In its January 4th issue, The New York Times published an article heralding a new era of austerity in publishing. The first paragraph left us editors laughing in a kind of "what are they talking about" and "where have I been?" way. Here it is:
"For decades the New York publishing world promised a romantic life of
fancy lunches, sparkling parties, sophisticated banter and trips to spots like the Caribbean to pitch books to sales representatives. If
the salaries were not exactly Wall Street caliber, well, they came with
a milieu that mixed cultural swagger with pure Manhattan high life."
Let me deconstruct a bit --
"Fancy lunches" are more likely a salad or sandwich eaten at our desk, with a quick surf of the web to reassure us there's still a world out there. We do like to take an author to lunch, though, but since our authors are spread across the US and the world, it's quite difficult to arrange.
"Sparkling parties," well, maybe the Christmas party?
"Sophisticated banter" is good. I don't know about sophisticated, but we enjoy bantering. Except it's more likely to be a serious discussions about scholars' research, state of the field, and current affairs. Still, a bit of humor is always welcome.
"Trips to spots like the Caribbean," oh, would that be true! Not for us, editors, though! (see "fancy lunches") But we do enjoy attending conferences and the SPSA in New Orleans was mighty fine.
Well, more seriously, there has been news of lay offs and restructuring in many houses following the economic crisis. To be fair, the article refers more to the big trade houses, the ones that can give million dollar advances. The good news is that we, at Continuum that is, are doing business as usual.
So I'll keep enjoying my sandwich at my desk, looking forward to meet with authors. Bottom line is simple: I love my job, fancy parties or not!
For a full text of the article, please click here.
Puttin' Off the Ritz: The New Austerity in Publishing, by Motoko Rich, The New York Times, January 4, 2009.
