Podcast
Rumpus Events
Rumpus Book ClubWhere Have You Gone—The Long Goodbye
“As the megapublishers tightened their grip in the 1980s, I was dismayed to see a number of once good firms of markedly different publishing style or literary taste make foolish, overpriced mistakes; they seemed to be losing their bearings as they paid ever more money for ever more questionable properties, entrusting the sewing up of these sow’s ears to not very experienced practitioners.”
“Publishers used to presume that money earned on successful titles would help pay the bills incurred in producing and marketing books that sold less well but that they supported for reasons of cultural pride, literary respect, political conviction, competitive zeal or quirky enthusiasm.”
“Along with old-time skills, the trade publishers risked losing their nerve and cultural daring. This is a well-known sad story. The money men trusted editors less and marketing people more; literary experiment was frowned on, though gambling on popular authors was acceptable–and they all bid to publish the same ones.”
Elisabeth Sifton, senior VP at Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, on the publishing business, a sad, sad essay.
Leave a Reply