FSG to Replace Its Commission Sales Reps

Last week, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) President and Publisher Jonathan Galassi announced that the company was dropping its commission sales rep network and that accounts visited by a commission rep would now be served by the Holtzbrinck Publishers Sales Group. The move affects titles published by both FSG and its distribution clients. The FSG in-house sales force will remain intact.

The move could mean rep changes for booksellers come May 1, when the transition is due to occur. However, Jeff Seroy, senior vice president of publicity and marketing for FSG, stressed, "Between Holtzbrinck and our in-house people, all accounts will be covered."

FSG decided to make the change because "it made sense on a number of levels," said Seroy, "and the time was right." While he declined to say whether the move was motivated by cost, he noted that "the intention is to service more accounts better and to sell more books."

Currently, FSG uses both commission rep groups and an in-house sales force. National accounts and others currently served by FSG's in-house sales staff will continue as before. Seroy explained that those booksellers currently being serviced by commissioned reps should expect to see a rep change.

The transition includes FSG and its distribution clients, Aperture, Enchanted Lion, Graywolf Press, R&S Books, and Soho Press.

The Holtzbrinck Publishers Sales Group currently represents Audio Renaissance, Henry Holt, Picador, St. Martin's Press, and Tor Books from the Holtzbrinck publishers, as well as an array of distribution clients including Rizzoli Books, Rodale, and Wizards of the Coast.