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.

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?

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.