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Jane Friedman
CEO, HarperCollinsExecutive summary: Be open to ideas that come over the transom. Really, I have to admit: I'm an e-mail addict. It keeps me connected to work even when I'm not at the office. I do about an hour of e-mail in the morning after I've skimmed the newspapers. I usually have to go out for lunch, but I hate it. I'd rather have lunch at my desk and read though e-mails between meetings. My day usually ends in the office at about six o'clock, but then I go to two or three parties a night. Authors, who are the most important people in our company, really appreciate it when the CEO turns up at their event. In between, I check e-mail on my BlackBerry. I can write answers, but I still don't know how to compose e-mails on it. I don't love my BlackBerry, but it keeps me in touch with things. Then, no matter when I get home at night -- and it's usually late -- I do at least an hour or two of e-mail. It's usually when I'm watching "Law & Order" reruns. I have this thing about reading all my e-mails. Most people just go delete, delete, delete, but I don't. Other than obvious spam, I read everything that comes in, even unsolicited proposals. I don't read the whole thing, but I'll read the cover letters, and there are moments I feel that somebody has something. I got an e-mail from a 12-year-old Chinese girl that sounded so wonderful to me that I sent it over to the children's division, and they're going to be publishing her book. It's called "Snowbird." -- Interviewed by Devin Leonard |
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