a side comment on the biz

[lagilman]

I really, really like this guy:

(commenting on how many of the confirmed layoffs @HarperCollins had come from editorial) "It seems that the people responsible for 'sales' of our books should be just as accountable as the people who purchase them," he observed. "After all, if you can't find a book in a bookstore to buy, whose fault is that? The author, the publisher, or the sales rep who couldn't get it merchandised and stocked correctly?" - Stephen Viscusi, himself an HC author, of, ironically, Bulletproof Your Job

(via GalleyCat)


Yeah, I know salespeople get laid off too, don't throw things at me. But having been through a few purges in my time, and seen more at a remove, I have to say that the attitude of Corporate during layoffs always seems to be "well, we don't need so many editors, the survivors can just do more work*" but the sales force is like the mafia -- protected.



*I have never, ever, ever met an editor who was not already overloaded with projects. Ever.

Comments

[antonstrout.livejournal.com]

some of us sales people don't feel that bulletproof... I'm never sure during a crunch where the cuts should come. They all seem to fall into weird circular logic things.. you can't cut sales, cuz then how would books get into the stores but if you cut editors then how will we have the books to sell, etc etc.

I believe the word I am looking for is BLARG!

[lagilman]

Ah, anyone who feels bulletproof has never actually seen what a bullet can do. But history does support the "editors are just buying managers" idea that the Corporate Suits have held near-and-dear.... (also: you-as-writer have a skewed view of things. I once had a sales rep tell me quite seriously that "anyone could do your job. Ours are specialized." I did not, slap him, no. Was tempted, though.)


(and admit it, the thought of NL as a mafia boss made you grin, just for a minute...)

[antonstrout.livejournal.com]

I have no comment. I like my shoes made of leather, thanks...

[lagilman]

Except I'm not just talking about the on-the-road crew who are always vulnerable but the in-house people as well (sorry, Anton) who are on straight salary.

The original point that I was agreeing with, was that there needs to be equal accountability across the board -- and IMO starting not with the "if we delete three, one can do the job" workers in cubes, but the folk in the corner offices.

(and I say that as someone who had a semi-corner office)

[lagilman]

*snicker*

[jperceval.livejournal.com]

I'm with you. The sales staff in my company get treated like they hung the moon -- "conferences" in exotic locales, trips to the company's timeshare in the Caribbean, gorgeous expense accounts...you name it, they get it. They get laid off too, but not as often and not as many. I don't know what my company will do when they're nothing but salespeople with no product to sell b/c the rest of us who MAKE the product have been let go...

[onyxhawke.livejournal.com]

Sadly the flip side of this is the truism "If you want something done, give it to the busy person." It appears to be pervasive across industries. And the people who think this is always the best choice (when the busy person isn't them) also don't grok the concept of "too busy to produce quality".

[handlebar605.livejournal.com]

Grumman Aerospace once made the mistake of laying off some recent hires to cut costs.

Then they found out that all the recent hires were welders and without them, they couldn't make any airplanes.

They re-hired a number of them.

[stephen-viscusi.livejournal.com]

I'm Stephen Viscusi, author of BULLETPROOF YOUR JOB (HarperCollins). It is amazing to me that the salespeople, otherwise known as "publishers," seem to survive while the editorial people get axed. Although, as an Italian-American, I can think of references besides "Mafia" to descibe them!

In the case of my own publisher, it would be interesting to me to get to the bottom of who was responsible for allegedly paying out over $10 million to Judith Regan. How many jobs is that worth? Who was responsible for not supervising her more closely? If that one person was let go, so many others would have been able to save their jobs.

Visit my websites at www.bulletproofyourresume.com and www.bulletproofyourjob.com! Friend me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter (@workplaceguru).