Such a good interview! And the thing that resonated with me the most is that publishing is full of clones - well the publisher I work in is. Everyone at the top/decision-making level in my division are the same type of person, or have changed their personalities to be the same, and everyone in the division is expected to work in the same way. There is no room for being different or creativity - I’ve seen/heard of very similar situations to the one the interviewee described where she is told she isn’t loud enough/ has the right ideas/goes home on time. Those who I feel have an unhealthy work/life balance - ie answering emails at weekends, going above and beyond to the point where there are jokes made that they live in the office because they are there so late - are praised and used as shining examples of how everyone should be. It’s such a clique and if you’re in it you get noticed/promoted (on a few occasions without merit). As managers you have to train your team to act a certain way, say the right things, basically control what they do or else if they say or do what is perceived to be the wrong thing then that’s their career ruined. They are then perceived as ‘having an attitude’ or not fitting in and anyone who resists or is a different type of personality leaves or is pushed to the sidelines.
Sorry if this is sounding a bit like a rant but this interview really made me aware of the culture/cliques and I’m interested to know if it’s like this at other publishers. For a creative company to force everyone to work in the same way as a few - to crush individualism as I see it - is, well, very sad and, as the interviewee points out, makes it incredibly difficult for anyone coming in who might not fit into the mould the division expects its employees to be.
Great interview! It astonishes me that the starting salary that this person received in 2013 was the same one I was on when I started as an assistant in 2005, and speaks a lot to the industry expectations that people in entry-level roles should have parental or partner support.
I’ve had my eyes opened to an industry that quite literally hides behind a book.
I’m not so shocked at the starting salary as that is what the majority of graduates earn in the first yea living in London, but I’m shocked and appalled that anyone could think in that time frame going from 19-26 would be acceptable. Most rents in London start around 800pcm plus bills, tube costs and on top of that actually having a life making this a completely unviable career opportunity and thus extinguishing people’s passion and interests.
It’s saddening to hear of blatant classism too and a clear inability to accept people for their talents and who they are instead of trying to squash lots of clones into a room.
Anyway, my comment also ended up a little bit of a rant, but I’m shocked and appalled and think these things really need to be addressed or all the UK publishing houses will eventually cease to exist. X
Such a good interview! And the thing that resonated with me the most is that publishing is full of clones - well the publisher I work in is. Everyone at the top/decision-making level in my division are the same type of person, or have changed their personalities to be the same, and everyone in the division is expected to work in the same way. There is no room for being different or creativity - I’ve seen/heard of very similar situations to the one the interviewee described where she is told she isn’t loud enough/ has the right ideas/goes home on time. Those who I feel have an unhealthy work/life balance - ie answering emails at weekends, going above and beyond to the point where there are jokes made that they live in the office because they are there so late - are praised and used as shining examples of how everyone should be. It’s such a clique and if you’re in it you get noticed/promoted (on a few occasions without merit). As managers you have to train your team to act a certain way, say the right things, basically control what they do or else if they say or do what is perceived to be the wrong thing then that’s their career ruined. They are then perceived as ‘having an attitude’ or not fitting in and anyone who resists or is a different type of personality leaves or is pushed to the sidelines.
Sorry if this is sounding a bit like a rant but this interview really made me aware of the culture/cliques and I’m interested to know if it’s like this at other publishers. For a creative company to force everyone to work in the same way as a few - to crush individualism as I see it - is, well, very sad and, as the interviewee points out, makes it incredibly difficult for anyone coming in who might not fit into the mould the division expects its employees to be.
Great interview! It astonishes me that the starting salary that this person received in 2013 was the same one I was on when I started as an assistant in 2005, and speaks a lot to the industry expectations that people in entry-level roles should have parental or partner support.
I’ve had my eyes opened to an industry that quite literally hides behind a book.
I’m not so shocked at the starting salary as that is what the majority of graduates earn in the first yea living in London, but I’m shocked and appalled that anyone could think in that time frame going from 19-26 would be acceptable. Most rents in London start around 800pcm plus bills, tube costs and on top of that actually having a life making this a completely unviable career opportunity and thus extinguishing people’s passion and interests.
It’s saddening to hear of blatant classism too and a clear inability to accept people for their talents and who they are instead of trying to squash lots of clones into a room.
Anyway, my comment also ended up a little bit of a rant, but I’m shocked and appalled and think these things really need to be addressed or all the UK publishing houses will eventually cease to exist. X