A Work In Progress

#All About Me

My full name is Deborah Jennifer Stier. I go by Debbie. This is my personal blog where I share thoughts and opinions that are solely my own. 

I’m obsessed with the SATs.  You can read about my Perfect Score Project HERE.

I’ve been lucky enough to earn a living in book publishing for over two decades.

• 5 Publishing Houses + Many Bestsellers + Various Roles = My Career 
• Click HERE to see some of the authors I’ve acquired.
• Click HERE to see a more comprehensive list of books I’ve worked on.

I am currently the SVP, Director of Digital Marketing and Editor-at-Large for HarperCollins. Most of my years in publishing were spent in PR.  I founded the HarperCollins Speakers Bureau.  

I was the 2nd hire at an experimental imprint called The HarperStudio where I held the title of Associate Publisher.  HarperStudio closed in April 2010 after two years. 

This was HarperStudio’s Mission Statement:

HarperStudio is committed to partnering with authors to publish books in a way that is effective, creative, and sustainable. We believe books are a vital part of our culture. We believe traditional publishing models are broken and are experimenting with new ones. We believe in embracing technology. We believe the future is now.

Fast Company named HarperStudio the 9^th Most Innovative Media Company in 2009.  Others on the list included the Huffington Post, NPR, and Scribd.  I’m awed to be listed in such great company.

We had a group blog called the 26^thStory. Fimoculous named it the #6 best blog for 2009 (also on that list are The Rumpus, Shit My Dad Says, Nieman Journalism Lab, Anil Dash, etc.).  Honored to be included on that list too.

I’m proud to say that I’ve been called Publishing’s Optimist Prime. I believe optimism is a God-given gift.  I am eternally grateful to have been born optimistic.

Mashable listed me as one of the 15 Twitter Users Changing the Face of Publishing.  I don’t know about that…..but I’m delighted to be included in such venerable company.

Listed below are a few of the places I’ve been covered in the media.  Or, you can clickHERE to see the full picture.

• MediaBistro: On the Stigma of Self-Publishing
• Business Insider: A Tale of Two Cities
• Gotham Gal: Re-Set
• New York Observer: HarperCollins Wants to Be Your Friend
• Austin Chronicle: A Work in Progress
• New York Magazine: Have We Reached the End of  Book Publishing As We Know It?

SPEAKING:

I frequently give talks on topics pertaining to social media, technology and book publishing.   I’ve spoken at venues such as SXSW, Book Expo America (BEA), Columbia University, New York University, #140 Conf., Digital Book World, Indie Bookstores, Publishing Point, Inman News, Women’s MBA Groups, to name a few.

Click HERE to view a few of my talks.

Some Things You Might Not Know About Me:

• I always say YES (without thinking) when someone asks me to do something.  I believe that is my secret to being lucky.

• I love art and have always been drawn to artists.  I use the term artist loosely here, meaning to include writers, musicians, fine artists, and really anyone with extreme passion, vision and execution.

• When I love a book……I LOVE a book, and have been known to purchase dozens(sometimes hundreds) of copies.

• I read “E” “P” and “A” (A=Audio).  I value all three formats.

• I believe the public school system in our country is seriously broken – possibly beyond repair.

• I ran the NYC marathon when I was 40.  I hated every minute of it.

• I have been trying to lose 10 lbs for 10 years.

• My 6 Word Memoir: Radical Book Loving Mom Discovered Technology. 

• Favorite Book of All Time: The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien 

I <3 Tumblr.   Click HERE to see why.  Click HERE to see my life on Tumblr.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” 

  — Apple Commercial, 1997 

By way of background, here’s my family.  This is Aunt Carol showing us what “70” looks like. That’s my Grandma when she was 90 sitting back there.

  

Here’s a picture of me when I was about 3 or 4, with my cousin Rachel.

This took me forever to update.  Don’t know why I found getting around to it so worthy of procrastination.