“Another Life: A Memoir of Other People”
Introduction
“Another Life: A Memoir of Other People” is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated autobiographies of the 21st century. Michael Korda chose to write a memoir about his life in the publishing world but his main focus on different and famous people is what make the autobiography interesting and as the subtitle spells, a memoir of other people(Hammond 212). The book was published in 1999 and got acknowledgements not only in the United States, but also in many other countries across the globe. Notably, the autobiography was received with warm hands by the Publishers Weekly which described it as an open, frank and, engaging and above everything a knowledgeable survey that has covered the journey and struggle of the American publishing industry for the past forty years. The book presents an insider’s view, feelings, descriptions, and accounts that characterize the world of publishing with its setting being from the late 1950s to 1990s. The autobiography is divided into seven parts that altogether seek to describe the process of publishing right from the initial stage of acquiring the author or the book to the final stage of manuscript publication.
This paper seeks to interpret Michael Korda’s “Another Life: A Memoir of Other People” through the lens of the present day by comparing and contrasting its memoirs and histories to the present publishing industry. The fact that the world is dynamic and almost everything has either changed or is changing in order to survive is an assurance that the publishing industry has changed as well. Korda’s world of publishing might be similar to what we see today in, but a lot has changed just like the times and tides.
The Creative Juices
Michael Korda introduces the readers to his autobiography and the first thing that hits his readers is the fact that he did not have ambitions of becoming an editor or working in a publishing industry in his childhood life. The reality that in spite of being the son of Vincent, a renowned film art director and maker and actor, could not earn him a place in the movie industry dawned on him at twenty-three years. “I was twenty-three before it occurred to me that my future might not lie in the movie business” (Korda 1).As a young man, Korda joined the publishing industry, which was full of family owned firms with the belief that the business was only for a few chosen individuals in the society. In the summer of 1958, the twenty four year old Korda showed in the offices of Simon and Schuster with an innocent mentality of as editor who was fond and favored the intellectual side of life in the exciting world of publishing. His tendency to improve an author’s manuscript with lofty marginal notes was dominating (Hammond 213). However, as Korda narrates, the publishing industry in a matter of months bowed to the wave of change and what can be seen as civilization to become what most people considered a division of the entertainment industry (Lapham 530). Slowly, Korda, the perfectionist, learned to appreciate and buy in the virtues engraved in the novels of Harold Robbins and Irving Wallace.
It is in this part of the novel that Korda is seen with virtually everybody and has made a name. To him, he does not confuse the role of commerce and the art of being an editor and as such, he does not just go ahead to meet any celebrity who does not add value to his career. Not so long into the autobiography, he is seen with Ronald Reagan and Carlos Castaneda. In one instance, Korda meets Tennesse Williams who could not contain himself after getting drunk and had to be pulled and carried on the floor of a New York restaurant by his agent. He meets with Claus Von Blow and one woman who was well known for her apartment that was well furnished with tables made of shiny that glass that could pick anyone’s finger prints on touching them(Hammond 212). The world of publishing not only during Korda’s time but also today require that in the process of rising through the ranks to become iconic, one must meet very many people including those who’ve made it in the field and those who are still in the process of finding themselves. Korda was a brave and outgoing man as evidently seen in Henry Simon’s office during the interview. The publishing industry today just like in Korda’s time believes in recruiting competent people as employees, something that necessitates interviews. Korda is describes how Simon was hesitant to recruit him thinking that he was another ignorant yahoo from the movie business because of his family’s fame in the world of film (Korda 33).
Just like in the times of Korda as an editor in Simon and Schuster, the publishing industry continues to experience change and constant readjustments today. The publishing world is not only focused on addressing the thorns that slow down progress in the society, or how to make the world stop and solve its problems, but also entertainment and humor has taken its place. Just like Korda who later realized that life in publishing industry is never that serious and later made up his mind to have fun and enjoy being paid for sitting the whole day reading books and more books, the editing industry has attracted new entrants who take editing as a blossoming career(Lapham 530). Korda observes that just as the world is changing, so is the publishing industry. Right from the time he joined S&S to when he was penning down his autobiography, the world of publishing had become a reactive business that entails following the trends with the hope that something that can translate to a good story comes up.
File Under Grief
It was not so long after Korda joined the prestigious and well known Simon and Schuster when waves of disunity and disharmony started rocking the firm. Korda narrates how he was met with a stern and authoritative notice which he suspected came from Simon that read, “Give the reader a break” the first time he reported to the firm on the 11th of august 1958 (Korda 47). The firm had resorted to encourage the use of a simple and easily fathomable language in the publishing of its work. At that time, the company was a united front determined to take the publishing business by storm and Korda could not be prouder to be part of the team. This was an era when publishing firms were not something close to corporate suits or better still answerable to any form of corporate mindset. Korda observes that this was the time when books were published not as products to be marketed, but as tools to carry forward the spirit of literature and societal change. Just after the early retirement of Dick Simon, thanks to his heavy smoking habit, the Simon and Schuster became and divided than never before.
“Simon and Schuster was therefore a house divided. Marketing and promotion were controlled by Dick Simon’s loyalists, the editorial department was more or less controlled by Max Schuster, with the help of Henry Simon and Peter Schwed, the former rights director (the two were like cheese and chalk), while the financial side was firmly in the hands of Leon Shimkin, who like the Prince of Darkness ruled from the floor below, at Pocket Books, and never came upstairs.” (Korda 39).
Corporate takeovers led to the change of attitude in the mid-1970s(Hammond214). The change that rocked the world of publishing where all firms cared more about books than profits and Korda by storm is not different from what is seen in today’s publishing world. The days when the biggest of firms were managed and owned by families and individuals with a passion for books have died away because of what can be termed as buyouts, amalgamations, and acquisitions today. It is no longer what Korda knew as the cottage industry with bottom-liners taking charge. Those who published and edited the very books that are now products and used to be at the helm of the industry have been relegated to the floor with managers and directors taking charge and constituting an utterly different and powerful arm in the industry. The publishing industry today does not strive to give forth quality and outstanding books but rather editors and writers strive to meet deadlines, fulfill mandates, and comply with rules and regulations set by the corporation of the industry(Hammond 218). Korda was born to find vast riches and wealth courtesy of his family’s success in the film industry. Thus, to him, money was not the motivation that inspired him to join the publishing business. His joy was in writing captivating novels and nonfiction. However, both the times of Korda and the modern world share the fact that at times, editors and writers had to come up with anything, or edit any kind of literature notwithstanding its importance in a bid to earn an extra coin (Korda 146). The only difference is that today’s world has been corrupted by the desire to make more profits leading to an exaggeration of everything.
Nice Guys Finish Last
Korda presents an era where the publishing industry was fully immersed in the corporate world and the business had started to boom. “By 1961, however, the age-old pessimism of book publishing had been erased by a sudden burst of confidence, prompting Life magazine to devote a long, yea-saying piece headlined, NO MORE A HEADACHE, BOOK BUSINESS BOOMS!”(Korda 93). The industry was experiencing a proliferation of mergers according to the life magazine and this was a sign that the business industry had grown and was still growing rapidly. The publishing business had been left out by capitalism and suddenly, it started to earn its place in the corporate world, growing so rapidly that it could compete with the automotive industry. According to Korda, the mechanics of the brain was the reason for the industry’s upheaval (Korda 94).
However, a significant change that resonates with today’s publishing industry engulfed the era of business booming. Publishers were willing to eliminate editors and authors and totally kill the art of novel writing(Lapham 530). The fact that many publishers chose to branch into the business of textbooks and information such as encyclopedias and dictionaries is evident enough that the industry was heading towards maximizing profits and cutting down on the expenses(Hammond 221). Expenses in terms of editing would be reduced by more than half by choosing to brush off novel writing and publishing. Korda notes how the shifting status hit Simon and Schuster so hard that only the bestsellers had an opportunity to be published. “About this time, a business expert called in to evaluate S&S came to the conclusion that we would be better off if we published only bestsellers.” (Korda 94)
Today, the publishing industry is embracing just like Korda’s postulation that the quantity of work invested in a book rarely translates to its success. The fact that many editors, authors, and moderators have laid their hands on a book does not mean it will become the bestselling or win the most number of awards. The publishing industry has dipped its head in the production of information books and other manuals which require little editing but poses the potential of being sold. Fictions and thrilling novels have fallen victims of this shift of balance and the need to make more money. Editors are aware of the trend and just like Korda, keep on postponing and procrastinating projects on fictions while working on readily sold publications. Nonetheless, as Hammond observes, that today’s publishing industry is more inclined, focused, and influenced by the need to sell more and make more money as compared to Korda’s time (215).
Having fun and enjoying used to be one of the major attractive things about the publishing world. Bennett Cerf’s enjoyment of life puzzled many and even became of the main assets of Random House boasting of how much fun he had working in the book publishing industry (Korda 136). Korda chose to venture into the book business because he believed he would explore different horizons from his family’s expedition in movies. However, in the modern society, people choose the book business because of its potential to produce huge profits. Passion and the desire to transform minds through books and have fun has been backspaced by the commercialization of the industry, with editors, owners and writers focusing on returns.
Isn’t She Great?
Korda is completely moved and keeps on wondering what Jacqueline Susann is made of and even though the success of her previous books did not signify anything to him, he was visibly shocked. The publishing industry was shy and afraid of vulgarity and this was one of the reasons some people chose to distant themselves from Hollywood, which of course was punctuated with vulgarity (Korda 192). Jacqueline Susan was great: Great in the sense that she managed to bring a combination of what entertained and influenced people with a touch of vulgarity in a single novel to make a bestseller. “Then, in 1966, came Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls, a huge best-seller that for the first time brought the worlds of Hollywood, TV, tabloids, and Broadway press agentry together to sell a novel in which they were all the subject” (Korda191). According to the narrator, Jackie’s life was more lively compared to what she wrote. Her life was a cocktail of decadence and debauchery both from her father’s side and her mother’s side, which in part might have inspired the writing of “Valley of the Dolls”. Korda writes a memoir of Susann with passion and insightful evaluation of her past and childhood. When she was a young girl, her ambitions of becoming an actress were wild, she read books meant for adults and a whole lot of her scary past pints to one things about her; a strong and objective woman. Korda writes of a woman that seemed computer illiterate after receiving a manuscript done by her written on a pink paper and typed in capital letters like along telegram that was irritating and boring to work (190).
Susann beats all odds to become one of the most celebrated writers. She created and improvised a new way of selling her novel to people. Through what the New Yorker terms as a shameless mix of advertising, individual appearances and celebrity tie-ins, Jackie left a perspicacious mark in the history of novels (Korda 195). Susann invented, reinvented, and made whole the novel of romance opening it up to candid sexuality. She became great because she tried what many did not. She wrote about sexuality, romance, relationships, love, and most important, is that she wrote what many people wanted to read more than anything. However, the publishing world today has overstepped the freedom that Jackie brought. Obscene and vulgar literature has gotten its way into the readers’ world. Korda’s era where a romantic novel such as the “Valley of the Dolls” by Jackie was highly appreciated continues to live to date. As the world, revolves so does the urge to learn more and understand more about sexuality and romance.
Conclusion
Through his life as an editor and the editor-in-chief, Michael Korda succeeded in describing the changes that have shaped the publishing world by narrating other people’s lives, feelings, and experiences within the field. He shares anecdotes about the publishing world and different celebrities that make the autobiography a memorable read that not only resonate with what transpires today in the publishing industry but also foreshadows the improbable future of the industry. The publishing world today was shaped by what happened during Korda’s time. Similarities and differences are both discernible, but one thing that remains clear is that as time goes by, so does the industry change to suit it and survive in an electronic world.
Works Cited
Hammond, Andrew, ed. Cold War Literature: Writing the Global Conflict. Routledge, 2006.
Korda, Michael. Another Life: A Memoir of Other People. Random House Digital, Inc., 2000.
Lapham, Lewis. Adventures in the Book Trade. The New York Times, 1999.
