Little master

My old boss David wrote a blog post (by which I mean he probably typed it on his electric typewriter and had someone else post it for him) about the importance of publishing and its enduring spirit.

I particularly like this bit:

If you pay attention, close attention, to every book you publish, and if you publish or reprint — as we do — close to sixty titles a year, it is all you can do to read the manuscripts that come in, oversee the design and production, and take an active part in the selling. So, for better or worse, this will always be a small company involving a few fanatics, selling to a relatively small lunatic fringe who still care about the niceties of a well-turned phrase, a neatly produced book, and an eclectic list. This is not exactly the recipe America prescribes for achieving commercial success.

My first instinct, as his former sales manager, is to point out to him that there are many parts of this process that he doesn't strictly need to participate in anymore - selling, for example. But he does participate, and he always will, and that is largely the beauty of his press. What other company has the president and founder out there making sales calls to small independent retailers?

It's really a lovely blog post.