Hello all
Slightly different format today – an interview with someone who is trying to get into the industry. I worry a bit sometimes that these interviews put people off publishing by highlighting all if its money-related hypocrisies, but I think it’s really important that people without a financial cushion know what they are getting themselves in for. While I think it’s extremely important that the industry employs and services a much broader demographic, diversity on corporate terms alone is not enough. If all of the rhetoric (and my god there is so much rhetoric) means anything other than PR, then the industry has to find a way to ensure those without private wealth can work in it. But . . . as I keep saying, and as unexpected ally Meghan reminded us all this week, workers are only protected when they protect themselves. For the last time, the industry (by which I mean, industry leaders) are not going to do this for us.
I think the point this interviewee makes about needing part-time work to sustain a career in publishing is critical. To get ahead in the industry, it has long been expected that workers spend their spare time reading manuscripts. It’s not just editors who have to do this, I hasten to add, anyone who wants to impress the boss must put in these extra hours, and because the means of progression is so informal and dependent on people in power “liking” you, then this additional work is pretty much mandatory if you don’t want to spend your entire career as an assistant.
But if you have to spend that time working another job so you can pay your rent, it is going to take longer for you to progress in the industry, costing you more money, causing you more stress and further exacerbating existing inequalities. I started in the industry just over ten years ago and I didn’t have to get part-time work because the rent on the one-bed Zone 2 flat I shared with my boyfriend was £790 pcm (this was a bargain even then; the flat was in south-east London before it got trendy). My share of the rent represented about 24% of my take-home pay at the time. Nowadays, you would be lucky to get a room, even in south-east London, for £790 pcm; and because salaries are pretty much the same as they were in 2011, such an amount represents closer to 50% of the average assistant’s take-home pay (admittedly, rents are going down a little at the moment, but it’s an unstable time, and it’s not exactly heartening that the only way to make publishing accessible is for a global pandemic to ravage the economy). It just doesn’t work anymore – and I think it’s so important that people further along in their careers recognise this. I spent most weekends and evenings reading manuscripts which is how I was able to progress – even if such progress was quite modest, it did mean that I was able to save (a little!) and move forward in my life. It wasn’t because I was so great at my job, it was because I could just about make it all work. I wouldn’t be able to do that if I were starting out today. And – one last issue, sorry to pack so much in – but for young women who might want to have children, (i.e. most publishing workers), every single year counts.
end of season
I’m taking a bit of a break. I have some other stuff to work on for now, but In the Read will be back. Feel free to get in touch in the meantime – email better than DM, I’m trying to go cold turkey on twitter after today.
As ever, don’t forget to contribute if you can. I am donating everything I make off the newsletter today (Wednesday 10th March) to the cause that’s on all the front pages (hmm…) – the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
interview
Can you tell us a bit about your background, where you’re from, roughly how old you are?
I’m from a working-class background from a region outside London, and I’m in my mid-twenties. I am the first and only person in my family to have gone to university.
You are currently studying for an MA in publishing. Why did you decide to do that?
I have always wanted to work in publishing but I have really struggled to gain entry into the industry, especially as I am someone who doesn’t have any connections to publishing, or to London. I was unable to apply to a lot of publishing internships and work experience opportunities which were either unpaid or very low paid as it wouldn’t be possible for me to commute to London every day and I didn’t have anywhere I could have crashed. I also live in an area where publishing opportunities are scarce. There are two independent publishing houses within two hours of my house and after reaching out to both for work experience and being told they didn’t have capacity, it felt like it was going to be impossible for me to get into.
I had a few years of relevant experience working in another industry, so applied to parallel roles in publishing but wasn’t successful. I think I struggled because I didn’t have anyone to advise me and so didn’t really stand a chance against the 500 other applicants applying to jobs. Honestly, I applied to do the Publishing MA as a last resort as every door I tried previously had been locked. I didn’t have the finances to fund the MA so I applied to a bursary scheme and fortunately I got it, otherwise the masters wouldn’t have been possible for me.
I saw the MA as a chance to learn more about an industry I felt really passionate about, to make connections and have some support in my job hunt. The MA would also give me time to dedicate on finding a publishing job and enabled me to move to an area which was more connected in publishing, meaning I might finally get some work experience in the industry.
You mentioned to me that you’ve had several guest speakers from the industry come to talk to your MA class about the industry. What is your impression of publishing from those speakers?
Of the speakers in the modules I have taken, I haven’t seen myself or my background reflected in many of the speakers. There has only been one person who told us that they were from a working-class background and one person with an accent which wasn’t Southern (and one of these was also the only POC guest speaker I’ve had). I was really encouraged and inspired by these guests but it confirmed what I thought I knew about the industry already in terms of its lack of diversity.
The other impression of the industry I’ve had from guest speakers is the lack of work-life balance in publishing. Recently, a publishing professional gave a career's talk for the people on the MA course and shared some ‘top tips’ they'd gathered from their colleagues. The one that struck me was to 'get to work before your boss and don't leave until they do.' I thought this was really poor advice and it shocked me that someone would think this advisable to tell students. Surely work-life balance and mental health are more important? Other guest speakers have emphasised the fact they are working most evenings and weekends to get everything on their to-do list done. With publishing roles being very low-paid, I find it shocking that this is expected. It didn’t make publishing seem like it cared about the wellbeing of its staff.
Do you feel that the MA programme is giving you the skills you will need to progress in your publishing career?
Despite teaching having been predominantly online and Covid meaning that things like visits to printers and book fairs haven’t been possible this year, I think the course has been great. I have gained such an invaluable insight into the industry that just wasn’t possible until I started the MA. I’ve found it so interesting to learn about all aspects of publishing from production to design to marketing to editorial as well as learning about publishing as a business, which I think some people who go into publishing without an MA may not gain until later in their careers. I think the course has put me on more of a level playing field and that when I hopefully get my first role in publishing, I won’t feel like such a fish out of water and can hit the ground running.
Do you feel optimistic about your prospects within the industry?
I feel optimistic that my MA has equipped me with the skills and knowledge to get a publishing role, but what I am unsure about is my ability to survive in the industry financially. The issue of publishing being very London-based is still a big hurdle for me. After hearing guest speakers talk about working a lot in your spare time it has raised some concerns.
For people like myself, the salary most entry-level publishing roles pay will mean that I have to get a part-time job to afford London living. If I have to work overtime without extra pay, I wouldn’t have time to do the part-time work that would allow me to keep my publishing job. This just doesn’t seem like a very sustainable option for me if I don’t want to burn out, so I am looking at alternative publishing jobs like remote companies, freelancing or working for publishing houses based in more affordable locations in the UK. I know that regional indies don’t often have job openings so the prospect of London publishers opening more regional offices across the UK does give me hope.
As someone with no ties to the industry, no family in London, and no spare cash to make up the shortfall in income that publishing will likely cause for you – what would you say to industry leaders about their diversity initiatives?
Diversity schemes are only a part of the solution to rectifying the lack of diversity in the industry, and not just because these schemes can only affect a select few. It’s incredibly frustrating to see publishing call out for candidates from all backgrounds to apply to roles when the business itself is just not set up to cater for us. There is a reason why, despite diversity initiatives, publishing workforce statistics haven’t shown a great deal of change in the types of people occupying publishing roles. If leaders in the industry are serious about making their companies more inclusive, then they need to think about what they can do to practically make a difference to those diverse candidates they are trying to attract. Recognising that a lack of finances is a big challenge for some people and that low salaries and unpaid overtime is off-putting and sends out the wrong message to some diverse candidates (that this industry isn’t for you) would be a start. I think increasing publishing salaries so that everyone - not only those who have their family’s or partner’s money to support them - can work in the industry and still have a good quality of life would make a huge difference to the number of diverse candidates that apply and are retained in publishing roles.
Anything else you’d like to say?
Please pay your interns – and pay them fairly! Getting a first foot in the door is hard enough and even more so for those who are geographically far from publishing or can’t afford to work for free. It will help make publishing more inclusive in the long-run.
Thank you so much to this interviewee. I hope this information is helpful to other people struggling with the same issues – you are not alone.
Thanks for reading all, more sometime soon.
Niamh x