No More Acquisitions for Publishing Giant

Some slightly terrifying news from Publisher's Weekly that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has instructed its editors to stop buying new books.

Joseph Blumenfeld, vice president of communications, reported that the publisher "has temporarily stopped acquiring manuscripts." Naturally the biggest question is about the definition of "temporarily" and while Blumenfeld assures agents that the ban is "not a permanent change," no official explanation as to how long it might be in effect.

Rumors are swirling that this action might have more to do with HMH's "highly leveraged" state of affairs rather than with the decline of literature in general but these are countered by reports from established agents that the action is unprecedented. One agent called the actions "very scary" and said it was indicative of the state of the industry--the worst he has ever seen.

All of which does not bode well for any of us trying to sell our proposals, although my guess is that if you are Dan Brown or John Grisham, an exception would be made to the policy.

This is either the great big wake up call that publishing has been avoiding for years or it is a serious sign of things to come. If that is true, look for the biggest conglomerate to fall first.