Hi all
First interview from a sales person this week. I know a lot of younger people aspiring to work in the industry read these newsletters so I’m glad to have the opportunity to shed a light on this sector of the business. Most people do not think very much about the process by which books get from the publisher into the bookshops but the minute you start working in the business you find out that this is the bit everyone’s energies are directed towards. Editors, art directors, publicists, finance people – we all have to submit to the will of the sales team at some point. The wider reading public have no real understanding, I think, of the influence retailers have on what kind of books are promoted or stocked prominently. And those retailers are dealing not with editors but publishers’ sales teams. It’s a really interesting and dynamic part of the business, and I’d encourage wannabe publishing workers to consider it.
The other thing in this interview is the comment about being forbidden to discuss one’s salary with colleagues. It was mentioned by the publishing director a few weeks ago also. What the actual fuck? Is this still happening? If so, there is no clearer sign that the industry knows how unfair its practices are. Screw that. Free speech is in the news today – and what is this but an attempt to control speech in the profoundest, most chilling way? I understand that when you sign an employment contract, you may be expected to keep certain kinds of sensitive trading information to yourself. But your salary is not sensitive trading information. Your salary dictates the shape of your life, the shape of your children’s lives, your health, mental and otherwise. If you are not allowed to talk about it to whomever you wish, whenever you wish, then your employer is controlling your speech. The deep irony that publishing companies have been doing this . . .
I’ve said this before but if anyone wants to know how much I charge as a freelance editor, just email. And re money, I’ve made just over $1000 in total from this newsletter since I launched, which is so lovely, I appreciate every single “coffee”.
interview
How long have you worked in publishing and how much do you get paid?
I have worked in publishing since 2016 after I left teaching. I started as a marketing assistant (£18.5k) and have worked at various publishers working my way up to Key Account Manager. I currently earn £31.5k
Tell us a bit about what your job entails.
Working in a publishing sales team really takes you all over the business and changes day to day. My main focus is managing relationships with buyers – working to make their job as easy as possible by selecting key titles that are likely to work well for their market and working collaboratively to maximise profit – something that has been challenging during the pandemic.
My in-house tasks range from using my market knowledge to inform acquisitions to working with the production team to turn around costings quickly for a 10k bulk order.
How do you feel about the amount of money you earn?
Mixed emotions. I am lucky to have a job and steady income, whilst working in an industry I love in these trying times. As I hit my 30s I am aware that people who do similar jobs to mine in other industries earn a lot more for their base salary.
Working in sales, you have maximum visibility as to what money is coming into the business, it can be frustrating when you work hard to secure a deal and there’s no commission or bonus in it for you.
Do you own property?
Nope, I have rented in London since I moved here in 2016. My current salary is the first time I’ve been able to think about starting to put money away for a deposit, but it will still be a long time until I am there.
Do you have a pension?
Yes. My Dad drilled into me that it was always important to opt into the workplace pension. I would like to save more in monthly, but I think it’s around 5% that goes in and my work match it.
Have you made financial sacrifices for working in books? Do you think it’s been worth it?
Yes and no. I have lived on low wages, with no money spare and a maxed-out credit card until very recently. Breaking the £30k barrier made things a little bit easier and allowed me to spend more money on rent and live somewhere with more space than my previous homes. Here and there I had parental support in the early years and I am not sure I would have made it without knowing there was that to fall back on.
What would you change about the industry, to make it fairer, if you had the power to do so?
There is so much, and I think about it a lot and try to consider how I can make publishing better for junior staff than it was for me.
One big thing the pandemic has taught us is that we can work effectively from remote locations. Remote working won’t be for everyone, but if you are not going to offer wages that allow someone starting out in publishing to live comfortably in London, than offering remote working allows us to hire from a wider talent pool than just those who have additional support to live in the capital.
I think in publishing we have a tendency to make a lot of noise about making a change but it’s all very surface level. The recent PA survey showed there had been no change to BAME groups in publishing in the last three years and to me that signals a real unwillingness to change at our roots and invest more in people.
Do you think money is wisely spent and invested in the business?
I am frustrated when I see publishers concentrate on expansion and acquiring other publishers rather than redistributing profits among their hard-working staff. We seem to operate on the bare minimum, and I have seen so many people work long hours and absorb other people’s jobs without pay rises or taking on extra staff. It’s tough when you bend over backwards to make the year-end figures and then there’s no reward in it for you.
Publishing salaries at the bottom have not budged much in ten years, despite industry growth. Why do you think that is?
I think publishing is very stagnant, people at the top are living comfortably and not looking at how to make things better for the staff at the bottom. We rely on people being so desperate to work in this industry that they accept poor wages.
Why does the average author make so little money?
CELEBRITY PUBLISHING DEALS. Ok this isn’t the only reason, but it’s a hill I am willing to die on. I worked at one of the big five publishers (or is big 4 now?) and the amount of money they would throw into an advance and the marketing plans for a celebrity with little writing experience or talent versus some really amazing debut middle grade and picture books was astounding.
Do you think there is problem with salary transparency in publishing? Is it something that others at high levels take seriously?
In my first role at a big independent publisher it was literally printed on our payslips to not discuss our salary with anyone else, so I don’t think salary transparency is something that is encouraged, in my experience. It’s all very smoke and mirrors, occasionally publishers make noise about circulating pay scales but higher levels are comfortable where they are and no one wants to rock the boat.
What would it take for things to change? By that I mean (for example): a starting salary of £30,000 rising to £40-£50K over five-ten years based on meeting clearly established targets?
If you are expecting people to be based in London full time, pay for high cost renting and transport than there has to be a minimum starting wage of at least £28k a year, that was the first time I felt like I could breathe a little finance-wise and it took me 3.5 years to get there. We need to invest and grow people, rather stretching them as thin as possible for as little money as possible.
In my experience of sales, and I think this is the case for other departments, there is no clear pathway to promotion. I think I have been relatively lucky after the last five years and through a mixture of hard work, good contacts and being in the right place at the right time I’ve made it to manager level quicker than some of my peers. I often felt like I was already doing an Account Managers role when I was an Exec and when I questioned this couldn’t be given a clear answer as to the differences in our roles. It would have been great have clear descriptions with salary bands, allowing me to asses where I was on my career path and what I needed to be doing in order to secure a promotion
Do you think more competitive remuneration and salary transparency would have a positive impact on diversity in the business?
Absolutely. I think a lot of people who aren’t from London probably look at salaries and can’t fathom how they can survive on that in one of the most expensive cities. We end up employing from this really small pool of people who can afford to work in the industry, losing the potential to create a diverse workforce and in turn publish a wide range of books that appeal to everyone.
Big thanks to our interviewee this week!
If you are enjoying In the Read and want me to keep doing these interviews, please support it here.