Taking Shape

I went out for a romp in the snow with my daughter yesterday. We live in California, and snow is most often seen, not felt. I have a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains, and the view is the part I like. Every once in awhile one of my children talks me into the foolishness of going to play in the snow. Yesterday was one of those days.

Marissa was bound and determined to make a snow man. The snow left on the ground was that slightly wet icy mush that makes good snow cones, but bad snowmen. We saw a giant lump of snow that she wanted to shape into the base of her snow man. As we started to smooth it down, the big lump of snow croaked, "I want to be a frog." So given the shape of the snow lump ... We went to work.

DPP has been an endeavor much like our snow man who turned out to be a frog... A Really Great Frog!

Genene Miller Cote - our CEO - set out to find a way to publish the writings of her husband, David. She found out that it just made more sense to self-publish or perhaps to work with a small press. Then, she found out that it was not much harder to start a publishing company than it was to self-publish one book. Genene loves books and found this to be an inspiring idea. At further consideration, Genene thought about her experiences publishing digitally at the outset of CDROM technology about fifteen years ago. And Genene's big lump of ideas croaked, "I want to be an ePublisher." So, given the shape of the idea lump ... She went to work.

Since then, the lump of ideas has given shape to a publisher, a press, and an eBookstore ... The DPPstore.

In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.

- Michelangelo

So, I see frogs in snow. Genene saw eBooks. Her vision has produced a thing of beauty.

We are busier than ever at DPP. We are adding eBooks to the DPPstore daily! The community of independents is really coming together to shape the DPPstore into our own piece of artistry. The response from the small presses has been phenomenal. Plus, we have had the best possible affirmations that we are going in the right direction. Many of the people who we most respect in the world of self-publishing have agreed to sell their books as eBooks in the DPPstore. Ready for some shameless name-dropping: Dan Poynter, Marilyn Ross, and Judith Briles - to name a few! Brad Grochowski of AuthorsBookshop.com, a online retailer of independent's paper books, is working with Genene to find ways that we can combine our efforts. We will also be selling Brad's book in eBook form!

We'll continue to, "hew away," as DPP takes shape.