When the authors of the best-selling "Sisters" choose the theme for their next portrait of tender family relationships, this much is certain: It will not be a dreamy paean to the brother-in-law.
The authors, Carol Saline and Sharon J. Wohlmuth, are poised for what could truly be the mother of all coffee-table book battles with Wohlmuth's brother-in-law, Stuart Teacher, who is their former publisher at Running Press in Philadelphia.With the arrival of M-Day - as in Mother's, a prime holiday for bookstores - the authors have gone public with a second book in the successful "Sisters" formula titled "Mothers & Daughters." The book is a lavishly illustrated, glossy collection of black-and-white photographs and essays celebrating the kinship of women and their daughters. It also bears a strikingly close family resemblance to a lavishly illustrated, glossy book of black-and-white photographs and essays commissioned by Teacher that is titled "Daughters & Mothers."
Confused? That may be precisely the point in this extreme example of the industry's time-honored practice of copycat publishing. The book sizes are nearly as interchangeable as their reverence for motherhood, with covers featuring a beatific woman, surrounded by daughters, head tossed winsomely over right shoulder, smile warm as a home-baked cookie.
Each book explores the bonds of unconditional love through the archetypes of more than 30 families - ranging from mountain-climbing mothers and former congresswomen to youngish actresses (M&D: Jamie Lee Curtis; D&M: Laura Dern) and zany cartoonists (M&D: Cathy Guisewite; D&M: Lynn Johnston).
Such duplication begs an obvious question about the state of family relations. If sisterly bonds are unbreakable and the "umbilical cord between mothers and daughters can never really be severed," as "Mothers & Daughters" insists, then how robust are the ties of in-laws during a literary dust-up?
"I am not willing to discuss my family," Teacher said.
Wohlmuth, who is married to Teacher's brother, Larry, was also circumspect about her reaction to her brother-in-law's actions. "I felt it was just a real challenge." Asked whether Running Press had produced a high-quality book, she replied with a diplomat's deflection: "As far as the printing and the paper?"
Just a few years ago, Wohlmuth openly credited Teacher for his part in the "wonderful circle of family and friends whose spirit and support navigated" the creation of "Sisters." And at his wedding, Teacher toasted Saline, a senior writer at Philadelphia Magazine, for having set him up on a blind date with his eventual bride, a food writer at the magazine.
The "Sisters" authors turned to Running Press after New York publishing houses scorned their notion of such a book. The text was written by Saline, and the photographs were taken by Wohlmuth, who said she had pondered the idea for more than 10 years because of her relationship with her younger sister.
The five-figure advance they received barely covered expenses, said the authors, who noted they trusted the skills of Running Press, an independent publishing house that was founded 25 years ago by Teacher and Wohlmuth's husband, who retired in 1994.
Typically, glossy photo books are expensive to produce and yield a thin profit margin from a narrow market. But there was something about "Sisters" - the touching photos, the sentiment of "a sister is a forever friend" - that unexpectedly reached a wide circle of readers, many of whom heard about it through the authors' frequent appearances on morning programs and "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
The book lingered on the New York Times best-seller list for 63 weeks in 1995 and 1996 and became the biggest success for Running Press since it climbed the list in the late '70s with a quirky book about Mr. Bill, the "Saturday Night Live" character.
Devoted "Sisters" readers sent fan letters to the publishing house, suggesting ways to customize the book with personal chapters and family photos, explaining how a gift book could repair a fractured relationship. From an initial printing of 17,500 copies of "Sisters," Running Press shipped more than 1 million books.
New York publishers took notice, as so often happens when authors establish themselves at smaller houses. In early 1995, the authors' agent, Ellen Levine went to lunch with a Doubleday senior editor, who expressed interest in signing the authors for additional books about relationships.
Lunch led to an offer of more than $2 million for a two-book deal.
Running Press was given a chance to bid on the follow-up book, although the details are still in dispute. Teacher said he had only one day to decide; Levine recalled that it was several days. Still, the chances were remote that Running Press could compete against the resources of Doubleday, which is owned by the German conglomerate Bertelsmann A.G.
"The circumstances didn't feel entirely comfortable, and we normally don't buy books at auction," Teacher said. He said that when he asked "how many zeroes" were in play, he was told that Running Press had to come up with its own offer. His answer: No thanks.
It was no secret that the authors had been thinking about preparing a follow-up book. Sabra Smith, a Running Press spokeswoman, said Saline and Wohlmuth had discussed future projects with editors there.
"They thought about best friends, which we didn't think was so strong," Smith said. "We suggested mothers and daughters, but Sharon had a very difficult time with her mother's death. She said it was something that was very painful for her and not something she could do. And they sort of set the idea aside."
Wohlmuth disputes that notion, saying that while she thought "it would be a sensitive book to do," she had never rejected doing it because of her mother's death.
In any case, Smith said, Running Press did not discover that Saline and Wohlmuth had decided to do the book about mothers until an item appeared in The New York Times about the Doubleday deal.
Wohlmuth said she had no qualms about accepting the Doubleday deal. "I just think that the offer speaks for itself," she said. "It was an opportunity that arose that I felt very comfortable about accepting."
But she and Saline did not realize they had direct competition from Running Press until they received a letter from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Gins-burg in early 1996 puzzling over a request from Running Press to pose for something called "Daughters & Mothers." After all, Justice Ginsburg wrote to Running Press, she had already cooperated with Saline and Wohlmuth and she wondered how the two projects would "harmonize."
It turned out that Running Press had interviewed and hired a portrait photographer, Jane Wexler, and a free-lance writer, Lauren Cowen, to create and complete a book about mothers within a tight period from January through September 1996. The book was timed for release before all-important Mother's Day, the third most lively sales occasion in a bookstore's calendar, after Christmas and Father's Day.
"Our first reaction was one of great surprise," Saline recalled. "It was like, `Wow, how come they're doing this?' "
Puzzlement turned to disappointment when Running Press' "Daughters and Mothers" emerged first in the nation's bookstores this month with a $19.98 price tag and a cover with many of the motifs of "Sisters." Doubleday, having lost the opportunity to be the first book out, decided to reduce the planned $30 price of "Mothers & Daughters" by $5. The Doubleday books started shipping to bookstores in April.
The authors are particularly irked by a golden sunburst seal on the Running Press book declaring "From the publishers of the New York Times best seller `Sisters.' " The seal was part of a marketing strategy that Running Press has decided to drop on future copies.
Teacher insists that no confusion exists and that imitation is common in the industry. Besides the two rival mother-daughter books, HarperCollins is also releasing "The Story of Mothers & Daughters," a book of color photographs linked to an ABC television special on motherhood. Running Press is also publishing a miniature edition of cheerful quotations and art simply titled "Mom."