A picture tells a thousand words . . . or sometimes zero.

I have pictures of some of my friends in publishing (agents, editors and a few publishers) in their offices, and there is always one thing in common: They are buried in books. They're everywhere: on the desk, on the floor, blocking the windows, covering the air vents, preventing quick exit in case of fire.

So . . . how appropriate it is that Larry Clopper (chief-in-charge of whatever) at PublishAmerica works out of the sterile environment you see in this picture. Not a book to be found.

Why? Who knows. But we can only assume they are just too darn expensive to print and have lying around.