QUILLBLOG

Let’s not do lunch, say publishers

This time it’s personal. As the world teeters on the economic brink and mass layoffs become regular news, The New York Observer reports on a horrific development that’s rocking the New York publishing industry. Wait for it: editors are now being asked to – gasp – cut down on their expense-account lunches.

Much hand-wringing ensues, with various industry types implying that business can only be conducted over the consumption of expensive food in trendy restaurants. It should be noted that the article also includes a few voices of reason on the issue, but let’s ignore those and highlight instead one agent’s attempt to explain why she should continue dining out on someone else’s dime most days:

Ann Rittenberg, an independent literary agent based downtown, said she is taken to lunch several times a week at restaurants like Bar Americain and Molyvos. She said in an interview that the money publishers spend on her and her fellow agents is well worth it.

“It’s one of the best marketing tools that the editorial department of a publishing house has,” Ms. Rittenberg said. “Because really, I do find out at lunches what I need to know in order to match an editor with a book.”

Funny stuff. Also amusing is the view put forth by some that “the notion that lunch as a ritual is fading signals a sorry chapter in the history of [the] industry.” Let’s see: ever-increasing competition from other media, a tough retail landscape dominated by a few major players, blockbuster-or-bust acquisition practices, the ongoing conundrums of engaging young readers and figuring out a viable digital business model…. But the real worry is the loss of parmesan-encrusted venison over mushroom ragout.