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Everything is random in publishing.
Best sellers are random.
So that is why we are the Random House!
The trial kicked off August 1 in federal court in Washington D.C.
The surprisingly entertaining trial is expected to last two to three weeks.
Here are some highlights from the trial that could throw a major plot twist into the publishing world.
I came because I think consolidation is bad for competition, King reportedly said.
Thats my understanding of the book business, and Ive been around it for 50 years.
No, after you scenario.
Its a little bit ridiculous.
King,according to the Los AngelesTimes, testified that independent publishers faced financial pressures from sprawling conglomerates.
Karp said that Simon & Schuster lost in many bidding wars with other publishers.
Karp also addressed the big fives advantage in marketing over other publishers.
If you really love the book, you have to jump through hoops, Karp reportedly testified.
Dohle testified about Penguin Random House losing market share.
Justice Department lawyer John Read asked him whether there was mismanagement.
He agreed that the business consists of too many layers of management in acquiring books.
Each book is unique, and theres a lot of risk.
Dohle also discussed how Amazon was impacting traditional publishing.
He insisted that companies such ase-commerce behemoth Amazon had leveled the playing field among publishers of various sizes.
Dohle said that Penguin Random House utilizes data scientists and pays money to Amazon to improve its products placement.
When under cross-examination, Dohle claimed that book-subscription models were actually the most severe threat to the publishing industry.
Dohle said he didnt agree with that descriptor, saying it was a very short board meeting.
Dohle said that he has to approve deals that are $2 million or more.
At one point, the judge suggested that projections about profits with potential book deals seemed to be questionable.
Tart also described several missteps.
He also passed on Delia Owenss best sellerWhere the Crawdads Sing, now aReese Witherspoonproduced film tinged with controversy.
Proceedings also revealed that Hachette maintained a list of the ones that got away.
According tojournalist John Maher, Murray gave details into how books see the light of day.
Its almost like an annuity, he reportedly said.
Murray also described the nuts and bolts of routine business techniques in the context of publishing.
Publishers need to have a sales force, Maher reported Murray as saying.
Without a sales force, a book becomes one of thousands in the bag.
Murray also said that establishing steady relationships with printers is key to ongoing success.
The defenses questioning appeared intended to chip away at the importance of advances to authors.
The antitrust complaint focused on how a lack of competition could harm authors including their advances.
Duhigg reportedly answered No when asked if he measured the success of his book by his advance.
The goal of being a writer is to write something beautiful and true that people want to read.
If you do that, they will buy it.
And you will get the royalties, Patrick quoted him as saying.
I dont work for Random House.
I work for Andy Ward, Patrick quoted Duhigg as saying.
Also, 98 percent of books are not top sellers?
So I feel like you are maybe not typical?
Duhigg responded that there are not a lot of New YorkTimesjournalists who write books that wouldnt succeed.
Theres no author who wants to get more money than they can possibly earn out, Duhigg said.
McIntosh reportedly claimed that the size of an advance did not impact marketing plans.
Its very much an iterative process, Patrick quoted McIntosh as saying.
Were adapting in real time.
This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.
