the sky is not falling. it just lowered itself a foot, is all.

[lagilman]

If you are at all involved in the publishing world, or just curious about it, read this: http://theswivet.blogspot.com/2008/12/major-restructuring-at-random-house-inc.html


and make sure to read the first comment.

*goes off, still laughing*

ETA: apparently, some people thought I was laughing at the news of layoffs. Very much not - I've been there and it's hellish. But this is What Happens and it's not The End of Publishing any more than it's been every othere time panic has set in. And the comment was funny and true...

Comments

[kradical.livejournal.com]

That first comment made me snarf my coffee.....

[ex-fashioni.livejournal.com]

Admittedly, the comment was hilarious and I wish I could be calm about this, but unfortunately, I'm just bracing myself for another rough year.

[lagilman]

oh yeah. gonna be tough, no ways around it. all we can do is clutch at each other and laugh....

[ex-fashioni.livejournal.com]

With that slight, high-pitched edge of hysteria to it. *g*

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

"Because it's fun."

[jimhines.livejournal.com]

Publishing news has made me nervous lately, but that first comment is wonderful!

[lagringa.livejournal.com]

I lost my job at Random House during the last restructuring. I know too well how horrible it feels to lose your job for reasons that don't seem to have anything to do with your performance. I became an agent simply because it became impossible to find a job in publisher again. (Having the word "Director" in your title is the kiss of death. I wish I had a dollar for every time I was told I was overqualified for a publicity or marketing job. I have been laid off by Random House three times, by the way. Fun!)

But taking a step backward, I think that most of the changes at Random House make sense in terms of the books each imprint publishes. They are changes that probably should have happened right at the beginning. Instead they have spent the last six years carving away pieces and reassembling them to fit some sort of Frankensteinian corporate ideal. And good employees continue to lose their jobs.

The S&S news was even more shocking because I think many folks didn't see that one coming.

Overall, however, I do think that publishing will survive. It'll be leaner and meaner, but it'll still be there after all the dust settles.

Doesn't make it hurt any less, though. A lot of my friends and former colleagues lost their jobs today.

[lagilman]

yeah, been there done that - 'executive editor' means 'limited re-employment possibilities.' But two decades in the business and a historical perspective lets me see that it's shit falling, not the sky. Even if some days I feel decidedly squashed.

[lagringa.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't think you were laughing at the layoffs! Sorry if I gave you that impression.

No, you have to keep a sense of humor about all this. I mean, like I said, I've been laid off by the same company three times. I keep going back for more, so I must be a masochist. :-)

Sorry for the confusion! Just sad for a lot of my friends today. And, ya know, emailing them great Top Ramen recipes.

[lagilman]

No worries -- I just realized it could be misconstrued.

And ugh, 10-for-$5 Ramen. My taste buds still haven't forgiven me for that... (everyone has their 'can't take it any more' breaking point. For me, it was pre-packaged ramen noodles))

[burger-eater.livejournal.com]

The article about it at the NYTimes has a more pathetic string of comments. Apparently, this is all the fault of TV, text-messaging, not marketing books like movies, marketing books like movies, celebrity books that get huge advances, and not giving new writers a chance.

As one of those nonexistent new writers, I have a couple books in the pipeline at Del Rey. I'm following the news in a half-assed way and trying to figure out the plot to book three.

I feel bad for all those folks who lose their jobs, though.

[lagilman]

I feel bad for all those folks who lose their jobs, though.

Oh it Hoovers, totally. Especially when you remember that 95% of people in publishing are there because they love and believe in the industry, not because it's a high-paying job or somesuch. Being told that your place in the beloved-beast is being eliminated... hell, I was co-conspirator in my leaving, having decided to make the freelancer leap, and it still stung.

The worst thing that ever happened to publishing, IMNSHO, wasn't video games or the internet. It was the decision by non-media corporations to wring "normal" profit margins from a historically low-margin business.

[burger-eater.livejournal.com]

I've certainly worked places where there was a threat of layoffs, (hell, one job I had worked one week--desperate for money--and all the paychecks that Friday bounced. I wasn't one of those employees because I hadn't been there long enough for a check, but confidence, I had none) but none of those were for jobs I liked. They were all answering phones, filing, flushing toilets, folding towels, all that crap.

I find it hard to imagine losing a job you love.

And I remember back when people started talking about "normal" profit margins. People were so smug about it, as though it was just a matter of saying "Come on, people!" at the office every day.

[wyldemusick.livejournal.com]

The 10% annual growth principle...with, apparently, the belief that there couldn't possibly be a cap.

It's margin of error thinking where the margin's all filled in because of all the bloody errors.

[lagringa.livejournal.com]

Amen to that.