The Judith Regan Story
Vanity Fair has an article about Judith Regan, the ex-publisher of Regan books, a division of HarperCollins. It talks about how wonderfully complex she is and the author does say that he has some connections to her. Hmm. I’ve heard the horror stories about Judith and though I can’t say I’d like to be like her, they were entertaining. I think she forgot the one thing you don’t do when you’re a behind-the-scenes player: you don’t upstage the talent. The writers are the talent. We (the agents, editors, publishers) are the stage managers. It gets complex if you start mixing roles. Then resentment breeds and suddenly you’re left with a big mess on your hands. Of course, Judith is more than just a publisher so maybe that’s where the trouble began. She was doing too many things and it all backfired.
C.
Caren Johnson Estesen
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Reader Comments (1)
I think you are exactly right with Regan. I think she coveted the fame of her clients and pretty much brought about her own downfall. I will, however, miss her. Watching her career was like watching a disaster movie, entertaining in a macabre sort of way.