Profile regurgitation

The New York Sun (amazingly, making this article available free to non-subscribers) profiled HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman yesterday, and their hook is that she “invented the author tour”:

For one, she is credited with inventing the author’s tour, now a staple of the industry. She had a legendary writer to escort around newspapers and TV and radio stations – Julia Child, the "French Chef." Child, who died last August at 91, would often say, "That Jane, she moves me around like a piece of meat."

Her inventiveness and energy intrigued the editor in chief of Alfred A. Knopf, Robert Gottlieb. He became her mentor and did not regret it. Ms. Friedman founded and became president of the first audio books division of a trade publisher, Random House. She also became associate publisher of Knopf, which meant she was responsible for the publicity, promotion, and marketing of books – which greatly impacted revenues.

"I was an overnight success after 30 years," Ms. Friedman said.

Did it help being a woman in a male dominated industry?

"I could have projected myself as a woman leader or as a leader who was a woman," Ms. Friedman said. "I chose the latter."

And while the piece is pretty typical puff fare, I have to wonder why it seems to follow a similar trajectory to the one Edward Wyatt did for the New York Times a mere six months ago which opens like this: "IF you do not know why she is a publishing legend, Jane Friedman will be happy to tell you. ”I am actually credited with inventing the author tour,” said Friedman."

But then, maybe my memory retains too many useless facts and correlations…