As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently started my own publishing company (with partners James Lewis and Omar Luqmann-Harris, The Pantheon Collective (TPC). Our company is new, and we are totally making this up as we go along (lol), so we take every opportunity we can to learn more about this business, and the most efficient ways to navigate through it. Our first opportunity was at the Self-Publishing Symposium in New York.
First off, I LOVE New York. I could never live there, but I love visiting. The energy there is so different than my lazy coastal town of Santa Cruz. NYC is so alive. A very, very special place. A place that is totally conducive to hustling 
The last time I was in NYC, was also for a book-related networking function (BEA in 2007), and like last time, my trip to NYC was a blast. A whirlwind, but a blast. We landed Saturday afternoon, and had dinner with James’ former agent, a very powerful and well-connected woman in the publishing industry, who I shall refer to as the Diva Agent. James did a great job describing dinner here, but needless to say, we had a great time. Over drinks and some seriously delicious food, we talked about the state of the industry, our respective creative projects, and got our bond on. So much fun. Totally worth the hangover I had the next day, lol.
Sunday was a full day of networking and information-gathering at the Self-Publishing Symposium, an annual event hosted by Renee Daniel Flagler of Aspicomm Media. I’ve attended several conferences since I began my Journey to the Published Land, but in five years, this was by far the best use of my time and money. By far. Renee assembled a collection of publishing experts and self-published authors, who shared all kinds of useful information about marketing, promotion, branding, the business of publishing, the state of the industry, and the e-book revolution. I learned so much, and am so steeped in gratitude for everyone who took the time to share their knowledge and experiences with us. TPC came out of the day with a bag full of ideas, leads, and contacts. Not only can we do this, but we are well on our way and doing all the right things! So validating, so timely, so inspirational. I never take moments of affirmation like this for granted. Knowing you’re on the right path can reenergize a person in unimaginable ways.
We capped off the day with our Third Power Summit, where we plotted the next few months worth of action items for TPC. If you’re not already following our journey at the TPC website, I recommend doing so. We’re blogging in real-time about this whole crazy process, and so far its been quite a ride.
Well, our successful weekend generated a to-do list about a mile long, so I better get to it. This ‘starting your own business’ thing is no joke, but I don’t regret for a second that I set off on this path. It’s hard, nonstop grindin’, but I just know that we are sowing the seeds of something great. Can’t wait to taste the fruit
Comments on this entry are closed.