Book review: Preeti Vyas, Chairwoman of Vyas Giannetti Creative on Decoding Communications

VGC has garnered many accolades since its inception a decade ago. It was ranked as the top 10 design agencies in India  by Economic Times. VGC is also a prominent case study in Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad.

"Decoding Communications has been a great read. The parallels drawn between the evolution of human communication and the subsequent evolution of the communications media help setup what is an absorbing read for anyone looking to get a clear idea on the communications industry.

I do feel that students and professionals will especially enjoy reading this as it really helps the reader understand the many facets of communications and branding and does justice to each speciality. This book is a great example of demystifying communications. Simple, straightforward and downright logical."

Preeti Vyas, Chairwoman of Vyas Giannetti Creative, is widely regarded as one of India’ s foremost creative minds. In 1997 VGC was launched by her with the aim to transform the marketplace using Strategic Design and Communication solutions.

Preeti says ‘Only that design which is good for your business is good design. And we call it Designomics’

Her many achievements include: A member of the India Design Council, she is named as one of the leading creative minds of India by an Economic Times Report, she is ranked amongst India's Greatest Brand Builders by CMO Asia. Amongst the 25 most powerful women in India by Business Today. Amongst the 50 most influential women by Verve magazine. Award winning supporter of women entrepreneurs. Jury member at Cannes, New York Advertising Festival and Sri Lanka’ s first International creative awards. Indian representative at Indian Creative Showcase at Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The sneak-peek of the contents page

DECODING COMMUNICATIONS

Communications is a universal remedy. It helps bridge relationships, sustains knowledge, and also makes chance more predictable. Communications builds a nourishing environment for organizations, brands and individuals to grow. Businesses, brands and individuals, all need to understand communications better in order to impact their own futures.

Decoding Communications is a fascinating journey that turns everyday experiences into revelations, and it demonstrates how communications can help make best use of opportunities.

The book also covers  new communication theories like Trust Matrix, Brand Appeal, Organizational Maturity Model, and 4 Cs Leadership Model, explained simply to apply them in business lifecycles. Decoding Communications is an important read for all communicators – the brand custodians, spokespersons, communication agencies, teachers and students alike. 

The sneak-peak of the contents page of Decoding Communications is here for your exclusive viewing. I am thinking of putting up the synopsis of each of these chapters up for the regular visitors to this blog. 

Please write in in case you would like to view these...

	C   O    N    T    E    N    T     S
Introduction	Sigma bonds to Ethos & Pathos
1	Communications
2	Trust – The basis of everything
3	Trust in Business
4	What is a Brand?
5	Brand Appeal
6	Sustainable Communications
7	Perception, Thinking and influence
8	Propaganda
9	Public Relations
10	Why must organizations communicate
11	4 Cs Leadership Model
Conclusion	Tell it, Don't sell it
	Glossary
	Bibliography

A good book needs a good editor

I never thought this would turn into a how-to blog, but it does seem to be going that way - fingers tugging the mind! But if you promise to keep me on my toes, I promise to limit the how-to parts to just a few.

Most think that authoring a book is about writing it. That's only half the job. The rest of it is in the editing, designing, publishing, distributing, promoting, etc. And its quite an overwhelming world out there. And to bring clarity, it is important to discuss the most important of these first - the editor.

The first partner I searched for was an editor. A good editor serves the role of a partner to the book who not only knows the language the book is written in, but also understands the subject. For business books, if the editor is an avid reader of books, blogs and journals on the subject it adds even more value to the editing. The more the editor represents the prespective of the subject the better the editing.

In the case of Decoding Communications the reader is a typical communicator. A CEO-spokesperson, an agency professional, or a student. So I naturally needed an editor of all three profiles rolled in one. After several unsuccessful attempts, in 2011 beginning, I zeroed in on one. One who fit the profile quite well, and also did a good job of it. He was a little slow for an impatient me - but that was more because he was an editor-by-moonlight, than because of lack of will. But what he churned out was good, so I trudged along.

Chapter one was fairly swift, and the second came at the speed he promised. But as we went on to Chapter Three the flow became painfully slow. By Chapter 4, I had had several meetings with him urging him to speeden things up. But the exact opposite happened. He finshed fourth chapter and became totally incommunicado. Vamoosed!

Stuck mid-way.

You get comfortable with one style of editing, and as an author it is quite a challenge to adjust to a different style. So, having just 25% of your book edited, is like not having started at all. To maintain the style, structure and flow, you have to get the entire book edited all over again with the new editor. In editing, its all or nothing.

I started my search for an editor in the genre of my book again. I was looking for people who could edit communications, marketing or even general business as a last resort. No luck for 6 months - though I met a few, none passed my test of editing Chapter 1.

Then finally, I sent out one more last sms to an old friend, asking her to recommend an editor to me. She smsed back, "Ahem... Me? :-) ". That's how Pritsikha Anil became the editor of Decoding Communications.

Chapter check over, she went about the book's editing with energy and enthusiasm that completely rejuvenated me (and the book as well). Chapters going back-and-forth, ideas being discussed, and cuts and tucks adding to the final flavour of the book. And the final outcome gave me complete satisfaction as an author.

The book, Decoding Communications, is about thoughts and ideas. The editor is one such important idea stimulant for the book. Once you find a good editor, most of your post-production is automatically taken care of. If anyone is using this blog as steps to take for their own book, I would only suggest this - 'Choose your editor with the greatest care. Rest will take care of itself.'