Penguin Random House Buys Simon and Schuster
- Thread starter Smiley
- Start date
First, the sale has to close. That could take a year. Then, the merger has to become effective. Then, the corporate overlords have to issue their edicts, and the books aligning to the new policy have to be written, edited, and published.
We probably won’t see changes before 2023 or 2024. Assuming their are changes for us to see. Of course, by then, the current licensing agreement might run out, and Titan or Tor could be the official publisher.
IIRC, the article says that S&S would remain independent editorially.
That’s what the new corporate overlords ALWAYS say at the beginning of an acquisition. Once they’ve had a chance to really go over the books of the acquired entity, they announce the first round of layoffs.
In other words, they say they won’t change a thing as long as regulators are paying attention. The moment the acquisition closes, that all gets forgotten.
Things will stay exactly the same until the day they change.
First, the sale has to close. That could take a year. Then, the merger has to become effective. Then, the corporate overlords have to issue their edicts, and the books aligning to the new policy have to be written, edited, and published.
We probably won’t see changes before 2023 or 2024. Assuming their are changes for us to see. Of course, by then, the current licensing agreement might run out, and Titan or Tor could be the official publisher.
Well, just to be on the safe side, maybe they'll just cancel all releases until 2023 or 2024.
Hush your mouth!
And the check is in your mouth.From the Times piece:
"In an interview on Wednesday, Mr. Karp said that Simon & Schuster would maintain its editorial independence and would continue to publish the same volume of books under its new ownership.
“This is a company that respects the creative autonomy of publishers,” he said. “We’ll all still be competing against each other. Publishing is a business driven by individual passions for books and for writers.”
Relax. Breathe regular.
For quoting a newspaper article? If it was that simple, I could sleep in most days.
PRH/S&S are not going to willingly lose out on income by cancelling new releases of their media tie-in novels. They paid good money for those licenses, and those licenses have expiration dates, so they need to publish as many books as they can during the licensing period in order to maximize the value of that license during its term of validity.
Making of Star Trek might get re-released after all...tell Feek
This just gave me a thought. Now that S&S isn't owned by CBS anymore, is that going to have any effect on their chances of keeping or losing the license when it runs out again?
I know they still had to bid and negotiate like anyone else, but I had assumed being owned by CBS at least gave them a bit of an advantage, which they won't have now.
I doubt it. Lots of other companies not owned by CBS have Trek licenses -- IDW, Modiphius, Cryptic Studios, Hallmark, Eaglemoss, etc.
Sure, theoretically CBS could sell the license to a different publisher if they made a better offer, but that was always true. And S&S has 40 years of experience doing reliable, regular work on the Trek license, and their people have a long-established relationship with the Trek people. I'd say those are advantages too.
Hey all,
I wanted to post this here, because I feel this is a byproduct of the beginnings of this merger. Random House is deciding to follow in the footsteps of Gallery books probably with the intent, that if the format changes and the prices change haven’t had a negative impact on their sales.
Do I want authors fairly compensated? Sure.
But, we are in the middle of a pandemic, and an uncertain future. The reliance on digital media has given rise to, let’s play Russian Roulette and increase prices whether fairly or unfairly, and in the long run could shrink digital demand, and digital sales and consumption.
I just wish both authors and fans, and consumers were treated fairly and with respect, and have the scales of market prices take into account both sides with equality, and fairness.
Polygon announces new Star Wars Legends Trade Paperback re-releases for the Star Wars Legends line....
Be prepared to pay MORE for Trades and ebooks:
https://www.polygon.com/star-wars/2...JIXzYLnQ346-33WBcVXRVhy727IEmPIl7lko85SsXVt9Q
Tom Jung made a better cover for Heir to the Empire in 1991. This is now the FOURTH cover of the same novel, plus what happened to the TERRIBLY SPECTACULAR UGLY Thrawn inspired covers just done in 2016?
Be prepared to pay MORE for the Trade Paperbacks in the deluxe format now for STAR WARS novels, and ebooks too from $7.99 to $11.99, this is NOT new. Gallery Books did this to Star Trek novels in 2017, ebooks increased from $6.99 to $11.99. Trade Paperbacks are over $25 now for the new format too.
This is because STAR TREK novels and ebooks were sold from Pocket Books/Gallery to Random House. Random House is following Gallery Books model from 2017.
Enjoy the PRICE HIKE for the same stories that may be LEGENDS. They are $4 to $5 CHEAPER in ebook right now.
See if I am RIGHT, sadly. Grab the discounted books and ebooks while you can. At least by June 15th 2021.
-Koric
I wanted to post this here, because I feel this is a byproduct of the beginnings of this merger. Random House is deciding to follow in the footsteps of Gallery books probably with the intent, that if the format changes and the prices change haven’t had a negative impact on their sales.
Do I want authors fairly compensated? Sure.
But, we are in the middle of a pandemic, and an uncertain future. The reliance on digital media has given rise to, let’s play Russian Roulette and increase prices whether fairly or unfairly, and in the long run could shrink digital demand, and digital sales and consumption.
I just wish both authors and fans, and consumers were treated fairly and with respect, and have the scales of market prices take into account both sides with equality, and fairness.
Polygon announces new Star Wars Legends Trade Paperback re-releases for the Star Wars Legends line....
Be prepared to pay MORE for Trades and ebooks:
https://www.polygon.com/star-wars/2...JIXzYLnQ346-33WBcVXRVhy727IEmPIl7lko85SsXVt9Q
Tom Jung made a better cover for Heir to the Empire in 1991. This is now the FOURTH cover of the same novel, plus what happened to the TERRIBLY SPECTACULAR UGLY Thrawn inspired covers just done in 2016?
Be prepared to pay MORE for the Trade Paperbacks in the deluxe format now for STAR WARS novels, and ebooks too from $7.99 to $11.99, this is NOT new. Gallery Books did this to Star Trek novels in 2017, ebooks increased from $6.99 to $11.99. Trade Paperbacks are over $25 now for the new format too.
This is because STAR TREK novels and ebooks were sold from Pocket Books/Gallery to Random House. Random House is following Gallery Books model from 2017.
Enjoy the PRICE HIKE for the same stories that may be LEGENDS. They are $4 to $5 CHEAPER in ebook right now.
See if I am RIGHT, sadly. Grab the discounted books and ebooks while you can. At least by June 15th 2021.
-Koric
Not gonna lie, it seems a little weird to be mad about a cover change and price hike on a book you already own. Like, I have a copy of the original Heir to the Empire paperback I bought used for $2 two decades ago. I just won't get this one.
(That Darth Bane book is pretty bad, though.)
There's generally just one ebook edition, which gets updated as the print copies change, even if you already own it. That can be good if you get typo fixes, or bad if you get new cover art or other formatting changes.
My guess is, for what it's worth, that Star Trek books are not worth the effort and money of reissuing like this.
It wasn't always so... S&S did a similar anniversary reissue of four novels (Federation, Strangers from the Sky, The Entropy Effect and Vulcan's Glory) for Star Trek's 40th anniversary in 2006. If I remember correctly, though, they were actually released at a lower price point than new releases from the same time?
But you are probably correct about the current market, as evidenced by the fact that there were no similar reissues for the 50th anniversary in 2016.
The 2006 reissues were done on the cheap, reusing the old plates even though they were old-fashioned in style and visibly the worse for wear. I believe it was acknowledged that that was the only way they would be economically viable even then, when the Trek line was a bit more robust than it is now.