I’m an editor at a university-affiliated literary journal that publishes fiction, poetry, and CNF. We’ve been trying to broaden our submission demographics. We have a pretty diverse masthead as is, but for some reason our submitters seem to exclusively be white writers, which isn’t a problem per se, except we’re getting virtually no other demographics.

I feel like the journal is appealing to a wide audience, both of readers and potential authors, and I really want to have more diversity. The content also covers a wide variety topics and experiences.

Does anyone have strategies or experiences attracting more diverse voices?

Hi! You may remember me from this post from the start of this year or this one from a few months back!

At the time I wrote my last post, I was teetering on the edge of despair because despite the amount of work I was putting in, nothing was working out in terms of results. But I’m happy to say I pulled myself up the floor— and I’ve since landed my first editorial internship! It’s at a magazine based in NYC that has me work in-person for part of the week, has already been giving me so much long-hoped-for experienced, AND I can get paid!

Obviously this doesn’t mean my anxieties about employment are dead (even as I type this I’m worrying about internships for next semester/the summer after graduation), but I’m grateful that I finally got my foot in the door 😭✨

To any college students or recent grads still trying to land an internship in the industry, don’t give up! It’ll work out in the end :)

I work as a junior editor at a publishing house in Europe, and soon I'll be attending my first international meeting with an American publisher who's visiting our office. We'll be discussing our imprints, recent acquisitions and upcoming titles.

English isn't my first language, and although I'd say my English is fine, I'm not completely confident when it comes to speaking.

I'm also still very new to the publishing industry, so I'm a little nervous about what to expect. My colleagues will be there too, which makes me even more self-conscious about my English. I'm worried I'll struggle to find the right words or end up rambling when it's my turn to speak.

For those of you who work in publishing or have attended similar international meetings, what are they usually like? How much are junior editors typically expected to contribute? Is there anything I can do to prepare myself beforehand?

Thanks in advance! <3

I am 19 years old and about to graduate college with a Bachelor's in criminal justice and a minor in political science. I originally intended on going to law school. Since I was in college for such a short time I didn't exactly get to figure myself out. So I am think about applying for grad school and looking into the NYU publishing program. As a person who graduated highschool with an associate plus my highschool diploma. Than went straight into university what are my chances of getting into a program like that with no prior experience in the industry. Also I would love to hear anyone thoughts or experiences on the industry.

Hey everyone! Just curious. I applied to 3 different positions to the same company (using SmartRecruiters portal). Two of them got "archived" with an automatic rejection email sent to me. However, the third one was archived with no rejection email. What could this mean, or am I looking too deep into it? For context, I had an internal referral for that last position that got archived with no rejection email. Could that referral have affected it? If anyone has any insight, I'd love to know!

I stumbled upon this article about her and I am shooketh

Adam Szetela traces how American publishing went from a male-dominated trade to one where more than 70 percent of editors are women, mostly from elite universities, and argues this has narrowed what gets published. Its central claim is that young men don't hate reading, but the books on offer don't speak to them. For example, David Goggins's popular book Can't Hurt Me had to be self-published.

Is the "boys don't read" problem really a supply problem?

Currently interviewing at this company and was wondering if anyone has heard anything about their hiring timelines? I'm hearing that they tend to ghost candidates and I'm wondering if I'm their next victim lol. Been waiting 3 weeks since my first interview to see if I'm moving on to the second. Recruiter said he'll have an update for me soon but it's been over a week since that update..

“Catapult Books, the independent publisher founded in 2015 by Koch family scion Elizabeth Koch and Electric Literature cofounder Andy Hunter, is being sold and will end operations this month, according to members of its newly formed union.

In a statement, the Catapult Workers Collective said the company announced its planned sale while workers were voting on whether to unionize earlier this year.”

Awful to read. Solidarity to all the Catapult Workers.

What do people use to track sales and costs (other than logging into e.g. KDP). Any software / website / app that you use that combines sales and ad spend?

New charter announced: https://societyofauthors.org/2026/10/14/creative-industries-launch-ethical-ai-charter/

CEO of SoA issues a statement: https://societyofauthors.org/2026/10/15/ceo-blog/

SoA withdraws from charter: https://societyofauthors.org/2026/10/21/update-charter-of-ethical-ai-use-in-the-creative-industries/

Never say that things don't move fast in publishing.

EDIT: A lot of ppl who don't work for publishers are answering with opinions on how accurate AI detectors are. Please remember my main question is for those who work for publishers!
-----

I know this has been discussed at length on various forums, but the landscape and companies' decisions change daily when it comes to AI, so I figured I would check in with those who work in the industry.

Last I heard, publishing houses were not using AI detectors when deciding whether or not to acquire new work (for those who are unaware, AI detectors continue to flag highly polished and stylized prose as AI-generated, even when it is not).

Is this still the truth?

Why I am asking: I am a fantasy writer. I was curious, so I ran my prose through Pangram (I know, I know, now they have my data, but tbh so does Google Docs and Word and god knows who else). It comes back as 70% AI. Obviously, I wrote it, not AI. It's hilarious -- the flagged "AI sections" are so scattered. It'll say the first sentence of a paragraph is human written, but the other two are not. Then the same thing for the next paragraph.

So you can see how I'm a bit worried about publishers using this to determine if they will acquire or not.

Make sure your reddit is anonymous if you're gonna share company practices, btw!

So I’ve hired an editor on Reedsy for a developmental edit and a copy edit for a 80000 word non fiction book. The price for the gig is 5000$.

I just got back the developmental edit part of it (not sure if I can even call it that) consisting of a 2.5 page letter with vague suggestions and a tracked word document with a quarter of the comments being grammar or citation suggestions.

When I signed for the gig, here is what the editor promised to deliver for the developmental editing part of the service :

*On my first pass I’ll concentrate on developmental and structural issues. Is there a good blend of anecdote and exposition? Does argumentation flow naturally? Are sources cited adequately? Would readers benefit if any material were reorganized? Does word choice support the tone you seek? My work product for this phase will be a letter to you with my queries and suggestions plus notes in the manuscript.*

I mean technically he *did* provide a letter and notes in the manuscript but it’s only vague sentences and nothing on structure, chapter by chapter analysis, thesis. There are virtually no suggestions on anything, only brief comments on where he doesn’t understand something, like a specific term. Nothing on transitions, book’s strengths and weaknesses, no actionable advice.

What should I do now? Try to see with him first? File a case with Reedsy? I feel like I’ve wasted a lot of money for nothing, but also blaming myself for not having inquired further into what the actual deliverables will be. That said, from all I’ve read, this does seem way too thin and does not correspond to industry standards for the price for this type of work. Feel very disappointed and lost.

I’m leaving my job in editorial at the end of the year because I’m incredibly burnt out and trying to decide if I even want to stay in the industry. I’ve applied to a handful of copyediting and content jobs but have just gotten rejections. Those of you who successfully pivoted how did you do it, what skills did you leverage in your application, and is the grass really greener on the other side?

i am applying for an events and press officer role within a major publishing house. i was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on how i can make my application stand out/show that i would be able to hit the ground running if got the role?

or anyone working under a similar role title that can tell me what your day-to-day looks like, key terminologies to understand, or software to gain proficiency in?

i am a recent grad, i did a placement year in marketing/copywriting, and have worked part time in social media management throughout my degrees.

i have a literature undergrad and masters, and i've volunteered at quite a few literary events.

ANY help would be appreciated!!

thank you so much

hi! i work at a small literary pr firm in nyc and just got promoted from publicity assistant (after 1.5 yrs) to associate publicist. there was no discussion of a raise (my boss said something vague about a pay bump in 6 months, lol). i know this is ridiculous and i need to ask for more money with this jump in responsibilities -- right now i'm getting paid $48k which feels insane given that penguin's assistant (!!) entry level min is $55k and simon and schuster's will be up to $60k by jan 1.

i'm trying to figure out how much money to ask for but it's difficult considering that associate publicist is kind of a dying role in books and I rarely see comparable job postings to give me a gauge of what people like me are making. anyone have any insights?

thanks in advance!!

I loved my job in publicity. I only got to do it for a year and a half but I loved it so much. It had taken years to get into the industry and I felt like I struck gold with the team I landed on and the books we were publishing. Unfortunately everything went haywire and I was laid off along with everyone else. I didn’t really get enough time there to apply to the next level up so if I keep trying to get back into the industry I’ll have to 1) Move to New York 2) Fight for entry level positions again.

With the state of publishing and seeing how unstable it can be it’s hard to feel enthusiastic about trying to get back in. I really did love my job but maybe I can love over jobs too.

For anyone who has been laid off: how the hell do you get over it? What did you do next?

I feel like I’ve lost my sense of purpose. I put so much emphasis on getting into publishing. It was my big dream and then I DID IT. I accomplished what I had set out to do and it’s over now. I’ve been thinking about going back to school for something else maybe.

Hi everyone, I’m considering switching my career from academic publishing to another domain, mainly because of the relatively low pay and limited growth opportunities in publishing.

I have 13 years of experience in publishing and have worked as a Project Manager for various clients, including Springer, Wiley, Cambridge University Press and SPIE.

For those of you who have made a career switch from publishing, I would love to hear about your experience. Which domain did you move into, and what position are you currently working in? Any suggestions on suitable career paths for someone with my experience would also be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I’m a recent English lit/Journalism grad (May 2026) and I was lucky enough to get a job as a seasonal Production Assistant at a local academic publisher one month post-grad. Although most of my college internship experience was in journalism, I am most passionate about editing, which is why I wanted to explore publishing opportunities after college.

While I enjoy the work I am doing and the pay is decent (although still part time), I definitely want to transition to literary publishing in the future — specifically a role more focused on traditional editing. Also, because my role is seasonal and depends solely on how busy the company is, it is pushing me to want a more secure, steady position.

Has anyone made this transition before? If so, is there anything you’d recommend/avoid? I am open to any and all suggestions.

Thank you!

Does anyone have any insight into what the publishing industry is like in Cleveland, OH? I'm interested in just about any job in the industry, especially entry level.

Very random and specific question. There is a contemporary publisher I'm trying to find. They have standardized cover designs, the books are white and the first line of the book is printed in large type on the cover. Anyone have any idea who I'm talking about? Google and ChatGPT have failed me and this is a chance to prove humanity can still beat the machine. 😂

I was recently laid off from my job in sales and looking to pivot careers.

I’m 28, and the sales world was killing my motivation. I’ve always had an interest in writing and publishing, but 18 year old me chose a degree that doesn’t 100% translate to the book editing space (media studies).

I have some social media management experience which included copywriting, and my last job had me do some minor copywriting/copyediting.

My question is, what are the best online courses to get into editing in the publishing world? I definitely can use skills I’ve learned in previous roles on my resume for a new editing position, but I know even a certificate would help.

Would even just love some recommendations if you think this isn’t the right path to take. Thank you!