Random House Editor Bolts
We sometimes wonder if the real question is not why people leave the leave the book industry, but why anyone even stays. The most recent casuality is Jonathan Karp, former editor-in-chief of Random House, who unexpectedly resigned yesterday. He had worked there for 16 years and, as the story says, was "once considered a wunderkind." (Before, you mean, he got so damned old.) His biggest recent hits were Seabiscuit and Shadow Divers.
Karp is talking about leaving the publishing industry all together, because nothing is more attractive to a potential employer than someone who crapped out of the book industry. "So, it says here that your business hasn't made a profit in decades, and that your whole business plan was driven by crossing your fingers that Oprah would do a show about your book. Great! Here, manage this hedge fund."—WL
