Short Saturday: Publishing’s Secret Calendar Revealed!

I give books as gifts as often as possible, but particularly at Christmas. And I’m on the lookout for the right title/person match all year long, reading reviews, or standing in the bookstore reading cover copy. (Ooo! The Irishman will love that!) I buy books for people even when I know they are not “big readers”—because I am just that sure there’s a perfect book, even for them.

I have a very good success rate. :)

One year (2002) I gave my sister’s husband It Takes a Worried Man by Brendan Halpin. I read it before I wrapped it :) and thought it was wonderful. So when I was writing this post earlier this summer, I looked around for Halpin, and found him.

I was pleased to see he’s written a lot more books. And he’s blogging. About books (his and others’), pop culture, music, writing, annnnd publishing …

I loved this one in particular, about the publishing industry’s unique calendar:

A publishing house can convene a lot of people and make a big decision pretty much year round, with the following exceptions:

• 2 business days before and after any holiday.

• August, where August can be understood to mean the beginning of the week containing August 1 through 2 days after Labor Day. So in 2012, that’s July 30th through September 6th.

• December, where December can be understood to mean the week of Thanksgiving through two days after New Year’s Day is observed. So in 2012–13, that’s November 19th through January 4th. Which is a Friday, so you can probably write that whole week off, actually. Better say January 7th just to be safe.

• The week of any major conference, such as BEA, ALA, ALA Midwinter, and Frankfurt.

• The week of many minor conferences.

So, by my calculations, this leaves as many as 26 weeks a year where something new might happen at a publishing house.

Oh kids, I laughed ’til I cried, mostly because he’s so right, so right.

I know a lot of you get frustrated with the publishing industry. I know you get tired of waiting. It is what it is. Halpin loves publishing, though, and you should read the rest of this post to see why.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”