HarperCollins has fired Judith Regan, publisher at Regan Books. See news reports.
Could an e-book-based preview system have saved her? Suppose HarperCollins had tested the O.J. Simpson book on sample readers using low-cost electronic distribution. Let’s say it could have known early on what a storm If I Did It would set off—given this tasteless approach to the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson.
Protecting money and reps
Yes, I know. A e-preview system would steal some of the surprises from the p-book side. But given the money and reps at stake here, a well-thought-out preview system might have been worth the trouble in this case.
We’re not talking about an idealism-driven project that begs for defiance of popular sentiment, but rather a strictly commercial endeavor. The Murdoch empire was out of touch with readers. E-book technology could help avoid such mistakes in the future. Still better, interactive books in the dotReader/OpenReader vein would enable editors and authors over the long run to anticipate readers’ reactions to publishing projects. I see a big gap between Manhattan publishing values and those of America—and probably the world—as a whole.
Detail: I won’t overgeneralize. While I don’t know Jane Friedman, head of HarperCollins, my hunch from afar is that she found the O.J. book to be thoroughly repugnant. But perhaps greased by Regan’s success as a money-maker, the project still moved ahead with the blessing of people above Friedman in Murdoch’s company. This is merely speculation, based on reports of Friedman’s unhappiness with Regan, as well as Friedman’s past interest in do-gooder activities such as literacy projects. Perhaps the O.J. project even have upset most of the people in publishing, or at least those who cared.
