Simon and Schuster cuts 35 jobs

[phrog]

First and foremost, thank you to Marco for all of his excellent work. I cannot possibly express my gratitude for the work he has done and I wish him and his family all the best. What an awful time for this to happen, no less. It's unfortunate that we're in an economic place where you can excel at your job and still end up in this position. If there's anything we as fans and readers can do, of course, please say so.

I too rank Marco with Ira Steven Behr, Ronald D. Moore and Michael Piller as the sort of strong, creative guiding hands that Trek needs and flourishes under. The more I think about this news, the sadder I am. Both for Marco and in a selfish manner. I can't imagine his influence and direction in the DS9-R has been overstated? I've gotten a strong vibe that he had a vision for that and several of his other editorial projects.... and that's going to be horrible to lose.

Star Trek, my library, and all the readers, authors, the characters and their stories are all lesser for having lost Marco and his influence.

Again, my best if you're reading this Marco and I'm positive you'll be kicking ass and taking names wherever the Great River takes you next.

 

[Therin of Andor]

It's all been said. One would like to think that being very successful, intuitive, thorough, thoughtful, friendly and highly competent is all one needs to keep one's job. Unfortunately, one also have to turn huge profits.

Best of luck, Marco! We miss you already.

 

[Frontier]

It's been reported that Trek editor Marco Palmieri was among those laid off yesterday.

NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Not Marco! NO! BAD! VERY, VERY BAD SIMON AND SCHUSTER!



OMG, I'm so pissed over that! That's just so wrong! Marco has been so fantastic!

I'm seriously considering an all-out boycott over that. I'm sorry, I'm just livid. Marco, IMHO, has been the root driving force behind Star Trek literature's expansion and change outside of the "toy box" mentality of things.

This just royally sucks! I want Marco back, now! Marco restored my faith in Star Trek when Enterprise was sucking it dry. His work on the DS9 relaunch, especially, kept my hope alive. This is devastating.

I'm going to call in to S&S and complain about his dismissal. I don't care if it's useless. I'm so pissed.

 

[Una McCormack]

I have a deep gratitude for the opportunities Marco has given me, and sure hope things play out in way that I get to work with him on something, anything, in the future.

Here's to Marco landing on his feet!

All my sentiments exactly, Scott. Well said.

 

[captcalhoun]

sorry to hear this. good luck Marco.

 

[AlexR]

Aww, jeez...

I am so sorry to read of Marco being laid off. That just...sucks. There's not much I can add that hasn't already been said, but I have to agree that his contributions to Trek have been truly outstanding, and his absence will be keenly felt. He's been a class act all the way.

Marco, if you're reading, best of luck to you. If there's justice in this universe, you'll come out of it fine, but I'll still keep some positive energy flowing nonetheless. Take care...

Best,
Alex

 

[Turtletrekker]

Marco's unique editorial touch really helped shape some of the best Trek novels ever published. He is, in all honestly, to my mind right up there with Ira Steven Behr, Ronald D. Moore, Michael Piller, Gene Coon, Manny Coto, and JJ Abrams as the sort of creator Trek needs and who produces great work.

I completely and totally agree with you here.

Count me in as well.

 

[Cicero]

It's been reported that Trek editor Marco Palmieri was among those laid off yesterday.

Noooooooo!

Marco, I've enjoyed everything you've done with the Trek books over the years. Thank you for some wonderful reading experiences, thank you for participating in the forum here, and best of the luck for the future.

Oh dear God, no.

That's complete bu@#*#@. Not to take anything away from the other editors, but the books under Marco's stewardship were my favorite. There was just that extra *something* that he was able to bring out in his writers. Titan, Vanguard, DS9-R... an amazing run of quality. And where does this leave those series (particularly Vanguard?). Or David Mack's The Calling?

Damn damn damn. I hope that he finds a job soon. He was stellar at his job. S&S really screwed up on this one.

I feel the same way. A year or two ago I realized I was buying only Marco's books. I wonder now if I'll still be buying Star Trek novels in a couple of years.

I wish Marco well. Hopefully, and editor of his caliber will quickly find work.

 

[Lonemagpie]

I'd been working on something to add to this thread, but Scott sums it up really well here. My writing career owes an awful lot to the guidance and opportunities I've received from Marco over the last few years, and it'd be fantastic if we're in a position to work together again in the future.

I'm confident Marco will hit the ground running wherever his next opportunity lies.

Me three.

Me four.

Me five, in the fact that in the Ordover years I thought my dreams of doing some Trek were screwed, but then Marco let me in...

As for the qualities Marco brought to the line- It's definitely our duty, the rest of us writers and the rest of the editorial team to go forward and keep up and work on from the quality that Marco brought to the line. It's our responsibility to keep that sky up there, if nobody minds my saying so.

 

[Masao]

Another sad testimonial to Marco:
He hired me to design hardware for the Vanguard series. By doing so, he's responsible for the most enjoyable, most rewarding experience I've had in Trek fandom.

Thanks, Marco.

 

[Titan Designer]

Another sad testimonial to Marco:
He hired me to design hardware for the Vanguard series. By doing so, he's responsible for the most enjoyable, most rewarding experience I've had in Trek fandom.

Thanks, Marco.

I second that with the Whole Titan Experience. Thanks Marco

 

[Idoliside]

Damn! Why cut Marco? Tis a sad day for Trek Lit....

 

[James Swallow]

There's not much I can really add to the comments here that hasn't already been said; I'm annoyed at the arbitrary nature of Marco's lay-off and the lack of respect it shows for a guy who has done much to shape the nature of the current Star Trek book line. But sadly this choice was made about money, not creativity.
I enjoyed working with him and I hope I get the chance to again. I found him to be an enthusiast, a gentleman and a professional.
I'm sure he'll land on his feet; the man has skills. And I'm sure Margaret and the rest of the team at Pocket will continue to do the sterling job they always do.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

I'm going to make a prediction no one wants to hear:

this time next year, there may well be NOONE working on Star Trek books for S&S...

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I didn't know Peter Noone had gone into editing...

(Sorry, needed to inject some levity there.)

Seriously, I'm sorry to hear the news about Marco. I'll always be grateful to him for the opportunies and consideration he offered. He let me crash the Constellations party, and he took a chance on "Make-Believe," and I owe him an immense debt of gratitude for that.

Best of luck to you, Marco. May your upcoming job search be both short and fruitful.

 

[BrotherBenny]

In honour of Marco's departure, see my new sig.

 

[Trek]

Well that's just wrong!

I'm sorry to see you go Marco. Your work has had me hooked to Trek lit for years and has even inspired my own writing.

 

[SciFiChick]

So sorry to hear about all the layoffs, but Marco's in particular.
Thanks for all of the review copies!
And I hope you find new employment soon!

 

[Christopher]

I'm finding my reaction to this, though less intense, is similar to my grieving process when my cat Tasha died a few months ago. I mean, I'll be going about some other business, not thinking about it for a while, and then I'll remember that something that's been part of my life for years is gone for good. I just keep rediscovering the bad news and being upset by it all over again.

And I keep thinking of new regrets. Does this mean Marco won't be at Shore Leave anymore? That's hard to imagine.

As for the qualities Marco brought to the line- It's definitely our duty, the rest of us writers and the rest of the editorial team to go forward and keep up and work on from the quality that Marco brought to the line. It's our responsibility to keep that sky up there, if nobody minds my saying so.

Absolutely. He brought out the best in us, and it's incumbent on us to nurture that and keep it alive.

I'm going to make a prediction no one wants to hear:

this time next year, there may well be NOONE working on Star Trek books for S&S...

ST fiction has been around at Pocket for nearly three decades, and has weathered economic downturns before. And the new movie is likely to create a new audience for the literature -- which is one of the key reasons why letting Marco go at this time (or at all) makes no sense, but it also means that there's no reason to predict the imminent death of a publishing program that's been around for more than a generation.

 

[LightningStorm]

willie, spamming the boards is against the rules. Stop doing that (here and elsewhere), or you will get warned and potentially banned. You are welcome to participate in the discussions here in a meaningful manner, and place the link to your personal site in your signature if you like.

I have deleted your posts from this thread, please do not post any more like that.