Underpaid and Overworked: A Look at Salaries and Benefits in Publishing

On paper, the publishing manufacture seems glamorous. As a erstwhile editorial assistant, I fell successful emotion with the process of making a publication from an thought to a tangible thing, moving with authors, getting escaped books, and attending motorboat parties. But this façade belies the heavy problems that persist; 1 of the issues publishing professionals ever lament is the debased pay.

In particular, salaries successful New York City–based publishers aren’t capable for entry-level professionals, which immoderate of the editors successful the 2022 “Great Publishing Resignation” exposed. Most of publishing is based successful New York City, which is 1 of the astir costly cities successful the state to unrecorded in.

“I wanted to determination retired of New York City due to the fact that it’s precise costly and precise hard to prevention money, particularly [with] what they wage you with publishing salary,” revealed a erstwhile Big 5 exertion whom I spoke to past year.

Other publishing professionals besides expressed their discontent successful this matter, including erstwhile Tor exertion Molly McGhee, who had publically resigned past twelvemonth and said successful an interrogation that her wage was “unlivable and untenable…for the magnitude of enactment that you do.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, editors marque an mean wage of $63,400 per year, oregon astir $30.48 per hour. Per Glassdoor, the mean yearly compensation for a publication exertion is $69,288, and the projected full wage for this presumption is $73,965 each year. But these figures amusement the median fig for an editor, a mid-level presumption successful publishing — galore employees marque importantly less.

Looking astatine the average outgo of an apartment successful a large metropolis specified arsenic New York, the starting publishing wage of $40,000 won’t simply chopped it. To person a comfy life, 1 needs to beryllium earning astatine slightest $80,480: treble the minimum wage of astir publishers. A livable wage is what publishing employees precocious fought for: HarperCollins employees went connected onslaught successful December 2022. Among the concerns raised was salary, which the employees wanted to beryllium accrued from the minimum $45,000 to $50,000. The onslaught ended past week, with a contract ratified connected February 16.

This poses immoderate questions: Why isn’t the minimum wage successful publishing precocious enough? What are the factors that lend to this? Exploring this contented further opens a tin of worms. According to The Guardian, since it’s mostly known that astir of publishing is female, the gender wage disparity has marginalized publishing’s disproportionately pistillate workforce, which whitethorn beryllium a origin of the hold successful wage rise. Women are besides little apt than men to question for raises and are much apt to judge a little opening rate. The nonfiction besides dispelled the prevarication that the manufacture is dying, hence publishers are paying its employees little and less, erstwhile successful fact, publishing is seeing big profits.

The figures aforementioned are conscionable extremity of the iceberg. Let’s look deeper astatine immoderate of the emblematic salaries — and benefits — of employees successful publishers large and tiny crossed the industry.

In the 2022 variation of the survey, it was revealed that the median income for each respondents accrued to $72,500 from $67,300 successful 2020. “The wage spread betwixt men and women besides persisted, with the median compensation for men astatine $90,000, portion women earned $70,000,” the survey concluded. “Both medians were $10,000 higher than those from our 2019 survey.”

But to beryllium fair, adjacent earlier the HarperCollins Union strike, Big 5 publishers had raised salaries of entry-level professionals to betwixt $40,000 and $50,000 astatine the extremity of 2020 and 2021 successful diverseness efforts. Before that, salaries were arsenic debased arsenic $30,000 to $36,000.

It looks similar this debased wage is lone a communal inclination for those successful the little rung of the ladder. Professionals astatine this level possibly couldn’t adjacent rise a household with a publishing salary. Despite different grievances, according to a erstwhile mid-level exertion who precocious discontinue their occupation aft 10 years, it truly came down to pay. “I knew I couldn’t stay successful publishing if I had a kid…I ever heard that editors often discontinue erstwhile they had kids due to the fact that they made little than it costs to screen childcare,” they told PW.

In contrast, the mag revealed successful 2016 that the wage remained precocious for executives successful a assortment of industries successful 2015 and fiscal 2016. “New hires tended to commencement connected a bully foot, and with a fewer exceptions, compensation typically roseate for veterans arsenic well,” the study reads. One apical enforcement was earning arsenic precocious arsenic $1 cardinal annually. This is backed up by a CEO, who was interviewed by the magazine, who made a assertion that those that instrumentality with the concern win financially. The wage survey from PW offers immoderate grounds for this. According to the 2021 survey, the median wage for those successful apical positions was $130,000.

Typical Benefits successful Publishing

When it comes to benefits, it’s a antithetic story, and Big 5 Publishers look to beryllium generous.

A look astatine Penguin Random House’s website and its Glassdoor leafage reveals that it offers a comprehensive benefits package for its employees. Additional benefits successful the institution see Free Book Program that gives employees a accidental to spot respective escaped publication and ebook orders implicit an full year. A enactment of much than 100 books is disposable for employees to take from, with assorted options being offered to them.

“So galore benefits it’s hard to sanction them all: discount connected each books, acquisition reimbursement, health/ergonomic reimbursements, and more! Great abrogation clip and wellness insurance,” 1 anonymous worker posted connected Glassdoor. Assuming that these are roughly similar with that of the different Big 5 publishers, this is an supra mean offering of benefits for equivalent positions successful different industries.

via Unsplash

One large obstacle to entering and remaining successful the industry, according to a mid-level nonrecreational astatine a tiny publisher, is the poor pay. “If I had not been with my partner, I wouldn’t person been capable to bash it. I would not person survived beyond my archetypal publishing job. I wouldn’t person been capable to spend it with schoolhouse loans,” they told Poets & Writers magazine.

I was not capable to get accusation astir the minimum starting wage astatine these autarkic publishers, and this is conscionable a tiny illustration of the smaller publishers that exist.

In addition, a peculiar compensation program that immoderate tiny publishers usually leverage is simply a profit sharing arrangement, which is rather akin to the wage strategy startups adopt.

Salaries successful the publishing manufacture proceed to beryllium low, and wage and benefits are overmuch worse successful smaller publishers, according to assorted professionals. The compensation is truthful debased that galore can’t adjacent spend to rise a family, often leaving the manufacture altogether.

This debased wage is simply a disappointing summation to the issues professionals presently face, including overwork, deficiency of diversity, and small to nary opportunities for radical from low-income and number backgrounds.

“It was a precise heartbreaking acquisition for me,” said McGhee successful an interrogation with Literary Hub successful April, erstwhile she spoke astir however unsustainable the wage successful publishing is. “That is existent for a batch of radical who don’t travel from household money.”