Opinion: The end of the line for celebs?
Trevor Dolby in BookBrunch

Lies, damn lies and Christmas book sales. Having counted them out, publishers will spend the next few weeks counting their books back in, many of them celebrity biographies. Trevor Dolby points out that popularity doesn't always translate into sales, and wonders whether the celeb genre has gone with the Noughties.

As a young thing I worked for Paul Hamlyn – more precisely for his company. I was natural history editor working for Andrew Branson, who went on to a proper job founding, and still publishing, British Wildlife Magazine. We had just moved into Bridge House in Twickenham, and Mr Hamlyn was chipper that he had bought his eponymous company back from Reed. He, and a number of his top people, was to do a walk-through, so we were briefed to have clean desks with a conversation piece visible if royalty stopped for a chat.

I had just published Jeremy Thomas’ Guide to Butterflies of Britain and Ireland – still in print – so I popped a copy on the side of my desk nearest the aisle. In due course Mr Hamlyn passed by with Charles Fowkes, the then MD, at his side. A few paces behind came the great publisher’s pocket battleship of a bagman, Ian Irvine. Just my luck he stopped. He picked up Jeremy’s book and said nothing. He opened it and said nothing. He flicked through it and said nothing. He looked up and fixed me with his gimlet eyes:
“What do you do?”
“I’m an editor… I work with the author to create the book.”
“Did this book make money?” I was stumped.
“What did it cost to produce?” I hadn’t the slightest idea.
“How many copies has it sold?” Blank. He realised he was talking to an idiot.
“Your job, like everyone else’s, is to make money for this company,” he said, and strolled off. Read more...