Simon and Schuster cuts 35 jobs

[foravalon]

TNG survived quite well after the departures of the people who contributed to its writers' bibles.

That might not be the best comparison considering the last couple seasons of TNG. Just a matter of opinion though.

Here's hoping the last season of The West Wing doesn't serve as a portentous comparison either. ::crosses fingers::

Good luck to all of the laid off. Our hearts are with you in this season.

 

[KRAD]

Wait, so now you're saying Marco was full of beans?

No.

I've been saying it all along, not just now.......................

(Hey, it had to be said!)

 

[shivkala]

As a kid reading Star Trek books, I lamented the lack of continuity between them. Imagine my surprise when I took a chance on the Avatar duology, only to realize that not only were they excellent books in and of themselves, they were to be followed up by other books. Then I found out some previous books (The Lives of Dax, A Stitch in Time, and The 34th Rule, to name a few) retroactively fit into this continuity. I was thrilled beyond measure and read all of those books and then re-read them.

The Deep Space Nine relaunch is amazing and as I later found out, due in large part to the efforts of Marco Palmieri and the wonderful writers he had working for him (both veterans authors, as well as some very talented novice writers). It's obvious to this fan that Marco has a way of brining out the best in the veterans and taking novice writers and helping them hone their skills to the point where it wasn't obvious they were relatively new to the profession.

In a very real way, Marco's books were the only Trek I've followed faithfully for the better part of the past decade. I gave up on Voyager a few seasons in and never found Enterprise to my liking, but the books kept me a loyal Trek fan all of these years.

Marco, thank you for everything you've done for the authors and the fans. I never got to meet your or really talk with you, but from what others said, you seemed to really care about everyone who worked for the company or read the company's books. It truly showed.

I wish you the best of luck and hope your situation is only a temporary one.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

In terms of practical effects, what will this mean to the line (assuming it continues past the end of the current projects in development)?

How will the "tone" of the books be changed with the loss of Marco's particular tastes and preferences as an editor?
Are we likely to see more OCs (Original Characters) in books or less? More "Vanguard" type stories or more "canon crews"?

 

[phrog]

In terms of practical effects, what will this mean to the line (assuming it continues past the end of the current projects in development)?

How will the "tone" of the books be changed with the loss of Marco's particular tastes and preferences as an editor?
Are we likely to see more OCs (Original Characters) in books or less? More "Vanguard" type stories or more "canon crews"?

Shit, I hope that the tone and direction won't deviate from the direction he, the authors, Margaret Clark and co. have been steering it. Trek books are, today, the best they've ever been and put other licensed book lines (Star Wars, I'm glaring at you) to shame in quality.

 

[Brendan Moody]

(assuming it continues past the end of the current projects in development)?

As was pointed out before, there's no reason for the pessimistic tone here. This was an economically-inspired laying off a senior editor, among other personnel, who had many responsibilities at Pocket; it's not some kind of judgment on the Trek line, which will continue.

How will the "tone" of the books be changed with the loss of Marco's particular tastes and preferences as an editor?
Are we likely to see more OCs (Original Characters) in books or less? More "Vanguard" type stories or more "canon crews"?

As was also pointed out before, there's no way of knowing, since this all started two days ago and the basic decisions are still being made, while many Marco-influenced projects are still in the works. It's going to be months or more likely years before anyone can talk usefully about changes in tone.

 

[Ktrek]

When Marco took over I was one of those on the skeptical bandwagon. I didn't care at all for some of his decisions (like removing the numbering system etc. , but I suppose I should add that to this day it still pisses me off that they did not let the TOS series go to 100!), but over the years Marco has proved himself mostly to be right. He was responsible for taking the book line in some bold directions and at much risk to Pocket Books, but he provided the fans with something they had not seen in quite some time and that is..."originality". How many authors and stories would we not have today if Marco had not become part of the Star Trek book universe? It might have been just "business as usual" but Marco stopped all that and we are the ones who gained! I hope that Margaret will not forget how far we have come and continue pushing Star Trek books in a direction that builds on what Marco started and not tear down what he built!

I wish you well Marco and I am sure that you will find a better job than what you have just left! You have a lot of talent and your expertise will be in demand by someone else very soon!

Kevin

 

[William Leisner]

^ The numbering of the books ended in 2002. John Ordover was still with Pocket until 2003.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I suppose I should add that to this day it still pisses me off that they did not let the TOS series go to 100!

That had nothing to do with Marco. John Ordover had planned a TOS trilogy (for books 98, 99, and 100) by Diane Carey entitled The Last Round-Up, and then the Star Trek: The Original Series books were to begin after that. Carey's version of The Last Round-Up fell through, the Star Trek: The Original Series books were ready to go, and Christie Golden wrote a different book entitled The Last Round-Up as a hardcover, all of which left the Star Trek[/i] novel numbers stalled on Dayton Ward's In the Name of Honor at #97.

 

[Dayton Ward]

I killed the numbering! I killed it to death!!!!

 

[LutherSloan]

I have to echo the rest of the comments here. It's the WORST time of the year to lose your job (if you have one).

Marco deserves a lot of kudos (along with the authors responsible) for running the DS9 Relaunch. I can't recall a single book in that series being even average. They were all excellent.

I am sure that you will be back working soon.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I killed the numbering! I killed it to death!!!!

But we saved its brain. Shhhhh!

 

[Sci]

I killed the numbering! I killed it to death!!!!

But we saved its brain. Shhhhh!

 

[Lonemagpie]

I killed the numbering! I killed it to death!!!!

But we saved its brain. Shhhhh!

Brain, brain brain! What is brain?

 

[DS9Continuing]

I will join everyone here in saying that this sucks in the suckiest of all possible sucky ways, from every aspect.

Best wishes to Marco and family (and of course all the others who lost their jobs at the same time, who shouldn't be forgotten), and best wishes to all those who will now have to pick up the slack with likely no extra thanks or remuneration.

 

[Destructor]

Just chiming in to agree with everyone. Marco, if you're reading this: Thank you for all your good works on Trek Lit, it was much appreciated.

LL&P

 

[Orac Zen]

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

What crappy news. He's very good people. Kudos to him for the work he did with the Trek books and absolute best wishes for the future.

 

[captaintish]

This is quite a blow, especially coming on the heels of the closure of Star Trek: the Experience.

I think that in the last ten years or so, Star Trek books have been better than ever, and that the DS9 relaunch is the best of the bunch. As others have mentioned the continuity that is maintained in all the Star Trek series nowadays, including New Frontier, Vanguard, Titan, the Destiny trilogy, makes the Star Trek tapestry all the richer.

Also, I just have to get all fangirly for a moment here, and say that reading through this thread, I almost didn't end up posting, having gotten a little intimidated by all the awesome names I was recognizing -- you guys ROCK. Please keep writing, and keep these wonderful Trek series alive.

 

[phrog]

This is quite a blow, especially coming on the heels of the closure of Star Trek: the Experience.

http://www.inbusinesslasvegas.com/2008/11/07/retailreal.html

Don't worry on that too much anymore

 

[Sxottlan]

This is terrible news. You'd think they could have dumped an editor from the other lines of "literature" that Pocket churns out. My god. Have you seen some of their other titles in those yearly previews?

Marco,

Thanks for all the hard work over the years. I remember when reading Avatar how I would read it any chance I got, even if it was just a page or two. It cemented my interest in Trek books. A quick seven years later and I can't believe how the time has flown and how the quality has seldom wavered for any length of time.

Thanks so much for the DS9R and Vanguard and especially incorporating more specific visuals into the book line, such as with the designs for Titan and Vanguard. I hope the success of the lines can speak for themselves to encourage future editors to continue in the same vein.

Most of all, thanks for taking the time to come here to interact and help us understand a little more how the publishing world works. Before coming to this board, I just didn't have as much of an idea of how things were run behind the scenes or how much a role editors played. As someone who is now also behind-the-scenes in a somewhat similar capacity, I can relate.

Best of luck to you and I hope you can still have a happy holidays after this. Please stick around if you can, even if it's as a fan.

Thanks again,
Scott