Comments on: Publishing relationships

By: Catherine Whitney

Catherine Whitney — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:47:27 +0000

Relationships imply an investment, a caring and a building of trust. We all benefit from strong business relationships, which often become personal–usually for the good. Unfortunately, publishing, like most industries, has become increasingly isolationist. Face to face meetings are rare; those old “getting to know you” sessions have been almost abandoned. I have worked with editors I’ve never met or even spoken to on the phone. Everything happens through email. Editing occurs in the Word “changes” program. I agree that relationships are crucial, but we have to make the effort to choose real communication instead of always hitting the send button.

By: Kristin Laughtin

Kristin Laughtin — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 19:13:23 +0000

In almost industry, one of the most frequently repeated tips for job searchers is, “It’s who you know”. i.e. Exploit your personal relationships when they can help you out!

I don’t see why it would be any different for an agent. Those personal connections can help speed and ease communications, get things sorted out, and so on. It’s just easier to communicate and work through problems with people you know a little bit, if only for the fact that you know how they operate. I’d feel fortunate to have an agent with a lot of good, personal relationships within the business!

By: Jaclyn

Jaclyn — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:02:52 +0000

I know what you mean. History matters. I’ve always found that it’s a lot easier to agree to disagree with a friend than with a stranger.