The Desktop Miracles Name

In a past life, way way back in the early 1990s, Barry was hired by the great Thomas Fine at Word Publishing in Dallas, Texas, and was put in charge of creating and managing the Desktop Publishing, Typesetting, and Electronic Prepress department. In hindsight, a good 3 or 4 years before he was ready for it.

We existed almost as a separate entity, located in a separate area on a different floor; a department of free-spirited designers, all in our mid 20s, creative, and very computer savvy.

At a very conservative Christian publishing house.

The department was quickly nicknamed "Desktop" by other employees, (among other names I'm sure!) because no one really understood exactly what "Desktop Electronic Prepress" meant or did. But it sounded cool.

We stood out a bit.

Perhaps it was our mascot, a large pink Energizer bunny, hung in effigy in an authentic full hangman's noose created by one of our proofreaders, who of course was a former Muy Thai kick boxing champion of something. Mr. Bunny resided in the department bullpen, where the radios were usually playing rather loudly, and usually not on gospel.

We brought typesetting, design, and production work in-house, dragging the company's production process kicking and screaming into the computer age with state-of-the-art Macintosh computers and film imagesetting equipment. A move that was not universally popular in-house as we changed the design and production process and replaced longtime outside vendors. Ah, but we were young and stupid.

Roughly one year later, the company was way behind schedule, no comment, and over budget, not a peep, on several big trade titles. Pat Robertson, Billy Graham, Chuck Swindoll, James Dobson etc. Outside vendors couldn't turn ALL the projects in the time we needed, so I volunteered to produce a couple of them, which wasn't politically popular with those who felt we couldn't do the job. The scheduling was so desperate that they couldn't fight it, and I was young and arrogant enough to not be more gracious. We hit our crash schedules. The outside vendors did not.

The last (and biggest) title, a Pat Robertson book, was desperately behind schedule and had to be printed and delivered for a live TV special. 6 figure print run turned in 2 weeks etc. etc. After a Wednesday production meeting, only one week before the project was due at the printer, the project editor (a supporter) came to me and revealed that the finished manuscript still wasn't even in house and the outside vendor wouldn't touch the project with that timeline!! I agreed to help. He received and "polished" the manuscript Friday, we designed and typeset the book that weekend, did two rounds of changes and corrections Monday and Tuesday and got it out to the printer on Tuesday night.

A senior editor, who was not a fan, heard on Wednesday morning that this book was suddenly at the printer and would make its schedule. He then bragged on and on about the great design and turnaround that his outside vendor had obviously provided so the company could meet its obligations etc. etc. He called it a "production miracle," and indicated that we'd be lucky to someday be as good as they were.

At which point,the project editor interrupted and informed him that the outside vendor couldn't meet the project schedule, that they had in fact refused the project, and that the book was actually a "Desktop" miracle done in-house by OUR department. I of course tried hard to suppress a huge smug grin. I failed miserably.

I got a raise and a promotion. The project editor got a bonus and a vacation. The senior editor retired shortly thereafter. And insanely crashed projects became known around the office as "Desktop Miracles." As soon as I heard the phrase, I knew that one day that would be the name of my company.

Twelve years later we're still here swinging, delivering "Desktop Miracles" for our clients.

One of these days I'll write my full bio for this website with that story and more from my days as a corporate anarchist. For instance, when the company president asks you what you think about something or someone, he *really* doesn't want to know what you **really** think.

Or, when the company president walks into your office and ask if you know "Bob Whatshisname**," the brand new CEO of ABC Capital Cities, you should probably turn around from your monitor before flippantly replying "Sure, Bob and I are old golfing buddies." That way you'd know that it wasn't a question along the lines of "are you aware we have a new corporate president at ABC/CC," but rather an INTRODUCTION since "Bob" the new CEO of ABC Capital Cities Publishing Group is standing in front of your desk, in town to check-out our new high tech prepress department.

Luckily, the "Bob" new corporate CEO had a sense of humor, so he smiled and flawlessly bailed me out by asking me if my short game was coming along, much to the complete befuddlement of our company president.

**name changed since I can't remember or find his real name, but yes Iactually did embarrass myself that badly....