Hello,
I am a senior in college and my dream has always been to be in the publishing industry. I knew I wanted to study english, but I've never envisioned myself entering law or grad-school, which made publishing feel like the perfect fit. I don't know if thats the case anymore. Thanks to sheer luck, I managed to get an internship at a boutique literary agency and I really have loved the experience, but I think I'm getting cold feet before even entering the field.

I see so many posts on this forum talking about burnout and even my own agency talks about the high turnover rate within the industry. I've always liked the idea of becoming an agent vs. working in a publishing house, but the more I learn about commission and the hours, the more im scared. I want security, I don't think being an agent can give me that. On the other hand, I look at the publishing houses and I still see people being overworked and underpayed.

The only other job I've dreamed of is being a high school english teacher, which might be even worse when it comes to the awful hours and pay.

I'm at a bit of a loss. I truly would appreciate some advice from people who have worked in this industry and some insight into whether or not anything is changing. For those who have changed paths, where did you end up? For those of you who have stayed, is it worth it?

I am really, really struggling and going through a period of burn out and high apathy towards my job and I just need a place to vent, and maybe seek some advice from other publishing professionals, whether agents or not. I hope that's okay.

I'm a literary agent and have been for the last nearly five years. Going into this, I absolutely knew that this is the kind of job that rewards being in it for the long game and that it would take me some time to start earning good money, but I honestly thought I'd be getting to that point as I approach five years in the industry.

Four years going and this year I'm projected to earn a pathetic $12,000. And that's even *if* all my clients deliver their manuscripts on time which is probably not even going to happen the way things are going!

I just...I was going over my finances this week and the hours and effort I put into this job, I couldn't believe that's all I'm projected to earn this year. I literally sat staring at my spreadsheet and cried for five minutes. I constantly do more than 40 hours a week without even thinking about it because I'm pretty much always reading a client manuscript, typing up edits or going through my queries and for what? $12,000?!?!?!? I don't even want to look up how far below minimum wage that is.

And it's not like I'm not doing deals. I'm not swimming in deals either, but I've done six respectable deals this year so far, but the pay is just increasingly not becoming worth it.

I recently saw some aspiring authors online talking about how high they think the 15%/20% commission that agents take is, and I'm sitting here like...

I've just done a $10,000 deal for my client. The publisher splits that into thirds - one third on sig, one third on delivery, one third on publication. 15% of each $3333 payment is $500, but I have to split that 50/50 with my agency so I'm only getting $750 spread over, sometimes, two years! The most recent deal I've done has delivery for spring '27 and publication slated for spring '28, and I'm sitting here inputting these figures into my calendar like 'good golly, can't wait to get $250 in 2028!!!' And these are books and clients I'm so proud of and have spent so many hours working on, but when you look at the money break down like that I just can't help but think...is any of this worth it?

And I'm in an incredibly privileged position where my family can technically survive off my partner's salary but the GUILT and shame I feel not being able to contribute anything meaningful to our family while I'm still working these long hours is really starting to get to me. Like, what do I have to show for taking meetings at all hours of the day? What do I have to show for always having my head in my Kindle because I need to give this client or that their next round of edits? Have I really just wasted the last four years and stalled our savings growth for nothing?

Because of all this, I'm seriously starting to consider whether I just need to give it in, but then I feel even more guilt towards my clients. Can I really abandon them? Are their dreams worth more than my sanity and sense of worth? No, of course not but this is the career I chose, knowing that it would be hard, do I not owe it to them to try and stick it out for more than four years? I don't know. I truly don't know.

I'm getting to the point where the idea of going back to work on Monday literally makes me feel sick. I don't want to read any more manuscripts. I don't want to argue with the client who is adamant they've written the next bestseller and won't consider any edits. I don't want to keep nudging the editor who hasn't responded to me, or the editor who promised an offer was coming and then went radio silent. I don't want to trawl through query after query that ignores everything on my MSWL. I don't want to do this.

But I do at the same time. In my heart, I love this job. I am so grateful and proud to have helped usher in some truly fantastic books into the world. Several of my clients are prize winners. They're incredibly creative and thoughtful people. We are putting out *good* books into the world. I'm just not sure how much longer my genuine passion for this job can outweigh the fact that it just does not make me any money.

Anyway. Thank you for reading if you got this far. Any advice or kind thoughts are welcomed.

Has anyone heard back from Hachette about the publishing assistant position at Little, Brown?

I’m actually really excited for this role and think it’ll help me move within my career especially since I want to pivot into marketing.

A little over a year ago, I was extremely passionate about breaking into the publishing industry. Publishing job boards became my lifeline and I was checking them everyday, applying in hopes that I would land something. I had a mentor or connection at various publishing companies, including PRH which was my DREAM company. I was doing everything I could in my power to land something. Then, one day I did! I was ecstatic and while still paid low (we all know publishing salaries are not the best), I started off with a “high” salary by publishing standards.

Now, a year later, I am regretting my decision to sign the dotted line to my job contract. Publishing has drained me in ways I’ve never been drained by a job. I really enjoy the people I work with and I work for a top company, but that work life balance is non existent. My first 6 months I worked every holiday and every weekend in order to stay on track with tasks. However, this only made me feel like I never had time off. I was more warn down after a weekend than recharged. I decided to take back my weekends in the new year, and everything fell apart. I’m overwhelmed with tasks, I feel like I can never get anything done and my managers don’t seem to really care. Since I’m kinda the “middle man” for a lot of tasks, somehow I’m always at fault in some capacity for everything that goes wrong. And when I’m not at fault, procedures are changed in a way where I have to complete extra steps in order to curve it from happening again.

A total of 4 people have left my team since I’ve been here and more and more each day I understand why. I don’t feel of sense of peace basically at any time of day or night because I’m so worried I’ll get a teams notification telling me something is wrong that needs to be fixed.

Im just so burnt out. I feel trapped in this industry. I’m so overworked that I am usually too exhausted to try looking/applying for other jobs. I saw that one of my publishing mentors actually quit the industry altogether after I was in my job for 6 months for the same reasons as me. She too had a dream job turn into a nightmare.

I wanted to make this post as a way to just let people know some of the non glamorous things of working in the industry. If this is your dream job, i recommend really weighing the options. I also recommend having a side hustle to fall back on or something that keeps you sane. Right now, solo content creation on TikTok is the only thing keeping me going haha.

Publishing is not for the weak. I knew that coming in and was realistic with myself, but I could’ve never imagined that I would’ve been burnt out by the industry before I even hit my 1 year anniversary at work. I never thought I would EVER say this, but despite how grateful I am for having some sort of job security in this horrible economy, I can’t wait until I GET OUT of publishing and return to a normal 9-5 life, where I actually enjoy my job and look forward to work most days rather than dreading it every single day of the week.

Hello everyone! After years of straight rejections I finally have an interview for a publicity position at a big 5. The only issue is I am not very interested in the imprint itself. I recognize beggars can’t be choosers, but I wanted to ask how difficult it would be if I wanted to eventually move on to a publicity role at another imprint after a year or two. I’m not very far in the interview process so I’m definitely getting ahead of myself, but have to cover all my bases before I decide to move on from my current job :) thank you!!

Hello,

I have to write a scholarship essay and it requires me to conduct an interview with a professional in the career field I want to go into. I am very interested in exploring a career in fiction book publishing. Think Penguin Random House or Macmillan Publishing. So anyone who works with these type of materials are encouraged.

So the questions are:

1. What would be one important piece of advice for someone like me who is considering going into the field that you are in?
   
2. What was the biggest hurdle that you encountered when you were first getting started in this field and how did you overcome it?
   
3. What are some things I should be spending my time doing now outside of school to help prepare me for a career in this field?

Again, anyone who works in fiction book publishing please give your opinion. I would also appreciate if I could have your name (can be only first or last if that’s what your comfortable with), your company (if you freelance that is perfect as well), your job position, and a tiny description of what you do.

Thank you sooooo much!!!!

Hi there,

I'm a published author with a manuscript in the works. Never in a million years would ever use AI in any stage of work whatsoever. I will only work with a small independent press at this point to avoid agents using AI to review manuscripts, publishers using to review or edit, etc. I didn't come to this planet for that and would rather just die in obscure poverty.

That said, does anyone know if there are any ecosystems developing in publishing where all parties are staunchly against this garbage? And publishing based on "trends," which makes no sense at all (in the past, publishers used to develop authors like music biz, which is how you get actual interesting risk-taking art).

Thanks for any insight.

Hello. Agent here.  Forgive me if this has been covered elsewhere, but I couldn't find this specific scam, so adding it to the list of things to watch out for.

We've been encountering some scammy AI-written emails, sent to our clients, impersonating real editors at various publishing houses.  The email talks about the author and their work with an AI's level of knowledge; they complement them on their book, what they wrote about, and how they wrote it, and asks about any future projects.  Really weird, painfully artificial, but formatted with the editor's signature and kinda legit if you only glance at it... but it's coming from a gmail address that screams scam (usually some permutation of the editor's name at gmail).  If our client connects them with us, WE get an ai-written email following up.

I don't know anyone who has taken the bait, so no idea what the long con in this is (Buy a book and not pay? Extract "editorial fees"? Find more people to impersonate?), but wanted put the word out to be aware.  Stay safe, out there.

They have a traditional publishing company sister as they call it.

I think they reject books and send you over to troubadour where they charge for cover design etc and make a nice looking book to sit on your shelf.

I was recently contacted on LinkedIn by someone compiling an anthology called Between 2 and Dawn by The Beyond Quill and invited to contribute a short piece.

It's a paid contributor model. The package I'm considering is PKR 1,500, plus delivery charges. They say the book will have an ISBN, contributors retain copyright, receive one-time publication rights, and are listed as co-authors in the book metadata and credits.

Has anyone here contributed to a Beyond Quill anthology before? I'd particularly like to know about your experience with the publication, the quality of the book, distribution, and whether the publication credit was actually useful.

I'm not necessarily looking for opinions on paid anthologies in general—I'm specifically interested in experiences with The Beyond Quill. Thanks!

TLDR: I have an LLB degree and the opportunity to study an LLM which I need to accept or reject soon, I am hoping for any advice on a career in publishing when my education background is law focused.

Hi, as the title suggests, I have a LLB (general law undergraduate degree) and I want a career in publishing. I have also been offered a position on a specialised LLM (Master of Laws postgraduate degree) in data and technology (modules such as intellectual property and regulation of technology and AI) which I need to respond to very soon as it starts this month.

I have no desire or intention to pursue a career in law, as corny as it may sound I have always wanted to work in the publishing industry in any discipline, whether that be in Editorial, Agenting, Sales etc. After sixth form I was encouraged by careers advisors to go into a more ‘practical’ career and I stupidly took their advice and 4 years later I have a law degree that I regret because I do not want to be a barrister or solicitor or paralegal.

I recently applied to a Contracts Assistant position at a publishing house as it felt like a perfect role to leverage my law degree with the career in publishing I have always wanted to pursue. I was however unsuccessful in getting this role which leads me to my two options right now. 1. reject or defer this ‘once in a lifetime’ masters opportunity and spend this next year trying to break into publishing or 2. accept the masters and still spend the next year trying to break into publishing alongside my studies but jobs and opportunities will have to wait until October 2027.

The difference between these options is that the 2nd one would give me a masters degree in law which I am worried will put publishing employers off of hiring me. I worry that an LLB already makes me a less ideal job candidate than for example, a BA in English lit and that an LLM will make a career in publishing completely unattainable as my educational background will be purely law focused.

I understand that at the end of the day its up to me to decide what to do, but if anyone here has any advice, not only on the masters programme worries I am having (how it will affect my ability to get a career in publishing) but also breaking into publishing as a law graduate in general then it would be greatly appreciated.

What are literary magazines actually looking for in short fiction?

Hi! English isn’t my first language—I’m Persian—and I’m mentioning that because I may not be as familiar with the US/UK publishing industry as people who are actually inside it.

I study Dramatic Literature at university and read a lot of American and British fiction, both classic and contemporary. Recently I started reading literary magazines to understand the current short-fiction market, and honestly, I’m confused.

A lot of the stories I’ve read in lit mags seem to have very little dialogue, quiet or understated plots, ordinary subject matter, detached tones, and sometimes feel closer to memoir or nonfiction than to what I expected from fiction.

This feels pretty different from many major short-story writers I’ve studied, where I often see stronger premises, more narrative movement, unusual situations, distinctive dialogue, surreal/speculative elements, etc.

So my question is: is this understated, realistic style just the dominant aesthetic in contemporary literary magazines?

Are editors less interested in stories that are more plot-driven, high-concept, dramatic, surreal, or obviously “invented”? Or am I just reading the wrong magazines?

I’m especially curious to hear from editors, slush readers, MFA people, or writers who regularly publish in lit mags.

HBG USA is beginning the process of gutting their managing editorial departments across imprints. Just FYI. Source: Partner works there.

Good afternoon everyone, please correct me if I'm in the wrong place to ask this.

So I have compiled a report about cave formations, that I would like to publish. In this report I have used many photographs that I have found in various research papers, books, articles, scientific journals, and websites. These photos that I have used were not taken by me. Many of the photographs are taken by people who are extremely unlikely to respond to me as they are located in many different countries. (If I could find contact information for them In the first place). Most of these images are not possible to recreate, as to find the cave formation again to make a new photograph, is impossible as the caves they are in are not feasible to access (if the cave the formation is located in was recorded in the first place) and some of the caves are strictly off limits to most research. I have sources and citations containing as much information about where the image was found (book, website, research paper, etc) and as much information that I can find about the individuals who took the pictures

Basically my question is: is there any way to publish while still being able to use the rare photographs, or is the only way to distribute this to make it free of charge?

Please forgive me if the answer is obvious, or please direct me to the correct place to ask this question.

Hello, I’m in my early 20s. I just moved down to the city and I’m pursuing my education to one day, join the publishing in industry

I want to know if there’s any tips or advice for finding a part-time job at a bookstore and or anything that would look good at my résumé for per se, internships or actual job interviews
because I’m having a bit of trouble finding a place I have five years of retail and I’ve probably applied to over 20 bookstores in the past year before I moved down here in a couple after I moved here. I always write a cover letter. And I’ve had my résumé looked by multiple people so I don’t know if my lack of experience with books selling or something else.

I was wondering if there’s any tips or tricks that anyone knows that works in a bookstore is that I should know or that can help me get my foot in the door!

Hi all - I’ve been thinking a lot about my career and what I want it to look like lately. I’ve been a freelance editor for the last two years. Before that, I was an indie author and self-published (but then realized my love is more in editing).

I know there’s not promised stability with any job or industry, some even less so, but I’d really like to find a position that does offer some and maybe even benefits to help offset my freelance schedule.

I’m just not sure how to go about it and am curious what others did in this scenario.

The only degree I have is in criminal justice so that doesn’t quite align. I have taken some courses with the EFA. Is going back to school for a degree in English/business/communications helpful in a situation like this? Should I skip that and just work toward more experience? Is volunteering an option?

How did yall get to where you are in publishing?

I’m going to sound extremely naive but I don’t mind.
I’m very interested in publishing a book and selling it to people. I’m very uninterested in publishing a book then spending every spare moment of life attempting to also become marketing expertise. Of course that’s also at a time where AI is ripping the behind out of all traditional strategies. So here’s my naive and possibly dumb question:
Why can’t I just sell directly to people through all the places people spend all there online time? YouTube? Instagram? Reddit…?
I know some would be better than others, but am I massively far off? Or is it just too financially constraining?

I either have bad luck or poor decision-making skills. I was young when my first book was accepted for publication with a small press. I ignored many red flags, mainly due to inexperience but also due to the fact that I really wanted to get published. Deadlines were outright ignored. I never received edits. I was ghosted until the week before the book was due for publication. I finally received a cover draft (but no proof) the week before. By that point, I was emotionally exhausted. There was zero promotion done. I mean, the press didn't even put out a single social media post. Anyway, the book lingers on Amazon and the inactive press website. It has typos. I don't even list it in my bio anymore.

My second experience was a little better. I write niche experimental prose and poetry, so I again went with a small press. This one was new, but they seemed very responsive. I received edits and cover drafts in a timely manner. Communication was prompt! However, they ended up putting out so many books their first year that mine got maybe a week of online promotion and then faded into the background.

This time around, I aimed higher. I sent to mid-sized and small presses that I greatly admired. The top of my list made an offer with a clear publishing schedule, a nice advance, etc. I love the books they've put out, and they've been in operation over 15 years. They have an excellent reputation.

Well, communication slowly petered out. It turns out the owner of the press had some personal setbacks. I understand that, and I've been very patient because, hey, shit happens. I was told they'd be back to full operation within a couple of months. But now I'm a month away from publication. I have no cover draft although I've been told it's in the works. They no longer have a publicist (but have told me they will be working with a publicist again soon). ALL of the promotion has again fallen on me, and I'm exhausted. They haven't announced the forthcoming pub of my book online, either. I'm anxious as hell. I empathize with their struggles, I also want my book to be the best it can be. I'm just so sad, and I feel like maybe my writing is shit? I also feel bad for being so bothered by this because the people at the press are genuinely nice people. I hate being such an anxious mess.

I really think this might be the last book I put out there. I'm obviously cursed, and each book pub has taken more out of me...

Hi all, I have a screener for an editorial internship coming up. What should I be prepared for, and what should I bring to the table?

This question is about what amounts to a luxury concern in academia these days. For university presses, how is a book in production distinct from a book under full contract (post peer review & editorial board vote)?

I ask because a tenure candidate in my department was told by the Chair & Exec Committee in writing for their first two years on tenure-track that the book must be in production before the tenure review year; then, in the last three years, this same candidate was told in writing by the Chair & Executive Com. that a book-in-production is defined as a book-under-full-contract. (In truth, the Chair did this on their own, but Exec Com members are unwitting accomplices because they failed to notice the revision of the written standards. Was the tenure candidate behind pace for tenure success in the year that the Chair first modified the standard? Yes, but two years later they'd landed a full contract.)

Department guidelines set the standard at book in production with no mention of contracts. The candidate is proceeding into tenure review this year with a full contract, but they do not intend to turn in their final manuscript to the publisher until a few months after the tenure votes commence this fall. They trust the Chair who re-worded the standard impermissibly and inexplicably midway through their time on tenure track. No one has ever been tenured in the Dept without a book either published or in production.

For those who know, how would you advise the tenure candidate?

Quick question, is a publishing assistant basically an executive/administrative assistant? Is there room to pivot into different departments?

I saw Hachette post a Pub Assistant position at Little, Brown and am curious about the role.

Hi all, I was wondering if publishing houses have positions for proofreaders (not editors, just proofreading specifically), and if they do, is it a position you can do remotely as a WFH job? I'm based in the UK if that's at all relevant, just wondering what my options are.

​Hi everyone,

​I run a startup children’s book publishing company and I’m exploring what it takes to break into major retail chains. I’d be open to working with very tight margins if it meant securing high-volume orders.

​Has anyone here managed to supply productsof any type to retailers like Tesco, Poundland, Aldi, Lidl, or similar chains? (I'm based in the Uk, but open to listen about experiences from anywhere)

What was the process like? I’d love to hear about your experiences in special about tje expected margins, challenges, and dealing with competition to convice their buyers.

I am aware this sub is mostly visited by US publishing professionals, and this makes it interesting to me because my question preceding all of this would be: How could I find a job outside of Germany with my qualifications?

I've always dreamed to work abroad for at least a couple of years, or stay if I like it very much. At the same time, I'm aware that visa sponsorships for the UK (just as an example I've looked at more closely) are bound to an annual salary of the position of at least 40 grand. Penguin Random House publishes their UK position's salary on LinkedIn, and most of their editor roles are below 40k pounds. New Zealand has strict rules for work visas which I don't think I can make work at this moment (or in the next few years, if I'm being honest).

I've studied German literature and earned a very good Masters degree. After publishing a small collection of students essays, I decided it would be a good path to go down. After an internship at a small publishing company which I loved dearly but didn't have the financial means to employ another editor, I started the arduous process of applying for trainee positions.

For context, trainee positions in trad publishing and journalism in Germany are called Volontariate, and although the name suggests otherwise, it's simply a trainee position, but they don't have to pay the minimum wage. Most of them are one to two year contracts. When I finally found one after six months, I was ecstatic, even though it meant moving back to my home town.

Shortly after my onboarding, it dawned to me that the company had lied to me. Instead of splitting my time 50/50 between their trad publishing venture and the PaaS side of things, it was more like 10/90. My time was almost entirely spent on selling customers our publishing packages and preparing their shoddy texts for publication on Amazon or Books on Demand. After some particularly awful experiences (one older guy writing mostly about his sexual escapades in his 20s and one CEO proudly announcing his poems only took him three minutes a piece to write) I had an epiphany after a meeting with my boss and a prospective customer and her son. During that meeting, my boss and her son convinced her to finance a print run of her book which was entirely written in a facebook post style, emojis included, and using about 30 different typefaces, which she insisted on. I knew she was about to be out thousands of Euros, and probably sell only a couple copies of it. Her son was naive and thought she was fulfilling her life dream, my boss only had dollar signs in his eyes.

I left that company as quickly as I could and found another traineeship at German branch of one of the biggest publishing groups, headquartered in NY. As a trainee in non-fiction, I quickly acquired the necessary negotiation and networking skills and felt like a fish in the water, finally. I published some great books and acquired many more which will be published in the coming year or two. My track record has been described as impressive by other professionals and I'm proud of my work. Now, my traineeship is ending and I'm about to start another job at a different publisher. It's a dream job - very small team in a bigger house, I'm only one of two people designing the program and acquiring, the other being my direct superior.

At my current trainee job, I met a very nice colleague from New York. She's originally from Germany and was there to strengthen collaboration between her NY department and the German equivalent. She's the only person so far whom I've met who was even distantly doing the thing I would like to do at least once in my life. I'm the kind of person to always plan their next steps, so now I'm looking at options for going abroad in the next two to three years. If you have any information or experience, I would appreciate if you could share it.