Schiffrin Offers Gloomy View on Publishing

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Schiffrin Offers Gloomy View on Publishing Calvin Reid -- 10/16/00 *New book claims publishers used to publish serious books for a mass audience while industry is now dominated by handful of intl. conglomerates interested in commercial product alone* More than 80 people attended a panel discussion September 29 at NYU's Deutsche Haus that was organized to promote The Business of Books: How International Conglomerates Took Over Publishing and Changed the Way We Read, written by André Schiffrin, director of the New Press, and published by Verso. Panel members included William Strachan, director of Columbia University Press; Lewis Lapham, editor of Harper's; Colin Robinson, publisher at Verso; and Schiffrin. Schiffrin's book offers a short history of publishing and outlines the development of international corporate publishing over the last 30 years; and, says Schiffrin, it's not a pretty sight. Historically, he said, publishers used to publish serious books for a mass audience. No more. Now the industry is dominated by a handful of international conglomerates interested in books only as commercial product, he claims, forcing books on unpopular ideas out of the marketplace and leaving only fluff. "In 1950 Harper, that pillar of the establishment, published 60 to 70 serious works of history; now HarperEntertainment is launching 130 books. If you can't make money from an idea, it can't be published," said Schiffrin. Lapham agreed about the corporate dominance of publishing, but disagreed about what that means for the diversity of books available for consumers. "I find a great deal to read of all kinds of quality," he said. And he objected to Schiffrin's notion that there was ever an American mass audience for serious works. "We have a literate society," said Lapham, "not a literary one. The old bestseller lists are as bad as today's." While not quite as dejected as Schiffrin, Strachan, who previously worked for a big publisher, generally agreed with him. Conglomerate economics mean that "every book has to be profitable," said Strachan. "You can't publish certain books to subsidize others. It's tough for small publishers to get in the market and hard to reach consumers." Nothing much seemed to dent this vision of corporate hegemony squeezing out all but the most profitable trash. And while Lapham did say that "small publishers like Verso have taken up the challenge" of publishing serious books and marketing them, the panel seemed mostly unimpressed by the potential of a new generation of small publishers or the rise of trade-savvy university presses (although Strachan was quick to note that "UPs are very vital. We're doing some commercial stuff, but our lists are balanced in an old-fashioned way"). There was no mention of fringe culture publishing, only a brief discussion of print-on-demand technology (none on its potential) and very little on electronic publishing. Even Internet retailing seemed to be viewed with some suspicion, a depressing worldview when technology is changing virtually every aspect of the industry. Of course, maybe Schiffrin is right. A small circle of conglomerates may indeed have achieved total control over what can be published and read. Schiffrin notes in his book that over 93% of U.S. book sales come from 20 companies--that d sn't leave much for the other 40,000 or so companies listed as publishers. But Verso publisher Robinson did note that both his company and Schiffrin's the New Press as well as others have had great success publishing books "that no one else wanted. Big publishing is cautious and that gives us an advantage." And he was encouraged by the enthusiastic turnout for the panel. "It's always a happy occasion when more people show up for one of these things than you expect."

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Schiffrin Offers Gloomy View on Publishing
Calvin Reid -- 10/16/00
New book claims publishers used to publish serious books for a mass audience while industry is now dominated by handful of intl. conglomerates interested in commercial product alone

More than 80 people attended a panel discussion September 29 at NYU's Deutsche Haus that was organized to promote The Business of Books: How International Conglomerates Took Over Publishing and Changed the Way We Read, written by André Schiffrin, director of the New Press, and published by Verso. Panel members included William Strachan, director of Columbia University Press; Lewis Lapham, editor of Harper's; Colin Robinson, publisher at Verso; and Schiffrin.

Schiffrin's book offers a short history of publishing and outlines the development of international corporate publishing over the last 30 years; and, says Schiffrin, it's not a pretty sight. Historically, he said, publishers used to publish serious books for a mass audience. No more. Now the industry is dominated by a handful of international conglomerates interested in books only as commercial product, he claims, forcing books on unpopular ideas out of the marketplace and leaving only fluff. "In 1950 Harper, that pillar of the establishment, published 60 to 70 serious works of history; now HarperEntertainment is launching 130 books. If you can't make money from an idea, it can't be published," said Schiffrin.

Lapham agreed about the corporate dominance of publishing, but disagreed about what that means for the diversity of books available for consumers. "I find a great deal to read of all kinds of quality," he said. And he objected to Schiffrin's notion that there was ever an American mass audience for serious works. "We have a literate society," said Lapham, "not a literary one. The old bestseller lists are as bad as today's."

While not quite as dejected as Schiffrin, Strachan, who previously worked for a big publisher, generally agreed with him. Conglomerate economics mean that "every book has to be profitable," said Strachan. "You can't publish certain books to subsidize others. It's tough for small publishers to get in the market and hard to reach consumers."

Nothing much seemed to dent this vision of corporate hegemony squeezing out all but the most profitable trash. And while Lapham did say that "small publishers like Verso have taken up the challenge" of publishing serious books and marketing them, the panel seemed mostly unimpressed by the potential of a new generation of small publishers or the rise of trade-savvy university presses (although Strachan was quick to note that "UPs are very vital. We're doing some commercial stuff, but our lists are balanced in an old-fashioned way").

There was no mention of fringe culture publishing, only a brief discussion of print-on-demand technology (none on its potential) and very little on electronic publishing. Even Internet retailing seemed to be viewed with some suspicion, a depressing worldview when technology is changing virtually every aspect of the industry. Of course, maybe Schiffrin is right. A small circle of conglomerates may indeed have achieved total control over what can be published and read. Schiffrin notes in his book that over 93% of U.S. book sales come from 20 companies--that d sn't leave much for the other 40,000 or so companies listed as publishers.

But Verso publisher Robinson did note that both his company and Schiffrin's the New Press as well as others have had great success publishing books "that no one else wanted. Big publishing is cautious and that gives us an advantage." And he was encouraged by the enthusiastic turnout for the panel. "It's always a happy occasion when more people show up for one of these things than you expect."