^ *headdesk* Willie, dude, just try and participate in discussions instead of spamming up the joint, 'kay? As for the subject: Marco, you and I certainly had our differences, but I wish you the best. I thank you for taking the chance on me, even after the falling out we had a couple of years ago. Even though you aren't my editor anymore, I still consider you a friend. Nobody deserves this, let alone at Christmas.
While this is sad, and I do feel bad for anyone who has lost their job in this economy, the posts here talking about Trek books no longer being published a year from now are just silly. Star Trek books have gone through multiple editors, some good, some ... well, we all remember the late 80s and early 90s. They've been with S&S for thirty years now. Even the idea that a year from now, they'll be done is just laughable. Oh, wait, you were joking ... trying to lighten the mood. I see what you did there. Kudos.
Marco's departure is absolutely terrible news! I've been RIFfed several times in my career in IT, and considering that I'm currently on an open-ended contract with a regional bank, the likelihood of another period of non-consensual unemployment in the next 12 months is increasing every day. In short, I feel his pain. On a thoroughly selfish note, I have to say this is a tremendous blow to a line of books I love and admire. In the future, the "Palmieri Era" will be looked back upon as THE Golden Age of Trek Lit. Market forces over which he had no control have contributed to a reduction in sales at the same time Marco was tirelessly working to improve the quality of the line. It's a shame that the commercial success of the line cannot match its artistic success. And now, the collapse of the Wall Street economy is destroying what's left of the New York publishing world. It's enough to make a lifetime reader like myself, fast approaching 50, weep in despair.
I'm so very very sorry to hear about this. Marco and I began working on Trek books together when he first started there several years ago. It was always an extraordinary, collaborative and fun process. Best wishes for quickly finding fulfilling work, Marco. You deserve it. js
Don't even know what to say here. Marco's influence on the book lines over these years has really given them a direction I've enjoyed. He will be greatly missed. I only hope that Margaret and KRAD can keep that direction and momentum. This is a sad day.. and my heart goes out to Marco and his family.. I hope that you find work again quickly.. please let us know where you wind up, as I'm sure it will be top quality literature.
This is sad news. I've never spoken with Marco but he comes across online as thoroughly decent, patient and mature (unlike, say, moi). And this is certainly a lousy time of year to be let go from a job. Not that there's ever a good time, but one of the lasting good memories I have of one small business I worked for in the early nineties was that the owner held off a necessary group of job cuts until late January "to get my folks through the holidays." It's a pity that a business of the size and scope of Simon and Schuster can't do as much for long-time and dedicated folks who excelled at their jobs.
Marco, Definately sorry to hear the news, I think Trek Lit has been much the better for your input these many years. I hope you will still come down to Shore Leave and enjoy the good times to be had. Good luck with your future endeavors, definately pass on to those of us here and at PsiPhi where the future takes you. If we find out your the editor, it may bring additional readers to your new book lines. To paraphrase Scotty from Relics "Here's to ya lad" Mike
I never got the chance to work with Marco, but I saw him at Shore Leave and I know the Trek authors think the world of him. Good luck, Marco!
This is very sad news indeed. I've always considered John (Ordover) and Marco to be the two people most responsible for the tremendous turnaround we've seen in the quality of the Star Trek books line over the last decade or so. I considered it somewhat sad when Ordover left, but at least it was on his own terms. Unbelievably bad news. Marco, if you are reading this, good luck!
Part of me is outraged, but a much bigger part of me -- the one that has worked in the publishing business for 18 years now -- is not even a little surprised. We're in an economic downturn and the bean counters counted their beans and realized they didn't have enough, so they got rid of somebody who was consuming a lot of beans. (Wow, was that a tortured metaphor....) Anyhow, I join everyone in wishing Marco the best. I think the three best novels I've written among the 35+ I've penned were all under Marco's editorial tutelage, and that's not a coincidence. He was always good at pushing me to push myself harder. In the discipline of karate I study, the term shihan, which means "master instructor," is reserved for sixth-degree black belts. The person who runs my dojo is a shihan, and he also pushes me to push myself harder. Dave Mack has called Marco his sensei, which means "teacher," but I think shihan is more apropos. Best of luck, Shihan....
Me six. I've had far less professional interaction with Marco than the others here, but I have a great amount of respect and admiration for everything he's brought to TrekLit, and I always appreciated the fact that he did things like interact here on the TrekBBS and elsewhere when his work didn't require him to do so. I hear what KRAD is saying about beans, but I have to echo Christopher in my befuddlement (even from an impersonal business perspective) at why a celebrated Trek editor would be let go just as the franchise is about to experience a renaissance. On another note, I'm really glad I had the chance to meet Marco in person at Shore Leave last year, and I hope he finds an excuse to show up there in the future. The "To-Do List" for ST writers we all came up with when he left his portfolio behind at the bar is still one of my favourite memories from that con.
This is just so rubbish. It was during Marco's era that I got back into reading Trek Lit, and the scope of it was nothing like I remembered from the 90s. I echo everyone's comments here when I say thanks for all the hard work and good luck for the future.
The good news is, because of the efforts of Marco and his fellow editors, the Trek publishing line is experiencing what I think is a new golden age in quality. And I fully expect that works like the VOY Relaunch and Vanguard will continue with their same level of quality. What has me concerned is the DS9 Relaunch. As I understand it, Marco has always been the guiding hand behind the Relaunch, working closely with each novelist to allow them to bring their own stuff to the table but also to move forward with a larger meta-story Marco created. What happens to the DS9 Relaunch and its meta-story with Marco's absence?
The good news is, because of the efforts of Marco and his fellow editors, the Trek publishing line is experiencing what I think is a new golden age in quality. And I fully expect that works like the VOY Relaunch and Vanguard will continue with their same level of quality. What has me concerned is the DS9 Relaunch. As I understand it, Marco has always been the guiding hand behind the Relaunch, working closely with each novelist to allow them to bring their own stuff to the table but also to move forward with a larger meta-story Marco created. What happens to the DS9 Relaunch and its meta-story with Marco's absence?
I just saw this news on the sidebar. It was shocking to hear, especially since I came back to Trek fiction in recent years to find that it was much better than what was being done on the television--and it was thanks to Marco. (I haven't picked up a Trek book in a while, but that's going to be remedied soon, I promise!) One of the reasons I even signed up on this forum was because I found out that there were writers--real, professional, published writers--who were talking directly to their readers and answering questions about the job; I wanted in. One of the best people to talk to was Marco. I'm sorry I haven't been around lately to do that, talk to him and others about the realities (and the joys) of writing and publishing fiction. You'll be missed, Marco.
Layoffs at any time are awful, but I agree that at this time of year, "when Want is keenly felt", to find oneself unemployed with a family to support is unspeakably terrible, particularly in the current global economy. My heart goes to out to you and yours, Marco, and to your fellow colleagues who had nothing to do with Star Trek books, but nonetheless find themselves without means of support. I can't imagine what the books will be like without Marco. I know they're in more than capable hands with Margaret, but like many others, it was the DS9 relaunch that got me back into the world of printed Star Trek, and I credit Marco's hard work for bringing me back into something that had given me great joy, and now does again. Live long and prosper, Marco, and good luck.