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A publishing giant The publishing arm of media conglomerate Viacom, Inc., Simon & Schuster is a constant in the lives of school children, reference seekers, and professionals in over 150 countries. The company regularly claims some 60 New York Times bestsellers each year through its dozens of recognizable labels, including Scribner, The Free Press, Pocket Books, Archway Paperbacks, and Macmillan. S&S also boasts an Internet "super site" featuring a subscription-based service with full text of books, downloadable software, and the option to order books online. S&S also has plans for a new imprint with The Wall Street Journal that will produce a dozen titles a year by writers and editors of the WSJ. Recent successes include Pearl Buck's The Good Earth, Dr. Benjamin Spock's Baby and Child Care, and Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. S&S in transition In one of the largest publishing deals in history, Pearson plc, the largest publisher in Britain, bought the majority of S&S's operations from Viacom in the summer of 1998 for $4.6 billion in cash. (What they actually acquired was the education division for $3.6 billion. A leveraged buyout firm, Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, Inc. bought the reference, business, and professional divisions for $1 billion, but that deal fell through, and Pearson announced its intention to keep those divisions.) Pearson already owns the Penguin Group, Scott Foresman (another educational publisher - bought in 1996) The Financial Times, and Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. Viacom maintains the consumer trade division, which publishes authors like Frank McCourt, Mary Higgins Clark, and Stephen King. Hicks, Muse will control the portion of the company that publishes Webster's Dictionary, Betty Crocker cookbooks, and the ubiquitous "Idiot's Guide" series. In 2000 S&S completed the consolidation of its sales force, which had previously been split into three seperate units. Oops In recent years, S&S has been in the news for other reasons as well. In 1997 the publisher recalled more than 4,000 copies of a children's book on religion after critics charged that it portrayed the prophet Muhammed in a negative light. Members of the Muslim organization sent a letter to the publisher claiming that the portrayal of Muhammed was disrespectful and did not belong in a publication directed at young readers. After pulling the book from the shelves, the company invited the Islamic group to collaborate on a revision of the chapter for a new edition. Stephen King online In March 2000 Simon & Schuster made headlines for releasing a Stephen King short story, "Riding the Bullet," but not offering it in bookstores. The 16,000 word story was only made available online. The story comes out encrypted on the computer, making it impossible to print out. At the time of the release, King commented, "I'm curious to see what sort of response there is and whether or not this is the future." S&S seems to think so - in May 2000 the company partnered with Microsoft, helping the software giant secure exclusive rights to put some books in its Microsoft Reader format, including Michael Crichton's Timeline. Parting with Viacom? In early 2000, The Sunday Telegraph reported that Viacom had put Simon & Schuster up for sale. The newspaper said that Viacom had come very close to closing a deal with W.H. Smith Group, the U.K.'s largest bookseller, for as much as $735 million. Industry observers pointed to Viacom's merger with CBS as a reason why Viacom may be keen on selling S&S. Amid falling revenues, analysts speculate that the newly formed conglomerate will not need S&S, which represents only a fraction of the new company's revenues.
Simon & Schuster doesn't have a lot of openings - those that do appear on one of the company's automated job listings are quickly snatched up. Applicants must be writing in response to a posted listing. Simon & Schuster also posts jobs on its website, www.simonsays.com. Resumes can be sent by regular mail. All submissions will be kept on file for several months and forwarded to Simon & Schuster's various publishing branches. One recent hire describes her interview process: "Of all my interviews, those I had with Simon & Schuster were the most pleasant. The human resources department is generally frank and friendly."
There has reportedly been a push to introduce a more "young, energetic" culture throughout the company. Says one employee: "we are pretty casual on the whole. I address all of my supervisors by their first names." Says another: "the not-so-formal dress makes it more relaxed, but there's certainly an expectation that people will work hard and be successful." On the downside, employee turnover "can be high," which is typical for the industry, and, as with any large company, "there's a fair amount of paperwork." Some employees leave because of a "rigid" pay scale that provides for time-based, but not merit-based, increases. Starting salaries are above $20,000 "and at the Associate Editor/Editor level pay is often in the $30s." These figures, while low, are at or above industry standards. Regardless, employees are thrilled to be at "the top of the publishing heap." Insiders say S&S, "like many large publishers, are understaffed, so the hours are long." So if you work in the Editorial or Design departments, you hours will never be 9 to 5. And plan on bringing work home - "there are always piles and piles of manuscripts that need to be read." Says one insider: "I often work until 9, 10 or even 11 o'clock one or two nights a week." Employees say the children's division is dominated by "bright, ambitious" women. The adult division also has a "fairly high percentage of women," but the minority population is small. One insider points out that people of color might feel somewhat isolated, as publishing in general continues to be "a field that is shockingly white."
Human Resources (212) 698-7060
Books
Harper Collins;Houghton Mifflin;McGraw-Hill;Penguin Putnam;Random House;Scholastic;Warner Books More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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