The Publishing World Post #6: "Home, Sweet Home"

I feel like the publishing world has gotten a lot homier lately. Or maybe it’s just the news. Back in August, Publisher’s Weekly ran an article assuring its readers that “all [Twin Cities publishing] personnel [were] safe following [the] rush-hour collapse of a major bridge connecting downtown Minneapolis with St. Paul.” At the time, I was quite impressed that someone on the PW staff had actually taken the time to check in with all of the houses there. Many people wouldn’t expect that the cities host a respectable percentage of the nation’s publishers, nor that Minneapolis—or “The Little Apple”, as I learned from a Minnesota Daily article—“has a thriving music, arts and theater scene” and a “strong presence of a literary community.” The PW staff seemed to know otherwise, and the August 2, 2007 issue of PW Daily posted the reassuring article as their first story. Today, the first article in the PW Daily delivered similar good news regarding the safety of booksellers and publishers in Southern California: Harcourt’s offices are open (though sparsely populated), B&N closed a few stores out of safety concerns, and the indie bookstores seem to be out of the path if imminent danger. In fact, no one seemed concerned about much besides loss of profit, a blessing compared to the irreparable damage that occurs when books and fire try to make friends. But in all serious, it’s refreshing to see that the publishing industry (or at least one of the publications that seems to be an industry standard) cares about more than profits and sales and deals. The people who insure that profits, sales, and deals are made matter enough that their safety is the cause for a news article. On the other coast and the other side of the spectrum, a truly family affair made headlines in today’s Times. John Podhoretz is taking over as editor of Commentary Magazine, moving into a role that his father held until retirement in 1995. His father didn’t give him the job, but on the other hand, the Times reports that “there was no search process” for other applicants; the now former editor, Neal Kozodoy, called Podhoretz the Younger, offered the job, sealed the deal, and left office traditions like interview and applications alone. Podhoretz is a good candidate, but there must have been other candidates he could have competed with. If the publishing world is anything like my job, most publishers like to promote from within when possible, keeping inside knowledge inside the company and giving credit to those who have been most successful and motivated in their previous positions. It sounds very fluffy on paper, but it’s a practical system. Podhoretz might have been close to the job when his father was editor, but he moved on to many different places before making his way back to Commentary. I’m willing to bet that someone in the company was fully prepared to fill the role. If not, someone must have been prepared enough to put up a good fight in an interview. In the end, fingers can point all they want, but Podhoretz is now editor and will probably do a spectacular job, especially when he can go to his father for words of wisdom and accountability in regards to the magazine’s goals and vision. The publishing industry certainly is a close-knit place. Publishers like to work with established authors whom they know well. Publishers like to promote people already imbedded in the system—if not specifically their system. And at the end of the day a lot of industry contacts are strong enough to necessitate periodicals making big news of colleagues’ safety and well-being. So what if a (now middle-aged) boy gets his dad’s job? When going to work offers even a few comforts of home, it’s a rather nice place to be.