Many Fast Company readers come to the Company of Friends, FC's readers' network, to explore the ideas found in the magazine. Others have a business problem they need to solve. And sometimes worlds collide.

Late last year in the Chicago CoF, an email exchange about evangelism marketing led two CoF members to secure a publishing contract with a local publisher.

After emailing the Chicago CoF to ask for examples of companies that practice evangelism marketing -- a strategy in which a company's customers act as the sales-and-marketing team -- Ben McConnell got an email from Mary Good, an acquisitions editor for Dearborn Trade Publishing. ''We profile Evangelists of the Month on our Web site,'' says McConnell, a principal in the marketing consultancy Wabash & Lake. ''Mary asked if we'd contribute a customer-evangelism book for Dearborn.''

Several employees of Dearborn are active members of the Chicago CoF, Good says. ''Our mission is to offer advice and determine where business visionaries are,'' she says. ''I know that I can find forward-thinking business leaders in the CoF.''

McConnell's partner, Jackie Huba, says that she and McConnell never imagined they'd have such good luck with their book. ''We knew we had an uphill battle to find a publishing house. It was a crazy thought that someone would approach us,'' she says.

Creating Customer Evangelists will be published in December.

Coordinates: Dearborn Trade, http://www.dearborn.com/dfp/trade_home.asp; Wabash & Lake, http://www.wabashandlake.com