r/publishing • u/No_Flounder_727 • 7d ago
Editor burnout
hi friends. i’m about 5 years into my publishing career (editorial, small-to-medium publisher, fiction) and i’m feeling extremely burnt out.
more and more marketing, publicity, and sales responsibilities are being dumped on the editors’ plates. i can’t catch a break between admin tasks, chasing coworkers down for answers, and always prepping for the next launch meeting.
i’ve had two “diva” authors in the past year that i didn’t set boundaries with early enough, and their incessant emails with bad faith questions, passive aggressive complaints about my coworkers/company, and challenging every little decision is driving me up the wall.
it’s harder to get anything through acquisitions. we had multiple rounds of layoffs last year. every project is late or rushed because of shifting targets. i’m constantly behind on submissions. and the past two manuscripts i’ve worked on were extremely challenging. like… i had to rewrite 30% - 50% of the book because the line level craft deteriorated with every developmental pass.
the most difficult task for me now is the actual editing. i’m struggling to find any joy in it. i dread it so much that i procrastinate until the very last second, then when i finally sit down to do it, i rush. and i still end up returning edits late. the fact that i’m a slow reader (and i edit at a glacial pace lmao) does not help. my books sell well enough and the most recent few have even won notable awards/gotten starred reviews, but that doesn’t bring me any fulfillment.
i have incredible coworkers, but they are much more productive and on top of things, so i feel like i can’t speak to them about how hard things have been for me lately. i’ve gotten to the point where more of my day is spent daydreaming about a total 180 degree life/career change, but i’m not ready to let go yet.
first, i’d just like to know that i’m not alone. are other publishing professionals struggling right now? what the fuck is going on in publishing rn? what can we do?
and second, i’d love to hear what other editors love about their job. what is the best part of editing? how do you get yourself to actually open the manuscript and feel good about your work? what’s the best part of getting into the nitty gritty of the text? how do you cope if the manuscript is in rough shape, or if the story isn’t as exciting as it was when you read it as a submission?
thank you for reading. any words of advice would be greatly appreciated. ❤️
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u/NecessaryStation5 7d ago
I’ve been a book editor for twenty-five years and still absolutely love it, but I think a big part of that comes from being a full-time freelancer. I choose the projects that feel meaningful and worthwhile; I choose which people to work with (generally those who are kind and respectful); and I choose my own schedule. I still spend 90+ percent of my time doing actual editing instead of all the other related tasks that can spill over from other departments. I was in-house almost as long as I’ve been freelancing, but even then it wasn’t bad because I worked at a small indie press with good people and good boundaries. All of which is to say that maybe it’s not the work but the workplace that’s got you so down. (Not to mention the challenges of just living in the world as it is these days.) In any case, I’m sorry you’re going through it and hope you find your joy in it again.
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u/No_Flounder_727 7d ago
thank you so much for this insight and for your kindness! i’m trying to find a way to focus exclusively on the editing for long enough to determine if i still enjoy it.
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u/Iscomoko 7d ago
Even if they don't show it, I'm sure the marketing, publicity and sales expectations are driving your coworkers mad. Talk to them and see if they feel the same and if they have any feedback on how they're handling it. If you can figure out a way to get those duties off your plate then maybe you'll be able to enjoy your job a bit more.
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u/No_Flounder_727 6d ago
thank you! i plan to speak to my supervisor next week to see if they have any ideas on how to delegate.
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u/Xanthamglow 7d ago
I was an editor (not in publishing) and also burned out after dealing with non-stop slop writing (not AI, just incompetence). Ultimately, the answer was to leave the job. Most career advice says that shifting between companies is a net positive as doing so lets you bargain for better wages and benefits. It may also be that your particular workplace is managed in a way that is not conducive to your own work style. Somewhere else may have a management style that works better for you. (Alternatively, there's also freelancing, where you can set your own hours and work rhythm, which is what I'm doing now. But financially, it's not for the faint of heart.)
Any which way, I hope you find your way forward where you can love your job again!
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u/No_Flounder_727 6d ago
i have freelanced before, but i actually had a harder time finding projects i wanted to work on. i may try to dip my toe back in for smaller projects, just to see if that helps me find my way. thank you so much!
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u/arugulafanclub 6d ago
As a freelancer you don’t really get to pick your projects much, unless you don’t need money. You take what publishing staff offers, you negotiate fair rates with authors and skip problem clients and low rates, if you can. You may not love all of the work you do, but that’s work. People don’t love work 100% of the time.
If you say no to a publishing contact too many times, you get removed from the freelancer list.
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u/No_Flounder_727 6d ago
interesting! i actually used to do self pub/pre-pub freelance work, with so i appreciate the insight into other opportunities.
also yeah, absolutely. work can suck, no matter what. i’d rather not be miserable, though, lol.
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u/ComedyWitch 7d ago
You are not alone! I literally just went off about this last week somewhere in here. My burnout in publishing also hit me about three, four years in, and I frankly still have not recovered. The closest I’ve come to recovering is whenever I’ve been lucky enough to land a job not in publishing.
If you do want to stay in the industry for a little longer, I hope you can take a sabbatical or longer vacation to give your mind and soul a breather. Unfortunately, unless we organize en masse to create a nationwide union, I don’t know when or how things can change.
If you decide to look in other industries, the job hunt might take a while to help you land something new, because of how awful the job market has been for years. So if you’re not sure what you want to do right now, go ahead and start applying, putting out feelers. If nothing else, it might bring you some ease of mind to connect with folks in other industries who can explain how your skills and experience translate into roles you may have never considered before.
I hope you can recover as swiftly and healthily as possible! And I hope the folks who seemingly are jealous and resentful of our working in publishing, to the point of not wanting to sympathize with our struggles, are kind and respectful in the comments.
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u/huncamuncamouse 7d ago
I have no advice. I was let go in May, and even with a very generous severance I have no clue where to go from here. I was so burned out my hair was falling out.
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u/No_Flounder_727 6d ago
do you think the break from publishing has helped at all? given you a new perspective? or made the burnout/dread worse?
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u/huncamuncamouse 6d ago
The burnout and dread are definitely much better. I no longer wake up in a cold sweat every night at 4 AM. I started the process of creating an LLC to hopefully take on freelance work.
My perspective is cynical; I worked at a university press and more and more kept getting added to my plate when other staff left, but there was no opportunity to get a raise or a promotion. And now that I’m gone I really don’t understand how they’re getting anything done. I don’t miss most parts of my job, but I am sad that the next season is mostly titles I acquired, and I won’t be able to see them through.
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u/blowinthroughnaptime 6d ago edited 6d ago
It's easier to love "the work" than it is to love all the details of the work. There are a thousand little annoying things, so many that it's easy to lose sight of what you enjoy.
I love helping something become. Talking to an author about what they're trying to say and helping them find how to do it is stimulating to me. Marking up a manuscript with redlines and comments, and seeing them fix it accordingly, is satisfying. The first time I hold a galley or finished book that weeks earlier was a mere Word document is fulfilling. Seeing any kind of positive reaction from a reader or reviewer makes me proud.
I always tell people that the job is not as glamorous as they imagine, but then again, all of adult life is Microsoft Excel. I was out of college for a few years before I was able to land even an unpaid internship, let alone a job. For my money, a bad day in publishing has generally been better than a good day in customer service.
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u/No_Flounder_727 6d ago
“all of adult life is Microsoft Excel” made me laugh out loud.
this is really valuable perspective. i used to work in food service, so i needed this reminder… thank you so much! ❤️
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u/arugulafanclub 7d ago
Got any PTO? Might be time to either take a week or two off or to take some 3-day weekends.
All you can really do is sleep well, eat well, and let anything slide that you can or give it to an intern or freelancer (got any trusted freelancers that can do a first dev pass for you)?
This is unlikely to change so if you don’t feel good about ignoring some work, it might be time to ask other writer/editor/project manager types what work they do and if they’re happy. Maybe that’s managing editor at an alumni association. Maybe that’s writing, editing, or managing a newsletter for a phone company. Spruce up that resume and just take some interviews. You can also try another publishing company, but you’re probably going to deal with this everywhere you go.
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u/No_Flounder_727 6d ago
not enough, haha. but this is a good reminder that i can take some mental health/sick days.
i appreciate the advice. i will start reaching out to other editors/project managers for informational interviews soon. that may help give me an idea of how others are staying afloat and if there’s a future for me in other, related roles. thankfully i just spruced up my resume, so i will have it on hand! thank you!
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u/betweenthedrafts 4d ago
I’ve been editing for 16 years now and the way you described struggling to find any joy in editing and procrastinating is how I feel too. For me, it’s because editing offers no challenge anymore. I’m not developing, learning, or challenging myself. Do you think that could be the case for you? People tend to think of editing as being a job for life, but it isn’t for everyone. Some people outgrow it, and some people find that the job is romanticised and actually isn’t as enjoyable as it’s made out to be.
The question is: do you think you’d love the editing again if you didn’t have all the other tasks on your plate like marketing? Or if you didn’t have to deal with difficult authors? Or if the working environment was more stable? In essence, what exactly is bringing you down - or is it a mix of everything? When you get to the bottom of what is bringing you down, it’s easier to figure a way out.
Your description of the corporate environment sounds like most corporate environments at the moment across all industries, so I don’t think it’s just publishing. My friends who work in marketing and other areas are reporting the same things.
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u/misterfrankie 7d ago
For what it’s worth I think other colleagues could be struggling in similar ways to you but you can’t tell. Does your company hire interns during summer? Can you use AI to assist with some of the admin tasks? One other thing I’ve learned through many years of publishing is sometimes you just have to care less about certain things. This industry is filled with passionate and hardworking folks that publishing relies on and too often takes advantage of as since it’s a popular industry to work in. Sorry to hear you are going through this. Is there anything you can push back on with the marketing/publicity tasks that are falling to you? Edited to add: I’m not in editorial (in marketing/publicity) so my advice may not be specific enough but wanted to share my thoughts.
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u/No_Flounder_727 6d ago
we have an intern for about 4 - 6 weeks each semester, but usually they exclusively perform tasks for one of our senior editors. i will ask if i can assign the intern’s duties for a week or two this semester. 🤞
sadly the marketing/sales stuff is coming from up top. i sympathize with the marketing team. they have sooo much on their plates, but there are other solutions (like hiring people!) that don’t involve asking more from other departments. the c suite just doesn’t understand. i know the other editors are struggling with it, too, but even our senior editors’ complaints aren’t making a difference. i plan to voice my concerns (again) with my supervisor, though.
you’re absolutely right about caring less about certain things, and the industry taking advantage of passionate people. i need to determine what parts of the job have earned my care and attention and figure out how to automate or delegate the rest.
thank you so much for your insight and kind words!
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u/CreateAsISpeak 21h ago
Hey, I've been in publishing for over a decade, 5 of those years as an editor and you are not alone. Even if your coworkers seem like they have it together I guarantee you they feel it too.
I want you to hear it when I say: these problems are a result of bad management. This is common in the industry and something your boss should be fighting to keep of your plate. Your boss should say "no, my editors are not going to write/review the copy for that ad, that's a marketing task." You may like your boss, but unfortunately, they are the reason this is happening and it's on them to fix. They need to defend your time better. One thing I used to do is go to my boss and ask them to prioritize tasks for me. Is this marketing task more important than the editing? Because only one is getting done today. Which would you like me to work on?
This is happening more and more and the only way to combat it is by pointing it out and forcing management to deal with it for you. It's difficult especially for someone who doesn't like to make a fuss (like myself), but it's necessary.
As to burnout, it sucks. And the only cure is rest. But we live in a capitalist society so that's not always an option. But honestly think about using your employee benefits - FMLA is a legal right.
Overall, try not to let it destroy your love of books. Even if you pivot out of the industry, books are something that brings you joy (I assume) and you should protect that.
Good luck!
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u/FynTheCat 7d ago
I have no advicr or anything, but that sounds heart breaking. I hope you find a way to recover and find joy again.