6 is now 4: Pyn and publishing

[Don Higgins]

Doesn't it seem that P went to Holt to continue his relationship with Ray Roberts, whom he started working with at Little Brown. 



________________________________
From: Markekohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>
To: Matthew Cissell <macissell at yahoo.es> 
Cc: "pynchon-l at waste.org" <pynchon-l at waste.org> 
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2013 6:31 PM
Subject: Re: 6 is now 4: Pyn and publishing


It seems clear to me that Ms. Jackson had autonomy about key things high in her negotiating. 


Sent from my iPad

On Apr 12, 2013, at 6:23 PM, Matthew Cissell <macissell at yahoo.es> wrote:

> Looking at this from a merely economic view leaves unveiled that which deserves closer study. As Mark points out the relations between TRP and other agents in the field of literary production prove to be important (we should at the very least consider the discontent with JP Lippincott that TP express in his letters in the HRC Austin collection), However, we shouldn't forget that the decision also involves a question of prestige - with what publishing house/ firm would TP want to be associated? We also don't know to what degree TP's desire to play an important role in the books editing/ design may have played a role in his decision - did  Penguin offer more artistic autonomy regarding product design? 
> 
> I do not wish to imply that TP is indifferent to his earnings, I just think that saying its all about the money leaves a lot unsaid.
> 
> ciao
> mc otis
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Markekohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>
> To: "bandwraith at aol.com" <bandwraith at aol.com> 
> Cc: "pynchon-l at waste.org" <pynchon-l at waste.org> 
> Sent: Friday, April 12, 2013 4:47 AM
> Subject: Re: 6 is now 4: The Penguin in a Skirt and Moustache
> 
> 
> 
> Mostly agents and editor driven...Corliss Smith and Faith Sale...ole pal Kirkpatrick's wife...
> move to new agent, Ms Jackson.....he and head of Holt, Michael Nauman, had a working
> relationship, I've heard....industry rumors since M & D, at least, is that he has no house editor 
> as he did w Smith and Sale and Melanie must be his editor....seems Penguin has given her/him
> the best deals....another plugged-in editor, when i told him of my love of AtD, within a few months
> of publication, said, it will never meet its rumored advance (payment) in sales.....which were
> lighter than huge distribution hoped for.........
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
> On Apr 11, 2013, at 10:00 PM, bandwraith at aol.com wrote:
> 
> 
> In Order, Pynchon's publishers have been:
>>  
>> V.-  J.B. Lippincott
>>  
>> The Crying of Lot 49-  J.B. Lippincott
>>  
>> Gravity's Rainbow-  Viking
>>  
>> Slow Learner-  Little, Brown
>>  
>> Vineland-  Little, Brown
>>  
>> Mason & Dixon- Holt
>>  
>> Against theh Day- Penguin
>>  
>> Inherent Vice- Penguin
>>  
>> The Bleeding Edge- Penguin
>>  
>> It would seem, from the distant outside, that Pynchon's choice of publisher is driven mainly by economic concerns. Does anyone else have some more insider information about this?
>>  
>>  
>>  
>> Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:20:50 +0100 (BST) 
>> From: Matthew Cissell <macissell@[omitted]> 
>> Subject: Re: 6 is now 4: The Penguin in a Skirt and Moustache 
>> To: Markekohut <markekohut@[omitted]>, 
>> 
>> In Al Siverman's "The Time of Their Lives" he quotes Katherine McNamara abo=
> ut a lunch her husband, Lee Goerner of Atheneum, had with Pynchon; at the e=
> nd of the lunch Pynchon said "Only publish good books". This and a number o=
> f other things go to show how TRP is not just a writer but someone invloved= in the the republic of letters and, more specifically, that branch of prod=
> uction called publishing.=0A=0AThe fact that Penguin is being absorbed by B=
> ertelsmann (with that dark mid-20thc. past) can't have escaped the notice o=
> f the author that wrote that Intro for Orwell's 1984 in 2003.=0A=0AAnybody =
> willing to entertain the idea that the publishing world somehow gets worked= in there?
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