The Moving Editorial Target

In my years in publishing, there is always a lot of "transitions." That's a code word for when people within the publishing house--whether their decision or someone else's decision--make a move to a different publisher. It happens a lot and my rolodex is in a constant state of revision to try and keep up with the various changes.

The July 7th issue of Publishers Weekly which arrived in my mailbox yesterday and I was amazed to see this visual representation of some of the "corporate shuffle" which has taken place in 2008. If you glance at this graphic, you will see that they are major shifts in the leadership of name-brand publishing houses.

Some people wonder why they need a literary agent. One of the reasons is to make certain your material gets to the right person within the right publishing house. Each book internally needs a champion who will stand up for the author and support the importance of their work--throughout the publishing process and including after the book is published. It's a little hard some times to hit the moving editorial target.