Rick Simonson

Around a Table, About Online
July 9, 2008

Jane Friedman's quickened departure from HarperCollins last month almost overshadowed some of her announced projects, including the planned move for Harper to go to an electronic catalog next year. The Saturday of BEA - her last real public day on the job - had a lively session of booksellers and Harper people tackling the subject, herself presiding.

It had almost been quiet on that front since - some of us half-hoping the subject would go away (since Jane, alas, did), others (or other parts of us) having too much going on to give it that much thought.

Last week brought signs that Harper is still at it - an email from Carl Lennetz and Josh Marlow recapping some of what had happened in LA, sketching out a proposed time scenario (including a Beta-testing phase, for which they welcome volunteers; carl.lennertz@harpercollins.com - will get one started). It also mentioned the in-house role Kathy Smith (kathy.smith@harpercollins) is also playing.

I don't know where all she's going or when, but Kathy Smith paid Seattle-area booksellers (brick-and-mortar and the big online kind) a visit last week, accompanied variously by regional sales director Kristin Bowers and esteemed Seattle-based rep Seira Wilson.

As the email from Carl/Josh noted, Kathy Smith (her title is senior vice president, sales administration) is a real, down-to-earth person - something I have to admit I wasn't totally expecting (I'll pass on enumerating what I might have anticipated). She has bookselling experience, she's been a rep. I like it when New York people have some seasoning this way.

The purpose of these meetings, besides getting various players (bookseller, rep, New York) around the same table is to go over ways catalogs are really used. I don't think that had been very clearly elaborated upon at the BEA session - or if it was, the ways it's been done seemed to be slighted for the Brave New World aspect of we'll all have to adjust, change is good, etc, etc.

In our meeting, I gave an admittedly, almost sensory/perception mode of how I look at a catalog, the many ways - from riffling through to see what's in there, what familiar names, what new ones, the practice of perusing quickly or more studiously, and where all that gets done. If stages of grief can be enumerated in variety and depth, I'd say one could also compile a similar list for how one familiarizes oneself with a publisher's new season of books. The excited phase, the disappointment phase, the nuts and bolts phase, the plodding through phase, the how-did-I-miss-this phase ... it can be applied to titles, it can be applied to imprints, it can be applied to the list as a whole and, in time, considered in relation to all the lists - what is there this season?

I must have babbled on so effusively about this - not saying I couldn't or wouldn't go at it some other way, but to say so much of this way could be lost, the eye to eye contact with a rep (if one of us is using a computer, that is borderline, but both of us?), that I think it was heard as alarmist resistance.

Assurance was given that there would and could always be printed matter to work from if it is wanted. I don't know that I was aiming for that, but it was nice to hear. I wasn't hearing Jane Friedman offer it in LA. 

It wasn't totally worked out how this could be accomplished -  Kathy motioned rep Seira's way - your reps can help you with this. Left to be determined is who and how the printed versions would come from: most ideal, given likely technical challenges on the reps' ends, would be for them to ask for x number of printed versions. That, rather than the reps trying to print out the contents on their own little laser printers.

Most of the conversation balanced on little nitty-gritty ways of how we use catalogs, how we use our data to determine buying decisions. Talk of having sales history data automatically loaded in - thus presumably sparing the look-up task - was had, Elliott Bay colleague Holly Myers and I talking of the nuance involved - seeing sales patterns (different months), the remembered history that that looking up can yield (author appearances, etc.).

The conversation ended soon enough - they had to be elsewhere and a buying appointment was at hand - but it was all good and in the to be continued vein.

The best comment - most telling - I've heard anyone say to this - was in LA. in a car en route to a dinner that Saturday evening. Two of us who had attended the Harper meeting were regaling a third with what the discussion had been, and the amen-testifying part many Harper people had played there, the rush to embrace, and all. This third person, who has a knack for the succinct, and right purpose of everything, said, "It should be a tool, not the rule.' Thank you, yes ... that is so.

Posted by Rick Simonson on July 9, 2008 | Comments (0)