The field of publishing is exciting and competitive. There are risks and surprises, and sometimes, disappointments. Those working in this industry have a great deal of power. They determine which books and stories will see print, and to some extent, help to shape the tastes of the reading public. In the publishing industry there are many sectors in which to pursue careers. This chapter will give you an overview of the different arenas; subsequent chapters examine these fields in more depth. BOOK PUBLISHING Although there are many sectors in the publishing industry, book publishing leads the field. Last year book sales totaled more than $25 billion, a 3.4 percent increase over the previous year, according to sales figures released by the Association of American Publishers (AAP). Book publishing is big business. What sells the most? Although overall trade sales dropped 3.7 percent—adult hardbound book sales experienced the largest drop, down $2.69 billion—juvenile book sales showed positive figures in both hardbound (up 13.2 percent, $1.20 billion in sales) and paperbound (up 16.4 percent, $753.1 million in sales). Educational book sales were strong, up a significant $3.88 billion, and sales of professional and scholarly books were also positive, up $5.13 billion. Religious book sales were up slightly, 2.5 percent with sales of $1.25 billion. But university press sales joined the adult trade category and dropped 2.4 percent ($402.0 million). Mail-order publications sales showed positive numbers for the first time in two years. Book club sales were up 1.5 percent, with sales of $1.29 billion. Mass-market paperback sales remained fairly even, totaling $1.56 billion. 1 1 CAREERS IN PUBLISHING “There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.”—Willa Cather Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use. 2 One Financial concerns often determine which books get published. When those books do well, then everyone is happy, from bookstore owners to the sales team and distributors. But there are only ten to fifteen slots on the various bestseller lists, and with thousands of books published each year, the odds are against producing a blockbuster. Although some books have steady sales and can stay on the publisher’s backlist for years, others can disappear from bookstore shelves after only a month. TYPES OF BOOK PUBLISHERS Between 75 and 85 percent of all books published in North America today are produced by about eight megacorporations and a dozen or so of the largest independent publishers. After the big guys, another 2,200 publishers or so are listed by the U.S. Commerce Bureau. Literary Marketplace, the industry reference published by R. R. Bowker, lists another 18,000 to 20,000 smaller and independent publishers. Book publishers can be categorized as follows: The eight megaconglomerates that rule book publishing in North America, with some of their major imprints in parentheses, are these: 1. Hearst Corporation (Avon, William Morrow) 2. News Corporation/Rupert Murdoch (HarperCollins) 3. Pearson PLC (Penguin, G. P. Putnam, Berkley) 4. Viacom (Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books) 5. Advance/Newhouse (Random House, Knopf, Modern Library, Ballantine) 6. Bertelsmann AG (Bantam, Doubleday, Dell; Dial) 7. Time Warner/Ted Turner (Little Brown, Book of the Month) 8. Holtzbrinck (Farrar, Straus and Giroux; St. Martin’s Press; Henry Holt) Because of their sheer size, these large publishers require the biggest staffs. There are thousands of independent book publishers, most of who never see the light of the New York Times Book Review or the bestseller list. But these small presses can take chances; they don’t need megahits to survive. They know how to reach specialty and special-interest markets and specific regions of the country. They choose to publish the books that will appeal to those markets. Regional/Small Presses National/International Publishers Careers in Publishing 3 Small-press and regional publishers release fewer titles a year; print runs are smaller, and so are sales. Staff might consist of one or two people wearing many hats, from editor and publisher to errand runner and mail clerk. Most university presses specialize in particular subjects, often educational in nature, but many also publish mainstream books. Most enjoy fine reputations and give each project professional care. Many organizations have their own publishing section, putting into print books that would interest their constituents. A professional association dealing with adoption, for example, might produce a nonfiction how-to or a novel with adoption as its theme. The first publisher for Tom Clancy’s book The Hunt for Red October was the Naval Institute Press. While traditional publishers are always overrun with manuscript submissions, subsidy publishers have to advertise their need for manuscripts. It’s the writers, not the reading public, who pay the subsidy publishers. Subsidy publishers are also known as vanity presses because they prey on new writers who have not been able to break in yet—and on new writers who just don’t know any better. They present themselves as if they are commercial publishers, offering to evaluate your manuscript (all manuscripts are accepted) and offering a publishing contract. But when it comes time for payment, it’s the writers’ money that goes to the publisher, instead of advances and royalties that should be going to the writers. Subsidy publishers do put a manuscript into print. Some offer minimal help with marketing. But libraries and book reviewers recognize subsidy publishing when they see it and won’t buy or review those books. Some publishers ask authors to share the cost of producing the book. The author might pay for part of the cost of printing and binding, for example, or provide the typeset, camera-ready copy. Writers who participate in cooperative publishing are sharing the risk that is usually the publishers’ alone. Some small publishers work in three categories, publishing some books on a commercial basis, some through a co-op arrangement, and others through author subsidy. The stigma of vanity publishing still attaches itself to some cooperative publishers—especially those that also work on a subsidy basis. This fairly new breed of publishing is on the rise. Book packagers, or book producers as they are sometimes called, act as go-betweens, selling a concept to a Book Packagers/ Producers Cooperative Publishers Subsidy Publishers Organizational/ Sponsored Presses University Presses 4 One publisher and then contracting with a writer to create the book. More often than not the author works for a set, work-for-hire fee rather than receiving royalties. Often the book packager holds the copyright to the book. In an article previously published on the Authorlink website, former book packager Jessica Faust says, “A book packager is a cross between an agent and an editor, and more. A book packager often works with agents, authors, editors, designers, illustrators, photographers, and printers—all of the people who make a book possible. By working with such a variety of people, a book packager has the ability to deliver a printer-ready manuscript to the publisher. That means that once the publisher receives the final product it has already been written and edited, pictures have been supplied, production people have been called in to lay out the book, and the entire project is ready to be sent to the printer. “Much like an agent, a book packager submits manuscripts to an editor at a publishing house. These manuscripts are usually prepared in either of two ways: “One. The project has been requested by the publisher. The book packager puts together an outline and finds a writer interested in authoring the book. “Two. The concept is developed ‘in-house’ (within the book-packaging company), an outline and sample materials are put together—with or without an author—and the material is sent to the publisher. “Then, just as if a writer or his or her agent were to submit a proposal to a publisher, the packager waits for that fateful phone call and checks the mailbox for rejections. “Once an editor agrees to buy or publish a project, the process starts from the top. The packager works with the author to develop a well-written book and turns in the edited manuscript to the publisher.” Currently Jessica Faust acts as a literary agent and is profiled in Chapter 3. Self-publishers are responsible for every aspect of the publication of their own material: writing and editing, designing page layout, choosing the cover copy and colors, getting the printing done, arranging for distribution, and handling publicity and sales. It can be very risky business, and it can carry the same sort of stigma that attaches itself to vanity and cooperative publishing. There are a handful of self-publishing success stories (see Chapter 9), but compared to the billions of dollars of books published each year, a handful is pretty small. Electronic publishing is emerging as an alternative delivery system for books. Or so they say. The options mentioned here do exist, but nobody knows if anyone is making any money at them. In theory, people pay for and then download material. Then they either read the material on their computer screen or handheld device designed just for this Electronic Publishing Self-Publishers Careers in Publishing 5 purpose or print out individual copies of the work. This print-on-demand is carried out at some bookstores or in the customer’s own home. Some electronic publishers act as the online equivalent to subsidy and cooperative publishers, charging writers for web space and uploading fees and not providing any marketing help per se. Many of these do not edit the material and accept every manuscript that comes their way. Other online publishers are trying to be selective and publish only books they feel are worthy. Many traditional publishing houses have created websites to promote their traditionally published books. One such traditional publisher tried an experiment, providing a Stephen King serial only to online customers. Another followed suit—but then the fad rolled to a halt. The question is will these cyberbooks ever become more than a fad? Again, no real figures are available to back up the claims electronic publishers may make. For writers electronic publishing might seem an easy avenue to publication, one that is less expensive than working with a vanity press. And they can eliminate the stacks of books sitting in the garage. But again, there’s that stigma. The National Writers Union (NWU) offers guidelines to help writers as they navigate their way through this rapidly changing industry. They assert that the right to publish the electronic version of any book should be negotiated. These rights should be retained by the creator of the work unless specifically stated in the contract. The NWU is aware that some publishers claim that electronic versions of a book are simply extensions of print rights. The NWU’s position, recently reinforced by the Supreme Court decision in Tasini v. NY Times, is that electronic versions of any book are not extensions of print rights; an E-book is a different version altogether (as with movie rights, audio rights, etc.) and should be a separate item negotiated for in the contract. For more on this issue visit nwu.org. Most job opportunities resulting from electronic publishing include editing and web design and troubleshooting. Are there enough online entities to provide work? In a survey of 546 publishing professionals conducted by Book Zone, a website hosting and marketing firm specializing in book publishing, nearly 79 percent of the respondents’ firms currently had websites, and 36 percent of those firms had had sites for three years or more. According to Mary Westheimer, president of Book Zone, only 56 percent of all U.S. companies sell or promote their products online. Of the 8,596 publishing professionals the survey was distributed to, 546 responded—a 6.4 percent response rate. The respondents appear to be mostly smaller firms, reporting revenues of under $2 million. About 6.9 percent reported sales of more than $10 million. The responding publishers report using their sites for promotion and for direct sales (73 percent). The sites use linking campaigns from other sites, online advertising, and strategic alliances such as associate programs to promote their sites. However, the survey reveals that more than half the sites are dissatisfied with the 6 One traffic they receive, and 43 percent see fewer than five hundred Web visitors a month. Westheimer noted that those using newsgroups and mailing lists for promotion were the most pleased with the traffic level at their sites. For an extensive list of online publishers, see Appendix E. SAMPLE JOB ADVERTISEMENT The following is a sample advertisement. The employer has not been identified because the job has already been filled. Other sample jobs are highlighted throughout this book in subsequent chapters. Position: Electronic Publishing Specialist Location: An independent investment management firm in Boston Responsibilities: The electronic publishing specialist will report to the production manager and will provide publishing support for the production, updating, and maintenance of prospect- and client-presentation books. Qualifications: Proficiency with Macintosh OS 9.0 or above is required (PC knowledge a plus). Proofreading experience would be helpful. Publishing software knowledge: PageMaker 6.5, DeltaGraph 4.0, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Adobe Acrobat. Graphics software knowledge a plus: Illustrator, Photoshop. Must be detail-oriented with the ability to prioritize projects, meet strict deadlines, and communicate effectively with internal clients. Ability to work well under pressure cooperatively and within a highly structured corporate electronic publishing environment is critical. LITERARY AGENCIES Literary agents act as go-betweens for writers and editors. These days most of the big New York publishing houses refuse to consider manuscripts unless they are sent by an agent. Many publishers credit agents with the ability to screen out inappropriate submissions. An agent is expected to be familiar with the different kinds of books publishers prefer to take on. Agents spend their time reading manuscripts, choosing which ones to work with, and then trying to sell them to publishers. Agents free a writer to concentrate on writing instead of marketing. The agents’ job is to find the right house for their clients’ work and, once successful, to negotiate the best financial deal for the writer. Careers in Publishing 7 Agents also handle film rights for feature or TV movies and foreign rights, selling books to publishers overseas. See Chapter 3 for more information on the role of the agent. OTHER PUBLISHING AVENUES Other publishing avenues include magazines and newspapers, professional association newsletters, and corporate publications. Within publishing there are, of course, the writers (see Chapter 2); editors (see Chapter 4); book and other print-production personnel (see Chapter 5); marketing and sales specialists (see Chapter 6); publicists, event planners, and advertising managers (see Chapter 7); and lawyers and contract specialists (see Chapter 8). PREPARING FOR A CAREER IN PUBLISHING The field is so broad, a generalized discussion of career preparation would be difficult. The path an editor would take would be different from the path of a sales rep or contract director. One obvious piece of advice is to have at least a bachelor’s degree in a major related to the intended career goal. Finance majors work in accounting departments. Paralegals or lawyers work in contracts departments. English, journalism, or communications majors work as editors. Other important preparation would include any kind of work in the field of publishing. Those seeking a newspaper career should land employment in that setting to familiarize themselves thoroughly with the type of work they would be doing. Gaining this background preparation helps candidates land jobs when the time comes. FINDING JOBS IN PUBLISHING To learn about openings, job candidates must take a proactive approach. While in college, investigate the obvious sources—career placement offices, the English department job board, job fairs, and so on. Read Publishers Weekly. Regularly search the Internet and bookmark sites that feature posted jobs. Build up your resume with internships, work-study positions, and other “get-a-footin- the-door” types of jobs. The get-a-foot-in-the-door approach is a very viable strategy for this field. In the world of newspapers, magazines, and book publishing, experts advise you to take any job you can to get started. If you want to be an editor, for example, you could start out as a contract assistant, then move into an editorial position, and then move up the ladder to senior editor or higher. 8 One If you get yourself in the door and get to know the people in the department for which you prefer to work, your chances are better than are the chances of an unknown candidate hoping to go immediately into an editorial position. The same holds true of internships. Any related internship allows for networking and making contacts. Even if the student is hoping for a sales and promotions posting, an internship in the book-production department of a publishing house, for example, will provide fodder for a resume, along with a host of important contacts. And that student will be one of the first to hear about any new job openings. SALARIES IN PUBLISHING Salaries vary widely depending upon the type of job, the rank within that position, the employer’s size and budget, and the region of the country in which the job is located. In general, though, salaries in publishing are not the most glamorous aspect of the work. Yes, you hear about the seven-figure advances some writers can pull in, but that’s not the norm—and the people paying those salaries seldom earn anything anywhere near that. In the chapters ahead, salaries for each publishing sector are provided.
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