#JasonAshlock

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From Jason Ashlock’s master class on how to reach an audience, at the Frankfurt Book Fair today.

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hi

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Announcing, Frontier Press. A digital publishing engine that combines narrative intelligence with leading-edge technology to deliver innovative ideas in storytelling packages.

Applicable to every organization that has a story to tell, either internally or externally.

Contact the founding partner of Frontier Press, Jason Ashlock.

- BC

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The Book is Coming.

Stay tuned.

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SXSW x JAA

We'll have a scouting team in the melee of Austin. If you're there and looking to be inspired, seek out Jason's session on creative destruction.

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We could listen to Jason Ashlock talk all day. As the founder of Frontier Press, the next-generation publishing unit of The Frontier Project, and a former NYC publisher, we’re lucky to call Jason a colleague. 

In the early months of the global recession, when the publishing industry was anxious and contracting, Jason launched a literary firm from standing start. In a few years, it had become a known industry force. He packaged books for Hall of Fame athletes and Oscar-winning actors, for Pulitzer nominees and Grammy winners, for indie film stars and fledgling novelists. In the process, he honed his skills in narrative design and product development, and then pivoted to a new mission: break the book out of its ghetto. FrontierPress is how he’s chipping away at the wall.

Frequently speaking at industry conferences, Jason is an open book on stage. Frankly, the way he speaks is intoxicating. In this interview clip, find out what Jason is inspired by at the moment, what’s on his playlist, and what he thinks YOU should be paying attention to in 2014.

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Upcycling Brands

The upcycling trend isn't reserved only for Etsy phenoms, design students and frugal domestics. It works for brands too -- many of whom are busily rummaging through old intellectual property trunks to find the kind of dated iconography that's ripe for reuse. Above, Alife lifts Budweiser from midwestern kitsch to New York City cool. And Penguin stamps a hipster classic on a modern roller bag. - JAA

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HOW TO REACH AN AUDIENCE

From Jason Ashlock’s master class on how to reach an audience, at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

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Design Is ________.

A piece from the stimulating collection at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Thoughts on design from designers. - JAA

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Like a Smile. Or a Punch to the Gut.

Story, as a thing, does not really exist. The word is merely a euphemism, shorthand for a certain manner of ordering information, arranging it into a package that transfers meaning with penetrating efficiency. It so happens that these rehearsed mannerisms by which we gather fragments of information and place them into coherent relationship--are something we understand so naturally, something that we grasp so intuitively that they constitute a kind of universal gesture. As discernible as a smile. Or a punch to the gut. Across hemispheres and epochs. Across cultures and worldviews. Narrative logic remains the most unifying invention humanity has ever shared.

- From JAA's storytelling keynote, which he'll be delivering a version of at SXSW in March.

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You Are What You Read

Here's a question we've been pondering with clients and colleagues:

What's the point of business books?

We always begin a new book with a sense of hope: that we'll glean some insight that will get us a promotion, make us a better manager, or allow us to, at the very least, to drop a book title or one-liner in an important client meeting.

Often the books fail to live up to our expectations. They can be, well, less than stimulating. The content can be dry, or repetitive, or all-too-obvious. By the end, sometimes it seems the only benefit is simply the gratification we feel for completing a book. At each moment we're asking ourselves what are we learning, how the content ties back to us, and how we can deploy these new skills quickly -- and often we feel the books don't quite deliver on their promise to make us our better professional selves. So we’re left disappointed that we weren’t profoundly changed during the six hours we devoted to the text.

But perhaps it’s less that the content was ineffective and more that we were never taught how to engage with it. Reading is a learned skill and critical reading takes practice. Just because we're all able to do it doesn't mean we’re all good at it. Like with any other skill, we get better at reading when we do it thoughtfully and regularly. No doubt we all need to read more. But even more important: we need to read more purposefully.

So here are a handful of our reading strategies. Try them out. We think they'll help you make the most of your time spent reading.

Chunk: Break the book into small segments, and stop at the end of each to reflect.

Scribble: Highlight as you read, take external notes of key points you’d like to reinforce, and stop at the end of each of your chunks to free-write reflections.

Toggle: Occasionally switch from reading sentences in your mind to reading them out loud.

Talk: As you read, share stories and insights via social media and/or in person.

Happy learning.

- Us

P.S. Want book recommendations for yourself or your team? Hit up JAA, our resident book man.

[engagelive]

We could listen to Jason Ashlock talk all day. As the founder of Frontier Press, the next-generation publishing unit of The Frontier Project, and a former NYC publisher, we're lucky to call Jason a colleague. 

In the early months of the global recession, when the publishing industry was anxious and contracting, Jason launched a literary firm from standing start. In a few years, it had become a known industry force. He packaged books for Hall of Fame athletes and Oscar-winning actors, for Pulitzer nominees and Grammy winners, for indie film stars and fledgling novelists. In the process, he honed his skills in narrative design and product development, and then pivoted to a new mission: break the book out of its ghetto. FrontierPress is how he’s chipping away at the wall.

Frequently speaking at industry conferences, Jason is an open book on stage. Frankly, the way he speaks is intoxicating. In this interview clip, find out what Jason is inspired by at the moment, what's on his playlist, and what he thinks YOU should be paying attention to in 2014.

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Book Loops

Source: Frontier Chatroom

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Delivering Ebooks Via SMS

Something fun for your Tuesday: Frontier Press is using a SMS delivery of ebooks this week, delivering teaser ebooks for the learning platform we built for one of our clients. They'll simply text the code to a specific number, and voila! They'll be given a private link to an ebook hosted on the web, and we'll be able to track total engagement and actual clicks to ensure client satisfaction.

Reach out to Jason for inquiries on how Frontier Press can produce and distribute ebooks for your organization.

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Effective Communication: 3 Takeaways

A couple weeks ago we hosted an Effective Communication workshop in our studio headquarters. Our man Jason, who runs Frontier Press, came in and dropped three key takeaways from his time in the publishing industry that anyone could apply in becoming a better communicator.

Simplicity: Be succinct. We often talk more because we want to sound smarter. Less is actually more.

Consistency: Be known as the person who consistently gets work done and initiatives off the ground. If there’s no one consistently communicating, be the person to own it. Your team will thank you.

Timeliness: It’s often not about what you say but when you say it. Know your audience and company protocol to figure out when your message will land best.