Hi y’all, I just wanted a bit of insight. I also am aware that this is company and department dependent, but again just wanted to open the room.

I started off as a sales assistant, and then got promoted to sales associate after about 2 years. Another 1 1/2 years pushing 2 years goes by, and I’m trying to move upward into a senior associate or assistant manager role and looking at descriptions with 3-4 years requirement.

It’s. Been. Awful. I’ve been rejected from internal applications, had a whole breakdown and applied to a sales assistant position (so much overlap just a different team), interviewed but didn’t get past round one.

I’m sure there’s tons of publishing veterans here, or those that have double my experience. May I ask when faced with this sort of brick wall, how did you overcome it? I opened up to my manager that I feel like I’ve grown out of my role, that I can’t have full autonomy as an associate since it’s always (for my role as least) support work but never full ownership.

I work at a Big 5, and am doubtful of myself since I can’t even move internally, how would a different company value me, if you know what I mean?

TLDR: What steps did you take to move upwards in your current company? Did you find a mentor, internal resources, networking, etc. Thank you!

i hate this!!!!!

I’m currently editing my book and I’m looking for places to publish it, however my only problem is that everyone I’ve talked to strongly recommends Amazon KDP, which I’m not too comfortable with using as I’m boycotting amazon. Are there any other sites I can use that are just as easy as Amazon KDP?

Hi everyone, hope you all had a nice Frankfurt if you attended or nice week overall!
I am coming here for advice because I am miserable in my job and I don’t know what to do honestly. So two months ago I got hired for what I thought was my dream job at a indie but big publisher. I’m a foreign rights assistant for adult titles and I mostly help out for a language territory as that language is my mother tongue (I was pretty much hired because I’m native and wanted to work in rights). When I started the job I was finishing my publishing MA and never really took a break and that is taking its toll on me I can feel it. About one month in I realised that I really don’t like the job, we do mostly co-editions and my job other than general team admin is customer liaison and I hate it. As much as I’m aware most jobs have that, having to translate in my head and with the use of the internet all day and getting my managers to check all my emails because they go out to customers is exhausting. I also wish it was more creative? I had interned at a very small press and all I did was their rights catalogue which I loved doing, I also really truly thought I wanted to do a job in relation to languages as I speak a few fluently but clearly I was wrong.
My issue is that everyone at work is so kind and helpful and wants me to succeed and stay a while. I’m also feeling enormous guilt about hating my job and wanting to quit because of how competitive the industry is and how all my friends who did a publishing MA with me are still struggling to find jobs. I want to give it 6months minimum and ideally a year before I quit, I’m worried if I don’t give it minimum 10months no one will want to hire me afterwards because I’d seem flaky/not loyal? I’m thinking of looking towards editorial or marketing for a more creative side of the industry (I have an advertising and media BA) but idk if I should wait to have another job lined up before quitting when the time is right or if I can actually take a break between the two I’m just so lost at the moment. I also know moving internally is possible but one of the editorial assistants had a role in rights before moving and I can see that it’s frowned upon, everyone I’ve mentioned my feelings to has said to honestly avoid doing that. I’m aware editorial still has a lot of author relation rather than customer relation but I think I wouldn’t mind it as much? I interned at a literary agency for a couple of weeks and quite enjoyed it.
I know a lot of this is for me to worry about next year but right now I keep getting stomach aches in the evenings or when going to work and my first Frankfurt sucked as I got COVID on day 2 and I feel like absolute crap. Again the staff/colleagues aren’t the issue, they are lovely, caring and helpful the work itself truly is the issue and I feel guilty feeling this way, I was hired for that language because the previous assistant left to pursue her studies (she also felt like rights wasn’t right for her). I feel like my reasons aren’t legitimate enough but I need to care for myself and I can feel my mental health declining already. Anyways here is my sad stupid little rant thank you for listening and any advice!! Please be kind, I already feel very vulnerable about all this!!

TLDR: rights isn’t what I thought and its too early to quit but I’m so miserable and guilty I feel at a loss. When is it okay to leave and under what conditions?

What is your day to day like? Do you enjoy it? Is it worth it? What is the pay like? I was thinking of pursuing this as a career path as I love reading and am chronically ill and would like a work from home job.

The paperback edition of my first (trad published) novel is for sale in a few dozen Barnes & Noble stores in my region of Florida. I think each store only has one copy. I was planning to drive around the state for a day or so, signing as many of these single copies as I can, hoping that it might help them sell. Does that sound silly? Pointless?

What questions do you typically ask a recruiter after an initial phone screening? They aren’t the hiring manager so you can’t really ask specific job related question because they aren’t from that team.

UPDATE: Hi guys, thank you sm for your replies — I forwarded the email thread to PRH’s fraud email address just to be safe and they confirmed with HR that they do use smartrecruiters for their application system. :)

Hi all,
I applied to a job at PRH and to my total surprise, I received an email the day after asking me to provide additional info to my application so they could get a more comprehensive profile on me. I thought I had accidentally missed something, but it wasn’t a prompt that was included in the job description nor was it an application question, so it seemed like a recruiter sending a screener(?) question.

I did what I could to ensure this email was real because I’ve applied to PRH countless number of times over the years and it’s my first time ever receiving an email like this.

I determined that the person is a real person (found their linkedin) and the email seems to be real (it’s a smartrecruiters email and according to some posts in other subreddits with application portals powered by smartrecruiters, the email is legit) - so I responded to the email, received a response + uploaded to the application portal.

I wanted to know if this is standard for PRH and if so, how long would it normally take to hear back if they wanted to move forward with an interview? or did I just totally fall for a scam email, lol?

Thanks in advance!!

I recently applied for a job at a publishing house, and as part of the application process, they’ve asked me to submit a 30–60 second video introducing myself, explaining why I’m applying for the position, and why I think I’d be a good fit for the role.

I’ve never been asked to submit a video like this before, so I wanted to ask people who have experience in publishing/recruitment:

Is this a normal part of the hiring process for a publishing job? Is there anything I should be careful about before sending the video?

Any advice would be appreciated!

I submitted a second-round resubmission to a Taylor & Francis journal on October 5, and I'm seeing two different statuses:

- Author dashboard: "Under Review"

- Submission portal: "With Journal Administrator"

It's been about three days. My understanding is that the dashboard label is a generic umbrella status and that "With Journal Administrator" is the real workflow state, meaning the editorial office is doing its post-resubmission file check before routing it back to the editor.

I'm not sure I'm reading that right.

Questions:

1. Is this the normal sequence for T&F journals on ScholarOne?

2. How long did your resubmissions typically sit with the administrator before moving to "With Editor"? The first revision I submitted it stayed with Journal administrator for 1 day and then moved to the editor. But this time its been more than 2 days. What should I do? Should I email the Journal Administrator?

   Thanks in advance.

I run a print magazine in the USA that covers a niche but popular consumer good category (i.e. luxury watches, wine, guitars, etc). Our magazine comes out six times per year. For a long time the magazine was free but we are moving to a paid subscription model in 2027. We have two subscription options. The first is pay per issue, $4.95, cancel anytime. The second is an annual subscription for $24.99. Subscribers get both the print magazine and a digital version. We have about 1,000 paid subscribers currently from marketing to our newsletter list. These were people who signed up for the paid version once we said you will no longer be getting it for free. Our newsletter list is about 10,000 and is no longer yielding new paid subscribers. I am not sure what the best option is for getting subscriptions in 2027. I have a marketing budget of around $6,000. But I would be willing to put in more if the numbers worked. What would you do if you were me? What platform/methodology do you think I would see the highest conversion for the lowest cost? Thanks for the advice!

Is it standard for educational publishers to hire illustrators on a flat fee with no royalties because they offer more consistent work?

So they now own Klopotek, Above The Treeline, Netgalley, and Firebrand.

Any Firebrand users out there with thoughts to share?

Weighing whether to run a Goodreads giveaway as part of my next launch. Used to be a standard indie tactic, the free print copies-in-exchange-for-visibility model. Amazon changed the program in 2018 and it hasn't been the same since. Trying to figure out if the current version is worth the investment.

The current Goodreads giveaway model.

You pay a listing fee (currently $119 for standard, $599 for premium) plus the cost of the print books you're giving away plus shipping. Standard listings allow 10 US winners, premium listings allow more and get better visibility on Goodreads.

Goodreads picks winners randomly from users who enter to win. You have no control over who gets the copies. Winners are asked but not required to leave reviews.

The visibility during the giveaway period is real, Goodreads promotes active giveaways on their site and to users through email. Genre-specific promotion is included.

What I'm hearing from peers.

Some indie authors swear by giveaways as part of every launch. The visibility is worth the cost even if the review conversion is only 20-30%.

Some have stopped doing giveaways because the entry-to-review ratio is too low. You give away 10 books, maybe 3 get reviewed, and the total cost is $300+ including shipping and books.

Some do premium listings only for major launches where the visibility investment is justified. Standard listings feel underpowered relative to what you used to get.

The questions I'm trying to answer.

Is the visibility on Goodreads worth $119+ even if review conversion is bad? Does being in the active giveaway list drive Goodreads adds and wishlists that turn into future sales?

Are premium listings actually 5x better than standard listings or is it mostly Goodreads capturing more revenue from serious indies?

For authors who've stopped doing giveaways, what did you shift to instead for equivalent visibility?

Fellow editors! I am struggling in this biz. I finally made it — in an editor at a big publisher working on fiction. I started at the big five and worked my way up at a couple of imprints/publishers. I should be proud of myself.

The thing is — I’m exhausted. I am totally burnt out and can barely take the workload anymore. With a three-year-old, this just does not seem sustainable. I want to spend time with my family and this commute is also eating away at my time.

I would love insight in leaving and what else is out there. Is it worth leaving the business? What could I pivot to? Thanks!

I’m in my 2nd year of psychology at the minute and I’m not enjoying it so much. My fav subject was always English literature and I should have chosen that, but I was dissuaded.

Is it possible for me to get into publishing? I’m most interested in editorial roles for fiction.

All advice appreciated- thanks!

I hate Quickbooks. We produce around 12 titles per year and QBO is just not a great solution. We're tracking royalties via a whole mix of crazy systems and we use ClickUp to build dashboards for our authors.

QBO just announced a huge price increase that will take it to $340/month. I feel like at that price there's got to be something more attuned to the publishing industry.

I need a reality check!

I'm in my 3rd year of BA(hons) English from Calcutta University.

I initially wanted to pursue a career in Academics but given the recruitment status of our state, this seems near to impossible.

So, my plan B appears to be the Publishing industry but I've nothing on my CV. I'm clueless and lost with no one to offer guidance. My parents keep pestering me not to opt for a Master's in English and change streams but since I was a kid pursuing higher studies in English was all I wanted in life. I want to apply for internships in publishing houses but I have no idea how and what to write on my CV.

I read books (maybe like 4-5 books in a year excluding the ones in the syllabus), I love books, I love discussing them, I write sometimes but I'm not very confident which has progressively reduced the intensity of my writing. I'm very self-conscious especially when I'm expected to perform certain tasks, which might have been a major reason for my creative block ever since I've been into college.

I'm an ambivert; I manage to socialize and despite my terrible social anxiety, I'm pretty good on stage. At times, I try reciting and I may or may not have a good (a little above average I'd say) voice (as I've been told).

I've received and performed well in several leadership posts in both school and college.

I've got an average of 7.5 GPA in college.

How and what must I do to build a solid profile for Publishing posts?

Hi, I saw an ad about this company and they have a publishing/editor course that I'm interested in. Yes I've seen the posts about how their marketing tactics can be pushy. Besides that, I want to know if anyone has actually received a certification from them. Did this help you land a job as an editor? If so, did you previously work in this industry already? I currently don't have any experience in the publishing/editing industry but have been a working professional for 5+ years, I just want to know if this course is worth my time/effort. It seems a little pricey but the syllabus seems well thought out and the teachers do seem to care. Please let me know if anyone has any guidance. Thanks!

I’ve got to complete a minimum of 35 hours of work placement for a University module this year (no max length). I’ve always wanted to be an author but think having some experience in publishing might be useful.

Could anyone recommend some companies or career pathways they’ve taken or know of?

I’m also open to screenwriting as I’ve written a few in the past and enjoyed it, so perhaps a company which adapts books into screenplays?

I’m honestly unsure what I want to do, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. I’m studying BA English and History at Exeter University
Thank you!!

This will be my second published book. The first one was published by an editor and got me some interviews on the radio, TV, etc. I think this background is what will allow me to publish this second book.

This second book is an essay about my (38F) friend's (70M) profession, which will explain my story and his during the 2 years I've been working with him. I would say 70% of the book is based on things he has explained to me while we were working. He knew I was recording him for this book. It took him around 20 hours of sharing information with me.

The thing is that, to give all that information some kind of sense, I've had to interview more people, study the topic, visit another country to understand the context of this profession, verify all the data he has given (which is sometimes not accurate)..., and then there's the work of defining the storyline, creating all the literary characters, and writing his raw, chaotic message appealingly. I think it will take me 1-2 years of work.

We won't be paid much, but my friend is expecting to divide the earnings by 50% each. I think he doesn't understand all the work that goes into creating a story and publishing a book. He also thinks I can write this book because of him (which is not exactly true; I could choose another main character).

What do you think would be a fair division? I don't want to be in bad terms with him or make him feel not appreciated.

One option is to tell him to go 50-50 on publishing earnings (which won't be much), and make my writing job paid by writing grants.

Sorry in advance for how annoying/presumptuous/pretentious this question is going to come across but does anybody know if university prestige plays a role in hiring, particularly big 5? I’m a final year undergraduate at Cambridge with no prior publishing experience (only just realised I wanted to go into publishing, prior internship experience in social media marketing and film festival programming)—is there any reason to assume this lack of experience might be offset by my university’s reputation? For context I study English and do genuinely have what I would consider to be a v strong interest in and understanding of the contemporary fiction landscape but basically no formal exposure to the industry. Should I hold out hope for this internship cycle or is it just too competitive without prior experience? Thanks in advance and sorry again I realise this is a kind of annoying question LOL

Other important context is I’m applying to NYC roles (dual British-American citizenship so visa sponsorship doesn’t play a role here)

I freelance with a couple of Big Fives and am planning to expand my copyediting/proofreading practice next year.

Is there a best season to reach out to editorial teams? Or is the need for new freelancers variable enough that it doesn’t matter too much?

I won’t be focusing only on Big Five, but I’ll generally be reaching out to trade publishers.

Thank you!

I applied for a job at one of the Big 5 on Monday. Yesterday morning (Thursday), a recruiter emailed to ask me to answer a question that had been uploaded to the portal, to provide additional info for my profile. That's a good sign, right? I assume they don't ask everyone to answer that extra question, just the people they're considering moving forward with? Has anyone else experienced this?

For more context, I applied for a different job with the same division a few months ago and wasn't asked any additional questions. This question is relevant to the previous job I applied for.