Printing Industries of America
in 1984. Focused on images of sea life by Christopher Newbert, the book is hound bound using Niger goatskin
and kept in a box made of koa wood and lined with Brazilian suede. Sold for $2,250, the book was given to Japanese Emperor Hirohito
on his 80th birthday by then U.S. President Ronald Reagan
. A calendar featuring the images took second place in a Printing Industries of America competition in 1988. As of 1988 there were four editions and 52,000 copies of the book.
The company’s second book was Molokai: An Island in Time by photographer Richard Cooke III that came out in 1985. The publishing company relocated to Oregon in 1986 where it was incorporated, and by 1988 Bob Goodman had left the company that had failed to turn a profit after putting out 12 titles. Beyond Words settled on Cohn’s 12 acres (4.9 ha) farm near Hillsboro. Both of the first two books were printed by Oregon printer Dynagraphics, Inc., with printing costs exceeding $500,000 for the books that were to retail for $2,000 each. Beyond Words had an exclusive distribution with Waldenbooks
for the first two titles, but the deal later fell through. The company was left deeply in debt after these two books, with founder Black taking a job to help pay off the debt. In October 1988, a lawsuit between the printer Dynagraphics and U. S. National Bank
concerned Beyond Words’ ability to pay its bill to Dynagraphics for the printing. Dynagraphics won the lawsuit for $321,000 when the jury decided that the bank had a duty to warn Dynagraphics that co-owner Cohn lacked the funds to pay for the printing of the two books that were part of their Earthsong Project.
The company published The American Eagle, a 128 page coffeetable book in 1988 by Tom and Pat Leeson. Books by the company in the early years revolved around New Age
philosophy and themes. In 1990, they were the first publishers of works by author and therapist John Gray
, printing Men, Women and Relationships. Gray then went to another company with Beyond Words blessing and published Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus
. In 1994, the headquarters were moved to Hillsboro near the airport
as the company had expanded to 12 employees.
By 1995, Beyond Words was publishing around ten books per year and expanded from coffee table books into titles concerning Native American wisdom, health, personal growth, and children’s literature. Sales at that time totaled $1.8 million per year. To drive sales the company was innovative with marketing, with activities such as promoting books at tourist attractions like zoos, selling through fundraisers, and co-marketing with other publishers. Beyond Words partnered with Flying Rhino Productions in 1995.
Beyond Words moved into an office along Cornell Road in the Tanasbourne neighborhood
of Hillsboro in 2006. In 2004, the company was struggling and considered filling for bankruptcy protection until a new investor was brought on board. That year Beyond Words had its first big success, after more than 250 titles to their name, with Masaru Emoto
’s Hidden Messages of Water. The book sold enough to make the New York Times Best Seller list
and sold a total of half a million copies. The company started a partnership with publisher Simon & Schuster
’s subsidiary Atria Books in 2006. That same year the company had a dinner party where one of the commentators from The Secret DVD convinced the group to watch the video, which led to the publication of the book, The Secret
by Rhonda Byrne
. By March 2007, the book had become the top seller on Amazon.com
as well as listing on The New York Times bestseller list, and had 1.75 million copies in print. That month Simon & Schuster ordered an additional 2 million copies in what was their largest reorder in their history.
and the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
at Johns Hopkins University
. Cohn then entered the family’s furniture business where he worked for 13 years. He was divorced in 1976, and then met co-founder Cindy Black in 1982 in Hawaii after the family business was sold. They moved in together and later married. A fortune teller had foretold of the meeting, and that he would move to Hawaii. Both Cohn and Black took a New Age class at the Burklyn Business School in California
, which helped lay the foundation for starting Beyond Words. In Hawaii, Cohn met a photographer who knew his sister, and with publisher Bob Goodman started a publishing company to produce the photographer’s work.
, in the Portland metropolitan area
. The company publishes 15 new books every year, mainly in the New Age, non-fiction genre through their partnership with Atria Books. Independently they are wholesalers of their titles for international distribution, and operate Beyond Distribution as a subsidiary for releases of other media such as videos. The company has its editors, designers, and printers work with each author, which is atypical in the publishing world. Their philosophy helped turn the company into a “national leader”, or as Susan Reich of Publishers Group West stated, "They are one of a few independent publishers who can do beautiful photography books, very finely produced."
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
company located in Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
, United States. Founded in 1983, the company was unprofitable in its early years, though its works were award winning. The privately owned company focuses on non-fiction titles in the New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
genre, but began as a publisher of coffee table books. Beyond Words has a national distribution agreement with Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
’s Altria Books imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
and has published works by John Gray
John Gray (U.S. author)
John Gray is an American relationship counselor, lecturer and author who has several university degrees received under a variety of circumstances. In 1969, he began a nine year association with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi before beginning his career as an author and personal relationship counselor...
, Masaru Emoto
Masaru Emoto
is a Japanese author and entrepreneur known for his claims that human consciousness has an effect on the molecular structure of water. Emoto's hypothesis has evolved over the years of his research. Initially Dr. Emoto claimed that high-quality water forms beautiful and intricate crystals, while...
, and Rhonda Byrne
Rhonda Byrne
Rhonda Byrne is an Australian television writer and producer, best known for her New Thought works, The Secret—a book and a film by the same name. By the Spring of 2007 the book had sold almost 4 million copies, and the DVD had sold more than 2 million copies omt. She has also been a producer...
, including her book The Secret
The Secret (book)
The Secret is a best-selling 2006 self-help book written by Rhonda Byrne. It is based on the earlier film of the same name that was released in DVD format in March 2006...
.
History
Beyond Words Publishing was founded in 1983 by Richard Cohn, Bob Goodman, and Cindy Black in HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Black and Cohn later married. The company started after Cohn’s family sold Cohn Bros. furniture company to McMahan's Furniture in 1982 and Cohn was looking for a new direction. The company’s first book, Within a Rainbowed Sea, came out in 1984. The coffee table book
Coffee table book
A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for...
won 11 awards at the New York Art Directors Show and was named the most outstanding book of the year by the Printing Industries of America
Printing Industries of America
Printing Industries of America is a nonprofit trade association which advocates for the United States printing industry.It is the world’s largest graphic arts trade association, representing more than 10,000 member companies and an industry with more than $174.4 billion in revenue and 1 million...
in 1984. Focused on images of sea life by Christopher Newbert, the book is hound bound using Niger goatskin
Goatskin (material)
Goatskin is the skin of a goat.Non tanned goatskin is used for parchment or for drumheads or sounding boards of some musical instruments, e.g., mišnice in medieval Europe, bodhrán in Ireland, esraj in India and for instrumental drum skin named bedug in Indonesia.Tanned leather from goatskin is...
and kept in a box made of koa wood and lined with Brazilian suede. Sold for $2,250, the book was given to Japanese Emperor Hirohito
Hirohito
, posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or , was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to...
on his 80th birthday by then U.S. President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. A calendar featuring the images took second place in a Printing Industries of America competition in 1988. As of 1988 there were four editions and 52,000 copies of the book.
The company’s second book was Molokai: An Island in Time by photographer Richard Cooke III that came out in 1985. The publishing company relocated to Oregon in 1986 where it was incorporated, and by 1988 Bob Goodman had left the company that had failed to turn a profit after putting out 12 titles. Beyond Words settled on Cohn’s 12 acres (4.9 ha) farm near Hillsboro. Both of the first two books were printed by Oregon printer Dynagraphics, Inc., with printing costs exceeding $500,000 for the books that were to retail for $2,000 each. Beyond Words had an exclusive distribution with Waldenbooks
Waldenbooks
Waldenbooks , operated by the Walden Book Company, Inc., was an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain and a subsidiary of Borders Group. The chain also ran a video game and software chain under the name Waldensoftware as well as a children's edutainment chain under Walden Kids...
for the first two titles, but the deal later fell through. The company was left deeply in debt after these two books, with founder Black taking a job to help pay off the debt. In October 1988, a lawsuit between the printer Dynagraphics and U. S. National Bank
U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Bancorp is a diversified financial services holding company, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States based on $330 billion in assets. U.S. Bank ranks as the sixth largest bank in the U.S. based on...
concerned Beyond Words’ ability to pay its bill to Dynagraphics for the printing. Dynagraphics won the lawsuit for $321,000 when the jury decided that the bank had a duty to warn Dynagraphics that co-owner Cohn lacked the funds to pay for the printing of the two books that were part of their Earthsong Project.
The company published The American Eagle, a 128 page coffeetable book in 1988 by Tom and Pat Leeson. Books by the company in the early years revolved around New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
philosophy and themes. In 1990, they were the first publishers of works by author and therapist John Gray
John Gray (U.S. author)
John Gray is an American relationship counselor, lecturer and author who has several university degrees received under a variety of circumstances. In 1969, he began a nine year association with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi before beginning his career as an author and personal relationship counselor...
, printing Men, Women and Relationships. Gray then went to another company with Beyond Words blessing and published Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus is a book written by American author, and relationship counselor, John Gray.The book has sold more than 7 million copies and is reported to be one of the best selling self-help books of all time...
. In 1994, the headquarters were moved to Hillsboro near the airport
Hillsboro Airport
Hillsboro Airport , also known as Portland-Hillsboro Airport, is the name of a corporate, general aviation and flight-training airport serving the city of Hillsboro, in Washington County, Oregon, USA. It is one of four airports in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area owned and operated by the...
as the company had expanded to 12 employees.
By 1995, Beyond Words was publishing around ten books per year and expanded from coffee table books into titles concerning Native American wisdom, health, personal growth, and children’s literature. Sales at that time totaled $1.8 million per year. To drive sales the company was innovative with marketing, with activities such as promoting books at tourist attractions like zoos, selling through fundraisers, and co-marketing with other publishers. Beyond Words partnered with Flying Rhino Productions in 1995.
Beyond Words moved into an office along Cornell Road in the Tanasbourne neighborhood
Tanasbourne, Oregon
Tanasbourne, Oregon is a neighborhood in Washington County, Oregon where NW 185th Avenue and U.S. Route 26 intersect. The area sits between Beaverton and Hillsboro, and is generally considered to be south of U.S. 26, north of Walker Road, west of 158th, and east of Cornelius Pass Road...
of Hillsboro in 2006. In 2004, the company was struggling and considered filling for bankruptcy protection until a new investor was brought on board. That year Beyond Words had its first big success, after more than 250 titles to their name, with Masaru Emoto
Masaru Emoto
is a Japanese author and entrepreneur known for his claims that human consciousness has an effect on the molecular structure of water. Emoto's hypothesis has evolved over the years of his research. Initially Dr. Emoto claimed that high-quality water forms beautiful and intricate crystals, while...
’s Hidden Messages of Water. The book sold enough to make the New York Times Best Seller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
and sold a total of half a million copies. The company started a partnership with publisher Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
’s subsidiary Atria Books in 2006. That same year the company had a dinner party where one of the commentators from The Secret DVD convinced the group to watch the video, which led to the publication of the book, The Secret
The Secret (book)
The Secret is a best-selling 2006 self-help book written by Rhonda Byrne. It is based on the earlier film of the same name that was released in DVD format in March 2006...
by Rhonda Byrne
Rhonda Byrne
Rhonda Byrne is an Australian television writer and producer, best known for her New Thought works, The Secret—a book and a film by the same name. By the Spring of 2007 the book had sold almost 4 million copies, and the DVD had sold more than 2 million copies omt. She has also been a producer...
. By March 2007, the book had become the top seller on Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
as well as listing on The New York Times bestseller list, and had 1.75 million copies in print. That month Simon & Schuster ordered an additional 2 million copies in what was their largest reorder in their history.
Founders
Richard Cohn grew up in Oregon in Northeast Portland before he attended Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies , a division of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., is one of the world's leading and most prestigious graduate schools devoted to the study of international affairs, economics, diplomacy, and policy research and...
at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
. Cohn then entered the family’s furniture business where he worked for 13 years. He was divorced in 1976, and then met co-founder Cindy Black in 1982 in Hawaii after the family business was sold. They moved in together and later married. A fortune teller had foretold of the meeting, and that he would move to Hawaii. Both Cohn and Black took a New Age class at the Burklyn Business School in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, which helped lay the foundation for starting Beyond Words. In Hawaii, Cohn met a photographer who knew his sister, and with publisher Bob Goodman started a publishing company to produce the photographer’s work.
Operations
Privately held Beyond Words is headquartered in the Hillsboro, OregonHillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
, in the Portland metropolitan area
Portland metropolitan area
The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area , also known as the Portland metropolitan area or Greater Portland, is an urban area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered around the city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S...
. The company publishes 15 new books every year, mainly in the New Age, non-fiction genre through their partnership with Atria Books. Independently they are wholesalers of their titles for international distribution, and operate Beyond Distribution as a subsidiary for releases of other media such as videos. The company has its editors, designers, and printers work with each author, which is atypical in the publishing world. Their philosophy helped turn the company into a “national leader”, or as Susan Reich of Publishers Group West stated, "They are one of a few independent publishers who can do beautiful photography books, very finely produced."