The demands of publishing and marketing a book today have grown to exceed the ability of a publisher to cope. I felt very keenly that we were leaving so many good marketing ideas unexplored because there were too many authors and too little time.

To get there after one week on any book is remarkable, but to do this on a book that has an $8 million advance is Nirvana. There are a lot of [envious] publishers today. I wish we raised our bid.

They love their jobs, and they love the creative excitement that comes from working there. But when you're sharing an apartment in Queens with four other people because you're getting 3 to 4 percent annual raises on a $25,000 salary, it's not a great thing.

I'm sure in a lot of publishing houses that there is a frustration that people feel, that they're not in control, that they are puppets and the corporate bosses are manipulating the strings.

When you have the ability to view marketing activities collectively, you can see how these touch points combine to achieve objectives.

My wife is also in marketing, so she understood. She?s perhaps less risk tolerant than I am, but for me to do this - absolutely, she was supportive.