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Birthday wishes from Tim Hely Hutchinson and Richard Charkin

 

October 2009

 

 

Tim Hely Hutchinson - Group Chief Executive of Hachette UK:

 

I was very fortunate that my first publishing employer, Macmillan, had a real commitment to training and supported The Publishing Training Centre (PTC) from the outset, sending me and others on its courses. When I left Macmillan and found myself suddenly promoted to be a very green managing director it was a huge reassurance to be able to rely on training that had been denied to many competitors.

 

The publishing world is still very short both of technical skills and basic business training. At Hachette UK, we try to redress this balance for every individual who can benefit, and we strongly urge all publishers to support the PTC as one important way of raising standards throughout the industry.

 

 

Richard Charkin - Executive Director, Bloomsbury:

 

Long, long ago (or maybe it was only the 70s) before management accounts, revised forecasts, returns provisions, lay-downs, recommended retail prices, human resource departments, consolidation, and digital rights; just as computers were being introduced into publishing but we still kept quires, and litho printing was considered a little new-fangled and risky, when phototypesetting was cutting edge technology and blues (ozalids) had yet to conquer the world and then disappear without trace (the spell check didn't even recognise the word!); when I worked for George Harrap & Co at 182 High Holborn which contained not only editors, sales people (I don't think marketing had yet been invented), designers, production staff but also clerks in the accounting department and the warehouse - itself with a trade counter for London booksellers who had to pick up the stock themselves (and received a 35% discount for their troubles) - where the bosses were known as Mr Paull, Mr Olaf and Mr Ian and who, in their kindly, paternalistic way agreed to send me on The Publishing Training Centre's Editing 2 course in Oxford.

 

I was amazed by the organiser, Mary Perry's bright red lipstick. I was amazed at the (relative) luxury of the Oxford Motel. I was amazed to meet other young editors who seemed to have as little idea about their jobs as I did. I was even more amazed to discover that we were being 'instructed' by the most important person (in my mind anyway) in publishing, the head of Longman, Tim Rix. I don't remember much more except one remark from Tom which has stuck with me ever since. “The editor is the key to a successful publishing business. Without the best books no sales force will shine, no IT system will be worth its cost, no strategy for growth will work, no management consultancy will do a blind bit of good. Hang on to your best editors at almost any cost.” Thank you Tim and thank you PTC.

 

 

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