New York State of Mind

I look forward to traveling to New York, it's one of my favourite places to visit in the entire world. I love the energy, the pace, the fact that everyone is going somewhere. I love the fact that every time you turn around you see something familiar, so many movies and television shows are set in New York City, something you really notice after visiting.

I visited New York for the first time ever in May of 2010, been there several times since and will be back again and again. New York is always moving at the speed of light and I feel right at home with the hustle and bustle. It's I'm now accustomed to, in a weird way the pace is almost calming, relaxing in that everyone is moving at the speed I've been operating at these days.

Digital Book World in January is what's brought me here this time. Aside from the conference, I will be meeting with several publishing houses to acquire content for Enthrill's exciting new ebook retail program. Looking forward to this, the publishing industry is filled with many smart and passionate people.

So, two for two. I get to go to New York and meet with people I really enjoy and respect, circumstance and luck has put me in front of some of the most important people in the industry.

The past year has been one of complete focus. Laser focus. I began working on Enthrill Distribution full time, after months of planning, researching and exploration into the market we are to disrupt.

What provided some complication was the fact that I already had a full time job running Francomedia, my digital/creative firm. But, I wasn't too worried about taking time away from the company I built over the past 8 years, my staff is fantastic and fully capable of creating great work without me standing over their shoulders. I'm very proud of my team, they have been so patient with this change in our operation, I'm thankful for this.

So, for the last 8 months I went from being busy to being so busy that mere words can't describe it. This short-term pain is necessary though, and as unpleasant as it is at times - coming home after the kids have gone to bed, working weekends and holidays - we are introducing something to the market that will benefit a great many people. Our program is important and timely, in fact, some in the industry have called it 'necessary' some have called us 'white knights' and 'game changers'. I suppose these types of comments set a certain expectation, this drives me even further to ensure its success.

The next few weeks are going to be critical, we've got a new office, we're scaling up on staff, we're going a million miles an hour getting ready for launch. If you've ever done a retail launch, you know what's involved, if you haven't just know it's a lot of work. We've got a good team, we have to. And, I'm confident in our team, in our concept and in our product.

My next posting on Enthrill will include some details on our product, how we're launching and maybe even some pictures. These are exciting times for everyone involved with Enthrill.

Perhaps when this is all over and I'm visiting New York purely for pleasure, I will find the pace unsettling. Nah, I doubt it. I'll always love New York, as is.

New York City - Day 5 - The Long Journey Home

Thursday we had more to do at the BEA and I was a bit dusty, I guess 3 martinis is my limit these days.

Before leaving for the expo we received an unexpected visitor, Karen's dad was at our door as we were packing up to leave. He had just arrived in NYC after a cruise in the Atlantic. The day was uneventful, and a bit sad - we had really enjoyed our trip and could have spent another week or two doing sight seeing. But, it was a business trip after all and there was plenty of business to do after we returned to Calgary.

Danté had the limo ready for us when we got down to the lobby and we began our journey back to Newark for the long trip home. En route, Wayne told us a story of being stuck on the runway for 3 hours before taking off one time and how he never wanted to experience that again... our flight was delayed because of lightning, we waited on the tarmac for 4 hours. After a whirlwind trip, 4 hours actually went by pretty quick, mind you I think I nodded off.

We got back to Calgary and it was snowing. SNOWING!!!

New York City - Day 4 - The BEA

Wednesday the temperature soared to the mid nineties... humid too. Our group spent the morning trying to set up meetings with suitable distributors for our book. No bites. We were faced with the same response from everyone; you've only got one title, your too new, your too small, we don't understand your marketing, we don't get it...it was frustrating. I went outside to gain better cell reception and some sanity and tried connecting to a vendor from Toronto, the connection kept dying after about 30 seconds... I finally got a message through after about 12 attempts.

This frustration caused me to want a cigar, something I don't usually have until after a few drinks - but, I needed something to calm my nerves. I pulled out a cigar but had no light. I asked the closest person to me and they lit me up without hesitation.

I chatted with the fellow conference attendee that sparked my stoagie and found out that he was from New York and that we both had an interest in hockey. I asked him what he was doing at the conference and he explained that he was with Radom House in the digital marketing department. I was excited to hear this, after talking with so many people that didn't get what we were doing, I may have found the one person that may get it. He did. His name was Peter.

I believe Peter was genuinely excited about what we were doing to launch our book and after my cigar he offered to introduce me to a guy at Random House that would also get it and would also be the decision maker for their company, he described him as 'a guy that I sit next to at work'. We walked back to the private area where Random House strikes the big deals with retailers and authors and waited for his friend to arrive. We chatted while waiting and although he was generous with his time, I felt like Ray Kinsella telling Terrence Mann, "you've done enough, thank you for your time" in Field of Dreams (based on one of my favorite author's books). We chatted about hockey a little more until his friend arrived.

His friend was well dressed, Prada glasses and ready for business at the BEA, I was introduced to him and learned his name was Jeff. He opened by saying that he only had a few minutes before he was expected in a meeting but didn't seem rushed in any way and seemed genuinely interested in what I was pitching. Peter helped out with some of the details - I'm a helluva marketer, but a lousy sales guy. My excitement for the project may have resonated with Jeff, he noticed that and asked some very good questions about the project and the marketing - he seemed interested in helping me and even suggested a few companies to talk to.

While we were talking, my cell phone must have went off about 8 times, I tried not to let it show as I hit ignore over and over again - he made time for me, I'll be damned if don't reciprocate.... even at the expense of another meeting... which I was missing. He gave me quite a bit of time, then asked me to follow up with him by sending him a package, he presented me with his card, ...'President'.

I was taken aback, from Peter's buildup I was expecting perhaps a lead buyer, maybe a director but not the President. I'm glad Peter didn't tell me that in advance, I was out of my element and it was awkward enough without knowing that. Peter then took me to meet some contacts at Ingram and after spending an hour with me, we parted. I thanked him for the introductions and expressed how much I appreciated his time. He gave me his card, ...Vice President of Digital and Online Marketing. If I could have made a list of the 2 most perfect people to meet at this show, it would have been Jeff and Peter. Both were gracious with their time considering the fact that I'm a noob to their industry.

My luck didn't end there. Remember the fellow from Toronto that I was trying so hard to get a hold of on the phone? I bumped into him in the hall, amongst 10's of thousands of people - we had an impromptu meeting and he got it too. We were now getting somewhere, people began crawling out of the woodwork, now eager to meet with us and learn more about what we were doing. We finished the day at the expo on a high note.

We had some time to kill before dinner and my wife was out shopping at Macy's. I put on some shorts hand walked down the 15 blocks to the landmark NY store and found my wife, exhausted after an 8 hour day of shopping. I did a little shopping myself... but not much. We walked back to the hotel, checking out some of the shops along the way.

That night, we went out for a quick dinner in the theater district, as we had tickets to "A Behanding in Spokane" a broadway play featuring Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Anthony Mackie and Zoe Kazan. It was amazing, a very well written and executed dark comedy. After the show, we went to Rockefeller Plaza again, this time we went up 67 floors to the Rainbow Room and the Top of the Rock - the view of the city from there is spectacular. We took a handsome cab back to the hotel and followed up by having drinks in the hotel's lounge - $85 for 5 drinks... mind you, they were martinis.

It was only a day, but we packed in a weeks worth of activities. I love NY.

New York City - Day 3 - The BEA

The next day, we attended the Digital portion of the BEA tradeshow and made some really good contacts. We also attended many conferences throughout the day - most were really good.

That evening, we went out for dinner, my turn to buy. Our group went to Kellari in the 'money' part of Midtown, an upscale restaurant across from the New York Bar Association and next to the New York Yacht Club - the food was amazing and we had a great time - and I was shocked at the bill... it was about $500 lighter than I thought it would be. Everyone says that NYC is expensive, they're right... but there are some surprises like cabs, "I LOVE NY" T-shirts and this meal.

So much can be had in a short walk in New York.

New York City - Day 2 - Sightseeing

Monday was a day off from work, so we got up early and had breakfast in the private club for Penthouse guests. On the TV, the Today Show played with Bret Michaels being interviewed.... I pointed down the street and said, "hey, that's happening right now, right there!" So, we walked over to Rockefeller Plaza and saw the Today Show being broadcast and checked out the plaza, inlcuding the skating rink - which is way smaller than it looks on TV.

The Rock is a very neat spot and no trip to New York would be complete without a brief visit there - we came back to it three times. It's where Saturday Night Live is taped as well as other shows for NBC. We then walked north on The Avenue of the Americas to Central Park, stopping in shops and poking our heads into the Ritz Carlton and the Plaza Hotel (which is owned by the Fairmont Group - should have stayed there). In front of the Plaza is Pulitzer Fountain, which we sat down at for a bit - across the street is the 5th avenue Apple Store - the only place I really wanted to visit in New York. Having met with the designer of the store while working on a project for another computer manufacturer, I really wanted to experience it first hand... while waiting for the lights to change, I received a phone call, the first on my New York cell phone (we each got one for local calls) - I was needed back at the Crowne Plaza for a conference call with our investor from Toronto. I never made it into the store... now I have a reason to go back.

After our conference call, Karen and I bought two tickets on the open topped bus and did a tour... we got off in Greenwich Village and strolled around, what a beautiful place - we had lunch at a little Italian restaurant called Trattoria Pesce Pasta on Bleeker Street. The buildings in Greenwich Village are much smaller than the rest of Manhattan, typically only 5 or 8 stories high, the streets are lined with trees, many of them forming a canopy over the narrow streets. We got back on another bus and were shown many of the sites all the way down to the Staten Island Ferry and back up to Times Square. The history in New York is absolutely amazing.

Before leaving, I sent an e-mail to the Late Show with David Letterman and the Daily Show with Jon Stewart... David Letterman's staff got back to us and we were in, free tickets! I checked out the line up for the show, we were going to see Don Rickles and John Prine - you have no idea how big a fan I am of John Prine. We went through the queue and eventually ended up in our seats in the Ed Sullivan Theater - the very same place where Elvis, the Beatles, the Stones and so many others had performed. It was really neat to watch a TV show happen live - I was the biggest JP fan in the audience.

We decided to go for dinner that night and to jump on the bus again, as a hop and go tour, you could get off and rejoin another bus at specific stops along the route. Our hope was to to go to SOHO for dinner - we got on the wrong bus. Three hours later, there we were, in Brooklyn, looking at the city lights of Manhattan... only another hour and a half left on the tour. We got back to Times Square and needed to eat - we found a small restaurant in the theatre district and got quite a free(k) show. Two very stereotypical transvestites had a very animated conversation at the bar beside us, oddly enough it didn't seem out of place.

New York is filled with all sorts of characters.

New York City - Day 1 - The Arrival

I can't believe that I haven't posted anything about New York City yet. Well, if you are a friend of mine on Facebook, you probably know quite a bit about my trip, but for my avid blog readers (hi Mom) I will divulge a bit more of my experience in the big apple.

OK, we landed in Newark, NJ in the late afternoon on Sunday - our limo driver was waiting with our name on a card, just like in the movies only our card also had our logo on it! Danté was our driver's name and a fitting one at that, considering it's use in literature and that we were heading to the BEA (Book Expo America). Danté was a fun guy and was pretty knowledgeable about the city, which was appreciated as we'd never been to New York before.

The one hour drive went by quickly as there was so much to see on the way to our hotel - it took an hour because of all the traffic, despite it being Sunday, the roads were full. We arrived at our hotel through the back entrance (unbeknownst to us there wasn't much of a front entrance). The hotel was the Crowne Plaza, and it is located in the heart of Times Square, on Broadway there is a sliver of an entrance with an awning, it's easy to miss - but behind the tacky tourist shops and billboards is a rather nice hotel. Upon checking in, we were asked if we were afraid of heights, an unusual question by any standard - we said no, at which time, we were placed in a room on the 46th floor, the penthouse. In Calgary, there would only be about 5 buildings taller than this... in New York, well, let's just say we weren't the biggest kids on the block.

Our room looked out over the Hudson River and Hell's Kitchen, where we ate on our first night in New York - the restaurant was called Taboon and was absolutely delicious. We walked to and from the restaurant which was about 10 blocks away - it was a beautiful night. At this dinner were Wayne Logan, Jeff Buick, Celia Rushford, my wife and me.

Being new to New York and walking through the various streets, one of the things that I noticed were the very strong smells, some good, some bad... they changed about every 5-10 feet or so. After being there for a couple of days, I didn't notice it the way I did on the first two nights... but it was very much something that I will associate with the experience. There are no alleys in New York City, at least none that I found - land is too precious a commodity to waste the space - buildings are backed right onto each other and no space is wasted. We saw some 50 floor buildings that were 15-20' wide at the base.

We've all seen New York on TV and in the movies and it's citizens are often portrayed as rude and abrasive - this could not be further from the truth. From the locals that I met, and I met quite a few, they were kind, generous (with their time) and very much down to earth. I felt safe walking about and approaching people for directions. Great people. And, fit too. The average New Yorker walks 5 miles a day I was told, and I believe it - my pedometer was off the charts every day.

I visited numerous places and took in two tours, but most of my trip was business; Going to the BEA to learn more about the future of publishing as well as to secure a partner in distribution of our first title, One Child. For the most part, we're new to the publishing industry, which from some established view points may be considered a minus, but we believe our business model and our approach to releasing books will be revolutionary. We've already got large commitments from retailers based on our unique marketing strategy and feel that our first book will turn some heads. We anticipate a line up to work with us on our second book... which is already underway.

After walking back to the hotel, we decided to wander around Times Square for a bit - very interesting. Madison Avenue is kept busy with these billboards alone, some 12 floors high - and they change out about 3 every night. We visited many of the tacky shops and took some pictures - like everyone else in Times Square, we were tourists.