Working independently has allowed me to make the earliest and most creative stages of publishing the center of my practice.

I follow what's happening in culture, entertainment, food, design, lifestyle, and the marketplace, looking for subjects with the potential to become distinctive books. From there, I develop and shape the concept, identify the talent best suited to it, and find the right publishing home.

A large part of what I bring to this process is resourcefulness. Over the course of my career, I've developed an extensive network of writers, designers, photographers, illustrators, researchers, editors, agents, publishers, and other book producers. I enjoy making those connections — finding the person whose particular talent, expertise, or point of view can transform a promising idea into a much better one.

I'm equally comfortable collaborating with established creative talent or discovering someone who has never made a book before but has exactly the right voice, expertise, or visual sensibility for a particular project.

My long-standing relationships throughout publishing are equally important. Having spent decades working with editors, publishers, agents, booksellers, retailers, and other industry professionals, I have a strong sense of where a project might belong and how best to position it.

And because I've worked on both the creative and commercial sides of publishing, I'm thinking from the beginning about more than content. I'm considering design, format, audience, positioning, price point, and where and how the finished book will ultimately find its readers.