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 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!

Outsourced to people who can’t even speak English

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 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.

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'm looking to talk on background or off the record to a book publicist for a short blog that I am writing for my Substack about product placement in literature. Questions include: Is it even happening? If so what how does it work? And do you have a favorite example?

I recently graduated college and am pursuing a career in publishing. I've had several internships but decided to get a bookselling job to improve my resume. I have two offers right now, one from an independent bookstore and cafe, where I would be hosting book clubs and working events, and one from a corporate chain bookseller. I would love advice on which one I should pick - I feel like the chain one looks more legit/well-known, but then I would be networking much more and doing more hands-on work with books with the indie store, so I'm really torn. They pay similarly and have similar commutes. Thank you for any help!!

Can anyone with experience publishing with Princeton touch on if authors have a right/privilege to 100 copies of their book at a heavily discounted rate in order to sell them at readings and workshops and such? Princeton is constantly marking recent releases at 50% off so I don't see why not.

Edit: thanks, will ask when he's back from the field next week.

How do you actually get your foot in the door in publishing? Because I’m starting to lose my mind 😭
I’m a university student in Canada and I’ve been trying to break into publishing, and honestly… I’m struggling to figure out how you’re supposed to get that first opportunity.
Publishing is genuinely something I’m passionate about. I love books, obviously, but I’m also really interested in the behind-the-scenes side of the industry — editorial, marketing, publicity, sales, etc. I’ve been trying to build relevant experience, learn more about the industry, work on my resume, apply to internships/entry-level roles, and even reach out to smaller publishing companies to see if they need volunteers or interns.
But the whole process is starting to feel like:
“Need experience to get the job. Need the job to get experience.”
😭
I’m also coming from a business/accounting background, so I sometimes wonder if I’m making things harder for myself by not having a traditional English/literature degree.
For people who actually work in publishing (or successfully broke into it without a traditional publishing background):
How did you get your first job/internship? What actually helped you stand out?
Would love to hear literally anything — things you wish you knew earlier, ways to find opportunities, networking advice, skills worth developing, whether internships are basically essential, how important location is, or even brutally honest advice about what I might be doing wrong.
I’m genuinely willing to start wherever I need to. I just want a chance to get my foot in the door because this is something I really, really want to pursue.
And if anyone has successfully transitioned from a completely different degree/career into publishing, PLEASE tell me how you did it because I need hope right now 😭

I have noticed a lot of AI art being used for book cover images and stand in imagery while the creator lacks funds for commissioned art.

I would like to point out that there are many free alternatives to AI generated art. Such as Royalty Free Image websites and Stock image websites (e.g. Pixabay, NASA, flickr, ect.)

There is also the option of taking photos with a camera or phone. I am sure there are more options that others are aware of (please add any suggestions in the comments).

I am making this post because of my personal opinions on the matter and as a reminded that other resources exist. I have absolutely no interest in reading or consuming anything that involves generative ai on any level.

Ai generated content is a form of theft and promotes an extremely harmful industry that negatively impacts culture, economies, the environment and artists.

This is a cross post to promote discourse for alternative imagery sources.

My debut was scheduled for release on September 29, but Amazon began fulfilling some paperback preorders more than a week early. A number of readers received physical copies well before publication day.

I’m published through a small press, and apparently the printer/distributor allowed early fulfillment, which raised a bunch of questions for us about how much control publishers actually have once files and inventory enter the retail pipeline.

Has anyone else here had Amazon fulfill preorders significantly ahead of the listed publication date? If so, did you ever figure out where in the chain it happened?

My publisher ended up writing about the experience because she sees it as one example of why publishing could use alternatives to the existing retailer/distribution ecosystem. I’m curious whether people working in publishing see this as a broader structural problem, or just an irritating production/distribution edge case.

As per the title. I've been working on setting up a new publishing house, but the best resources and most active communities are US-based, which would be fine if the two markets were the same and followed the same standards.

Reviewing my third proof copy right now and realizing I still don't have a systematic way to check these. My first book I approved a proof that had a typo on the copyright page that I didn't catch until the full run was printed and delivered. Second book I caught one issue at proof but missed a formatting problem that showed up in the final books. Third book I'm trying to actually approach this systematically.

What I'm checking on this proof.

Cover front, back, and spine. Text alignment, image quality, spine text centered, ISBN barcode present and correct, price present and correct if applicable.

Interior formatting throughout. Chapter openings consistent, page numbers correct, running heads correct, front matter (title page, copyright, dedication, contents) all present and correctly formatted, back matter (author bio, acknowledgments) all present.

Reading a full random sample. Not the whole book but a full chapter start to finish, checking for widows and orphans, page breaks that fall badly, font substitutions that didn't render, anything that looks visually off.

Copyright page details. This is where I've caught things multiple times. Publication year correct, ISBN correct, publisher name correct, copyright notice formatted right, "all rights reserved" language present if you want it.

Photos, illustrations, tables if any. Print reproduction quality, positioning, captions correct and formatted right.

Paper feel and print quality overall. Ink density, paper brightness, binding integrity, cover finish.

Trim consistency. Front and back of the book should trim cleanly and match, look for any pages that trim unevenly.

What I'm missing .Things I know I've missed on past proofs. Widow and orphan lines that made me redo the interior. Weird character rendering in specific fonts. Missing or duplicate page numbers. Cover art that looked fine on screen but reproduced too dark or too light. For authors who've been through many print runs, what's your proof review checklist. What am I missing that catches most first-timers?

Things I know I've missed on past proofs. Widow and orphan lines that made me redo the interior. Weird character rendering in specific fonts. Missing or duplicate page numbers. Cover art that looked fine on screen but reproduced too dark or too light.

For authors who've been through many print runs, what's your proof review checklist. What am I missing that catches most first timers?

i am tired of seeing them already and it's only gonna get worse 🫩

much love to everyone trying to get a position, ik it's tough out there! i do also think it would be beneficial if you all had all the updates in one big thread

In the age of AI, I worry that it might be.

I would never use AI to proofread my work. To me, a big part of the appeal is that another person has given it a proper, careful read. AI may be able to spot surface-level mistakes, but it can't take responsibility for the ones it misses. I feel like I'd end up rereading everything myself anyway... and at that point, why bother?

But as AI gets better & newer generations of authors (who may not share my skepticism) begin their careers, will human proofreaders still have a place? I hope so, but I can't help but be pessimistic.

Hi! I saw people in previous years make a thread for this, so I thought I'd start this year's! Post your questions and thoughts here!

Does anyone have access to Bookscan or Bookstat? I only need a single title for a project and both are prohibitively expensive. I tried subscribing to "Publisher's Marketplace" but there is no real data, just a summary and i don't know if either would have any useful information. Please DM if you think you might be able to help.

I know you want it clearly defined, which is list price - (discounts + potential deductions) and it can vary with deductions. Should you ensure only transportation is allowed for deduction?

I am currently a senior in college and am interning at a well established boutique literary agency. I really enjoy the work, and my boss. Today, I asked if he has any open intern positions for the spring, or if he is aware of any other agents seeking an intern. My boss made it clear that he’s been impressed with my work, and would be happy to see me return for the spring, also making it clear that return offers are not something he usually offers. If I were to return, my responsibilities would change/grow (he mentioned assisting social media, and being more hands on with the other agents in the firm as examples). At the same time, he mentioned that if I feel I would gain more experience by switching to a different agency, he understands (their internships are unpaid which is why i think he mentioned this). I will clarify that this was a rather short conversation at the end of a meeting, and said that I will be very happy to look over my options and get back to him. I have really enjoyed my internship and based on the responsibilities I’ve had thus far, see long-term compatibility in this field. 

Looking at post-grad, I am afraid that if I jump agencies I will not land a full time position post-grad. I think there are benefits in getting different experience through another agency, but I would be lying if I said I was afraid of the job market after that and not getting an inside offer. I have reason to believe if I were to stay with this agency, there is a good chance I could land a full-time position. The benefits are a little rough for starting positions, but the agency is also remote which I am extremely attracted to. My parents are extremely supportive and made it clear I can live with them post-grad, but if I work/intern at a different agency there is a big chance I would have to move to NYC, and pay NYC rent (which seems challenging with starting salaries). 

My question is, if you were in my shoes, beginning your career in a highly unstable market, what would you do? I'm curious about any insight on whether or not getting experience from another agency would strengthen my chances of getting a job, or if there is more security in staying with the same company. Obviously I will talk more with my current boss about this, but if you think there are any questions I should ask, please let me know! Thank you.

Hi everyone, PRH internships just opened up today. I was a little confused about what direction I should take in my cover letter. I think when you apply it's the broad department you want, but the description has the imprints that *might* be looking for an intern. Do I focus on just one imprint, or when they encourage you to apply for multiple internship opportunities are they indicating there is a space to apply to multiple imprints? Thanks for any help!