From time to time, I wonder about publishing as a corporate entity. Even though too many folks attach some glamor to this world because it revolves around books, there are just as many cubicle slaves as there are in any other profession – and just as many fights over who gets the best office supplies and who gets stuck with the most paperwork. And thanks to this story in the Bookseller, we’ll get a close look at what happens when a venerated publishing house is dragged kicking and screaming out of glam offices and into open-plan.
For Penguin UK, with its sumptuous offices in the Strand, is trying hard to resist the open-plan tactics as proposed by its CEO, John Makinson. The publisher has appointed space-planning specialists AOS to consult with the 700 staff about a complete redesign of the three remaining floors. One idea is said to involve creating a fully open-plan office with meeting rooms. At present many senior editors and managers have their own glass-fronted offices with stunning views of the Thames.
But Penguin types are dead-against such plans. At one of the consultation meetings this week, a group of senior publishers argued forcefully that they needed personal offices for editing, access to backlist and confidential discussions with literary agents. One editor said: “Different offices keep different imprint identities. Publishing cultures are very fragile; you mess with them at your peril.” Joanna Prior, Penguin’s Marketing & Publicity Director, took a softer view. “We can be really open-minded about how we can work better and use new technology such as wireless access. John [Makinson] is keen to look at open-plan as an option–it could culturally make a difference, be more open and less hierarchical.”
Here’s what I want to know: which publishing houses in the US have migrated to open-plan? Does it work? Does it make working more difficult? Send in your stories of publishing cubicle slave-dom, and the lengths you’ve had to go to secure some fleeting privacy…