Most of the content of the 1,800-plus For Dummies titles published so far has been edited by Wiley staff working in five locations:
The United States, where the headquarters in IDG days was in San Francisco. Now Indianapolis, Ind., is the engine room for For Dummies. Besides Windows For Dummies, which is the bestselling computer book of all time with more than 15 million copies sold, bestsellers in the U.S. include Personal Finance For Dummies and Investing For Dummies, which have sold more than a million copies each across all editions; Spanish For Dummies, Wine For Dummies, Golf For Dummies and Guitar For Dummies, each of which has sold more than 800,000 copies; and recently Facebook For Dummies, with sales of more than 125,000 copies, and iPad For Dummies, first appearing last year, which has sold more than 50,000 copies.
Canada, where the first Canadian For Dummies title appeared in 1995. With headquarters in Toronto, the Canadian operation publishes both new titles and adaptions of existing titles, which then become For Canadians For Dummies books. The Canadian office has published more than 30 titles specifically for the Canadian market and a dozen for an international audience, branching out from financial advice to music, health, food and drink and more. Among the original Canadian titles: Curling For Dummies and Lacrosse For Dummies, both of which are international bestsellers, as well as Canadian History For Dummies, which has sold more than 58,000 copies in two editions.
The U.K., where the first title was published in 2003. Now the office has published more than 140 titles, including adaptations of U.S. originals and titles written specifically for the U.K. market. Self-help and personal development are key areas here, with impressive sales around the world for Neuro-Linguistic Programming For Dummies and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Dummies leading the way. In the U.K., Sudoku For Dummies exploited the craze for the Japanese puzzle form, racking up global sales of more than a million copies.
Australia, where Wiley Publishing Australia in Melbourne has published more than 50 For Dummies titles since 2001. Small business and investing have been especially popular--MYOB For Dummies and Getting Started in Property For Dummies are essential to every bookseller's business section. The series now includes parenting, Australian culture and, naturally, sport. Being a Great Dad For Dummies, Australian Politics For Dummies and Golf For Dummies are among standout titles.
Germany, where the first German For Dummies titles were published in 1992 by IWT, originally as für Anfänger/Dumme and as hardcover books. When MITP took over, it changed the series title to für Dummies and adopted the characteristic black and yellow colors. In 2005, Wiley-VCH acquired the For Dummies brand and now publishes a mix of translations and adaptations of For Dummies titles from all over the world, as well as German originals. Business Administration For Dummies, Accounting & Balancing For Dummies, Financial Controlling For Dummies and SPSS For Dummies have all sold more than 10,000 copies each. For Dummies in Germany has also successfully published study and revision guides for higher education students, such as Math For Engineers For Dummies and Epidemiology For Dummies.
Wiley also has partnerships with publishing houses around the world, which publish or are about to publish Dummies titles in Arabic, Chinese, French, Greek, Hebrew, Persian, Russian, Turkish and other languages.