First day as a CEO

Today was the first day I had to sign my name as CEO and I hesitated because it felt too weird. The girl said, “Yes, just write CEO and your name.” It felt weird and I was tired and it just felt so weird.

I have a ton of stuff to still do. We had our first organizational meeting on Wed. I don’t even know if I did everything right but apparently it was ok. Perhaps I can do this and figure it out as I go and perhaps the company will be a success.

Today we had a meeting about all the stuff that came out in the Random House trial and why all the trad publishing companies are losing money. So I analyzed what they are doing that is hindering things. I believe a big part of the problem is that it takes two years for a book to come out after it’s accepted. There are so many steps to take a book from submission to release date. I think that is the entire problem. Two years is a long time and what was relevant at the time a book wasn’t accepted is unlikely to be popular at the time of release. Not to mention the time difference between when an author had the inspiration to write the book and the time it was submitted. The ideas are out of date by the time the book is released; the subject matter is no longer interesting, or at least not trending. Two years is too long! This is my new / current motto. Two years is too long.

We will have to do it differently here. Otherwise we’ll be floundering like everyone else. The book publishing industry is saturated and competitive. But I don’t see why it has to be! Readers like to read; the more books the better. It’s not like a reader buys one book and that’s it, they buy and buy and buy. I know from experience (and my credit card bill lol).

So, I’m still figuring things out. Next week should be a bit more settled, I assume.