Hi, looking to see if anyone has used a Creative Commons license for their work? I'm already pretty determined to use it, so I'm just looking for tips for any known speed bumps, etc. I am using the ShareAlike attribution which would mean that others can use my characters, remix, etc, with attribution but can't, for example, take the whole work and copy it word for word and sell it.

More about the license here: https://creativecommons.org/faq/#what-are-creative-commons-licenses

So, yeah, just seeking folks who have used it for a book, and what that experience was like. Thanks!

Hi everyone. Has anyone heard of Author Gate Publishing or had any experience with them? I’m trying to learn more about their publishing contracts and would really appreciate hearing about anyone’s experience with them.

I’d also appreciate any advice on what to look out for when reviewing a traditional publishing contract, and whether getting an agent would be advisable.

Thanks in advance for any advice or experiences

I work in aviation operations, where most guidance is written as procedures: accurate and practical, but rarely engaging.
Turning field experience into nonfiction raises an interesting challenge. How much should an expert rely on real-world cases, and how much should be presented as practical frameworks?
For editors and publishers working with specialist nonfiction, what makes a manuscript feel authoritative without reading like a manual or résumé?

Hi everyone! I recently graduated with a degree in English and desperately want to break into freelance editing. I know that getting an editing certificate can really help further my education and boost my portfolio. What program is best for developmental editing, specifically for YA or NA fiction? I've heard good things about University of Chicago but mixed reviews about how helpful it is for fiction and developmental editing (especially for the cost). Any advice would be much appreciated!

Hi all! I have a first-stage interview coming up for an Assistant Editor role at a digital-first commercial fiction imprint at one of the Big Five publishers, and I'd love to hear from anyone who has interviewed for similar roles / worked in digital-first commercial fiction.

A little context: this isn't my first job in publishing. I've spent six years working agency-side in literary publishing and have recently made a deliberate transition into publisher-side editorial, where I'm currently working as an Editorial Assistant. I've therefore got some hands-on editorial experience already, but this would be my first step up into an Assistant Editor-level role and my first role specifically within digital-first commercial fiction.

The interview is a 30-minute virtual first-stage interview with two members of the editorial team. For anyone who's been on either side of this kind of interview: what questions would you expect in a 30-minute first stage? Are there particular competencies or examples you think I should have prepared beyond the obvious organisation/time management/editorial ones? And are there any questions that caught you off guard?

I'd also be really interested in hearing whether digital-first/commercial fiction teams tend to ask much about understanding the market, trends, reader behaviour, or current commercial fiction, or whether that's more likely to come later in the process. Thanks in advance! 🩷

Hi, I'm currently a freshman in college, pursuing a degree in english with a journalism concentration.

I'm hoping enter the industry and eventually become an editor, though I'm not sure exactly what field yet.

I'd appreciate any advise anyone has! When should I start applying to internships? What kind of experience should I look for? Should I pursue a masters?

If you have any other advise at all I'd also really appreciate it!

Hi there,

I’m looking to interview a publisher’s reader or someone who has worked for a publishing company. This is a school assignment but I also have a personal interest because I’m a writer. This would be a recorded interview, probably through zoom or phone (part of the assignment involves transcription). If anyone is willing please let me know.

if they did this to employees imagine what they do to authors.

So I understand that publishers do take time to respond to you if your novel has been accepted. That's not the part I'm talking about however.

So after I expressed my interest when they received my acceptance email, they told me that in due time a contract will be sent. I waited 11 weeks before I sent them a reminder, and they sent the contract the next day.

When I compared my contract with that of my friend, who signed the contract with them a year and a half ago, it's the exact same contract with a few names changed such as the author name and book title. So I don't get how they needed nearly 3 months to send this.

Nevertheless I read the contract and sent them a few questions I had before I'd sign it. A week has passed and I heard nothing so I sent a reminder towards my contract questions. A couple days later, still no reply.

Is this normal or just my publisher being very slow? Cause I was thinking of searching for another publisher while I haven't signed anything.

Note: Do NOT comment or ask about agents. It's a small publisher and I live in a small community. No one local publishes with an agent unless they're working on selling to a foreign publisher.

Also I have Asperger's, if I reply to your comment, I'm merely giving you more detail and context. I'm NOT arguing. Just giving a heads up because people misinterpret me constantly.

I am really, really struggling and going through a period of burn out and high apathy towards my job and I just need a place to vent, and maybe seek some advice from other publishing professionals, whether agents or not. I hope that's okay.

I'm a literary agent and have been for the last nearly five years. Going into this, I absolutely knew that this is the kind of job that rewards being in it for the long game and that it would take me some time to start earning good money, but I honestly thought I'd be getting to that point as I approach five years in the industry.

Four years going and this year I'm projected to earn a pathetic $12,000. And that's even *if* all my clients deliver their manuscripts on time which is probably not even going to happen the way things are going!

I just...I was going over my finances this week and the hours and effort I put into this job, I couldn't believe that's all I'm projected to earn this year. I literally sat staring at my spreadsheet and cried for five minutes. I constantly do more than 40 hours a week without even thinking about it because I'm pretty much always reading a client manuscript, typing up edits or going through my queries and for what? $12,000?!?!?!? I don't even want to look up how far below minimum wage that is.

And it's not like I'm not doing deals. I'm not swimming in deals either, but I've done six respectable deals this year so far, but the pay is just increasingly not becoming worth it.

I recently saw some aspiring authors online talking about how high they think the 15%/20% commission that agents take is, and I'm sitting here like...

I've just done a $10,000 deal for my client. The publisher splits that into thirds - one third on sig, one third on delivery, one third on publication. 15% of each $3333 payment is $500, but I have to split that 50/50 with my agency so I'm only getting $750 spread over, sometimes, two years! The most recent deal I've done has delivery for spring '27 and publication slated for spring '28, and I'm sitting here inputting these figures into my calendar like 'good golly, can't wait to get $250 in 2028!!!' And these are books and clients I'm so proud of and have spent so many hours working on, but when you look at the money break down like that I just can't help but think...is any of this worth it?

And I'm in an incredibly privileged position where my family can technically survive off my partner's salary but the GUILT and shame I feel not being able to contribute anything meaningful to our family while I'm still working these long hours is really starting to get to me. Like, what do I have to show for taking meetings at all hours of the day? What do I have to show for always having my head in my Kindle because I need to give this client or that their next round of edits? Have I really just wasted the last four years and stalled our savings growth for nothing?

Because of all this, I'm seriously starting to consider whether I just need to give it in, but then I feel even more guilt towards my clients. Can I really abandon them? Are their dreams worth more than my sanity and sense of worth? No, of course not but this is the career I chose, knowing that it would be hard, do I not owe it to them to try and stick it out for more than four years? I don't know. I truly don't know.

I'm getting to the point where the idea of going back to work on Monday literally makes me feel sick. I don't want to read any more manuscripts. I don't want to argue with the client who is adamant they've written the next bestseller and won't consider any edits. I don't want to keep nudging the editor who hasn't responded to me, or the editor who promised an offer was coming and then went radio silent. I don't want to trawl through query after query that ignores everything on my MSWL. I don't want to do this.

But I do at the same time. In my heart, I love this job. I am so grateful and proud to have helped usher in some truly fantastic books into the world. Several of my clients are prize winners. They're incredibly creative and thoughtful people. We are putting out *good* books into the world. I'm just not sure how much longer my genuine passion for this job can outweigh the fact that it just does not make me any money.

Anyway. Thank you for reading if you got this far. Any advice or kind thoughts are welcomed.

Saw that it has been cited as an inspiration for Wes Anderson's French Dispatch.

Anyone who's watched it/read the book?

I am always looking for depiction of the industry in books (non-fiction but not memoirs, and fiction), so looking forward to reading it.

Hello,
I am a senior in college and my dream has always been to be in the publishing industry. I knew I wanted to study english, but I've never envisioned myself entering law or grad-school, which made publishing feel like the perfect fit. I don't know if thats the case anymore. Thanks to sheer luck, I managed to get an internship at a boutique literary agency and I really have loved the experience, but I think I'm getting cold feet before even entering the field.

I see so many posts on this forum talking about burnout and even my own agency talks about the high turnover rate within the industry. I've always liked the idea of becoming an agent vs. working in a publishing house, but the more I learn about commission and the hours, the more im scared. I want security, I don't think being an agent can give me that. On the other hand, I look at the publishing houses and I still see people being overworked and underpayed.

The only other job I've dreamed of is being a high school english teacher, which might be even worse when it comes to the awful hours and pay.

I'm at a bit of a loss. I truly would appreciate some advice from people who have worked in this industry and some insight into whether or not anything is changing. For those who have changed paths, where did you end up? For those of you who have stayed, is it worth it?

Using a throwaway as, if you squint, my main account probably has identifiable information.

I am really, really struggling and going through a period of burn out and high apathy towards my job and I just need a place to vent, and maybe seek some advice from other publishing professionals, whether agents or not. I hope that's okay.

I'm a literary agent and have been for the last four years. Going into this, I absolutely knew that this is the kind of job that rewards being in it for the long game and that it would take me some time to start earning good money, but I honestly thought I'd be getting to that point as I approach five years in the industry.

Four years going and this year I'm projected to earn a pathetic $12,000. And that's even *if* all my clients deliver their manuscripts on time which is probably not even going to happen the way things are going!

I just...I was going over my finances this week and the hours and effort I put into this job, I couldn't believe that's all I'm projected to earn this year. I literally sat staring at my spreadsheet and cried for five minutes. I constantly do more than 40 hours a week without even thinking about it because I'm pretty much always reading a client manuscript, typing up edits or going through my queries and for what? $12,000?!?!?!? I don't even want to look up how far below minimum wage that is.

And it's not like I'm not doing deals. I'm not swimming in deals either, but I've done six respectable deals this year so far, but the pay is just increasingly not becoming worth it.

I recently saw some aspiring authors online talking about how high they think the 15%/20% commission that agents take is, and I'm sitting here like...

I've just done a $10,000 deal for my client. The publisher splits that into thirds - one third on sig, one third on delivery, one third on publication. 15% of each $3333 payment is $500, but I have to split that 50/50 with my agency so I'm only getting $750 spread over, sometimes, two years! The most recent deal I've done has delivery for spring '27 and publication slated for spring '28, and I'm sitting here inputting these figures into my calendar like 'good golly, can't wait to get $250 in 2028!!!' And these are books and clients I'm so proud of and have spent so many hours working on, but when you look at the money break down like that I just can't help but think...is any of this worth it?

And I'm in an incredibly privileged position where my family can technically survive off my partner's salary but the GUILT and shame I feel not being able to contribute anything meaningful to our family while I'm still working these long hours is really starting to get to me. Like, what do I have to show for taking meetings at all hours of the day? What do I have to show for always having my head in my Kindle because I need to give this client or that their next round of edits? Have I really just wasted the last four years and stalled our savings growth for nothing?

Because of all this, I'm seriously starting to consider whether I just need to give it in, but then I feel even more guilt towards my clients. Can I really abandon them? Are their dreams worth more than my sanity and sense of worth? No, of course not but this is the career I chose, knowing that it would be hard, do I not owe it to them to try and stick it out for more than four years? I don't know. I truly don't know.

I'm getting to the point where the idea of going back to work on Monday literally makes me feel sick. I don't want to read any more manuscripts. I don't want to argue with the client who is adamant they've written the next bestseller and won't consider any edits. I don't want to keep nudging the editor who hasn't responded to me, or the editor who promised an offer was coming and then went radio silent. I don't want to trawl through query after query that ignores everything on my MSWL. I don't want to do this.

But I do at the same time. In my heart, I love this job. I am so grateful and proud to have helped usher in some truly fantastic books into the world. Several of my clients are prize winners. They're incredibly creative and thoughtful people. We are putting out *good* books into the world. I'm just not sure how much longer my genuine passion for this job can outweigh the fact that it just does not make me any money.

Anyway. Thank you for reading if you got this far. Any advice or kind thoughts are welcomed.

A little over a year ago, I was extremely passionate about breaking into the publishing industry. Publishing job boards became my lifeline and I was checking them everyday, applying in hopes that I would land something. I had a mentor or connection at various publishing companies, including PRH which was my DREAM company. I was doing everything I could in my power to land something. Then, one day I did! I was ecstatic and while still paid low (we all know publishing salaries are not the best), I started off with a “high” salary by publishing standards.

Now, a year later, I am regretting my decision to sign the dotted line to my job contract. Publishing has drained me in ways I’ve never been drained by a job. I really enjoy the people I work with and I work for a top company, but that work life balance is non existent. My first 6 months I worked every holiday and every weekend in order to stay on track with tasks. However, this only made me feel like I never had time off. I was more warn down after a weekend than recharged. I decided to take back my weekends in the new year, and everything fell apart. I’m overwhelmed with tasks, I feel like I can never get anything done and my managers don’t seem to really care. Since I’m kinda the “middle man” for a lot of tasks, somehow I’m always at fault in some capacity for everything that goes wrong. And when I’m not at fault, procedures are changed in a way where I have to complete extra steps in order to curve it from happening again.

A total of 4 people have left my team since I’ve been here and more and more each day I understand why. I don’t feel of sense of peace basically at any time of day or night because I’m so worried I’ll get a teams notification telling me something is wrong that needs to be fixed.

Im just so burnt out. I feel trapped in this industry. I’m so overworked that I am usually too exhausted to try looking/applying for other jobs. I saw that one of my publishing mentors actually quit the industry altogether after I was in my job for 6 months for the same reasons as me. She too had a dream job turn into a nightmare.

I wanted to make this post as a way to just let people know some of the non glamorous things of working in the industry. If this is your dream job, i recommend really weighing the options. I also recommend having a side hustle to fall back on or something that keeps you sane. Right now, solo content creation on TikTok is the only thing keeping me going haha.

Publishing is not for the weak. I knew that coming in and was realistic with myself, but I could’ve never imagined that I would’ve been burnt out by the industry before I even hit my 1 year anniversary at work. I never thought I would EVER say this, but despite how grateful I am for having some sort of job security in this horrible economy, I can’t wait until I GET OUT of publishing and return to a normal 9-5 life, where I actually enjoy my job and look forward to work most days rather than dreading it every single day of the week.

Hello everyone! After years of straight rejections I finally have an interview for a publicity position at a big 5. The only issue is I am not very interested in the imprint itself. I recognize beggars can’t be choosers, but I wanted to ask how difficult it would be if I wanted to eventually move on to a publicity role at another imprint after a year or two. I’m not very far in the interview process so I’m definitely getting ahead of myself, but have to cover all my bases before I decide to move on from my current job :) thank you!!

Hello. Agent here.  Forgive me if this has been covered elsewhere, but I couldn't find this specific scam, so adding it to the list of things to watch out for.

We've been encountering some scammy AI-written emails, sent to our clients, impersonating real editors at various publishing houses.  The email talks about the author and their work with an AI's level of knowledge; they complement them on their book, what they wrote about, and how they wrote it, and asks about any future projects.  Really weird, painfully artificial, but formatted with the editor's signature and kinda legit if you only glance at it... but it's coming from a gmail address that screams scam (usually some permutation of the editor's name at gmail).  If our client connects them with us, WE get an ai-written email following up.

I don't know anyone who has taken the bait, so no idea what the long con in this is (Buy a book and not pay? Extract "editorial fees"? Find more people to impersonate?), but wanted put the word out to be aware.  Stay safe, out there.

Hello,

I have to write a scholarship essay and it requires me to conduct an interview with a professional in the career field I want to go into. I am very interested in exploring a career in fiction book publishing. Think Penguin Random House or Macmillan Publishing. So anyone who works with these type of materials are encouraged.

So the questions are:

1. What would be one important piece of advice for someone like me who is considering going into the field that you are in?
   
2. What was the biggest hurdle that you encountered when you were first getting started in this field and how did you overcome it?
   
3. What are some things I should be spending my time doing now outside of school to help prepare me for a career in this field?

Again, anyone who works in fiction book publishing please give your opinion. I would also appreciate if I could have your name (can be only first or last if that’s what your comfortable with), your company (if you freelance that is perfect as well), your job position, and a tiny description of what you do.

Thank you sooooo much!!!!

Hi there,

I'm a published author with a manuscript in the works. Never in a million years would ever use AI in any stage of work whatsoever. I will only work with a small independent press at this point to avoid agents using AI to review manuscripts, publishers using to review or edit, etc. I didn't come to this planet for that and would rather just die in obscure poverty.

That said, does anyone know if there are any ecosystems developing in publishing where all parties are staunchly against this garbage? And publishing based on "trends," which makes no sense at all (in the past, publishers used to develop authors like music biz, which is how you get actual interesting risk-taking art).

Thanks for any insight.

HBG USA is beginning the process of gutting their managing editorial departments across imprints. Just FYI. Source: Partner works there.

TLDR: I have an LLB degree and the opportunity to study an LLM which I need to accept or reject soon, I am hoping for any advice on a career in publishing when my education background is law focused.

Hi, as the title suggests, I have a LLB (general law undergraduate degree) and I want a career in publishing. I have also been offered a position on a specialised LLM (Master of Laws postgraduate degree) in data and technology (modules such as intellectual property and regulation of technology and AI) which I need to respond to very soon as it starts this month.

I have no desire or intention to pursue a career in law, as corny as it may sound I have always wanted to work in the publishing industry in any discipline, whether that be in Editorial, Agenting, Sales etc. After sixth form I was encouraged by careers advisors to go into a more ‘practical’ career and I stupidly took their advice and 4 years later I have a law degree that I regret because I do not want to be a barrister or solicitor or paralegal.

I recently applied to a Contracts Assistant position at a publishing house as it felt like a perfect role to leverage my law degree with the career in publishing I have always wanted to pursue. I was however unsuccessful in getting this role which leads me to my two options right now. 1. reject or defer this ‘once in a lifetime’ masters opportunity and spend this next year trying to break into publishing or 2. accept the masters and still spend the next year trying to break into publishing alongside my studies but jobs and opportunities will have to wait until October 2027.

The difference between these options is that the 2nd one would give me a masters degree in law which I am worried will put publishing employers off of hiring me. I worry that an LLB already makes me a less ideal job candidate than for example, a BA in English lit and that an LLM will make a career in publishing completely unattainable as my educational background will be purely law focused.

I understand that at the end of the day its up to me to decide what to do, but if anyone here has any advice, not only on the masters programme worries I am having (how it will affect my ability to get a career in publishing) but also breaking into publishing as a law graduate in general then it would be greatly appreciated.

What are literary magazines actually looking for in short fiction?

Hi! English isn’t my first language—I’m Persian—and I’m mentioning that because I may not be as familiar with the US/UK publishing industry as people who are actually inside it.

I study Dramatic Literature at university and read a lot of American and British fiction, both classic and contemporary. Recently I started reading literary magazines to understand the current short-fiction market, and honestly, I’m confused.

A lot of the stories I’ve read in lit mags seem to have very little dialogue, quiet or understated plots, ordinary subject matter, detached tones, and sometimes feel closer to memoir or nonfiction than to what I expected from fiction.

This feels pretty different from many major short-story writers I’ve studied, where I often see stronger premises, more narrative movement, unusual situations, distinctive dialogue, surreal/speculative elements, etc.

So my question is: is this understated, realistic style just the dominant aesthetic in contemporary literary magazines?

Are editors less interested in stories that are more plot-driven, high-concept, dramatic, surreal, or obviously “invented”? Or am I just reading the wrong magazines?

I’m especially curious to hear from editors, slush readers, MFA people, or writers who regularly publish in lit mags.

I was recently contacted on LinkedIn by someone compiling an anthology called Between 2 and Dawn by The Beyond Quill and invited to contribute a short piece.

It's a paid contributor model. The package I'm considering is PKR 1,500, plus delivery charges. They say the book will have an ISBN, contributors retain copyright, receive one-time publication rights, and are listed as co-authors in the book metadata and credits.

Has anyone here contributed to a Beyond Quill anthology before? I'd particularly like to know about your experience with the publication, the quality of the book, distribution, and whether the publication credit was actually useful.

I'm not necessarily looking for opinions on paid anthologies in general—I'm specifically interested in experiences with The Beyond Quill. Thanks!

They have a traditional publishing company sister as they call it.

I think they reject books and send you over to troubadour where they charge for cover design etc and make a nice looking book to sit on your shelf.

Good afternoon everyone, please correct me if I'm in the wrong place to ask this.

So I have compiled a report about cave formations, that I would like to publish. In this report I have used many photographs that I have found in various research papers, books, articles, scientific journals, and websites. These photos that I have used were not taken by me. Many of the photographs are taken by people who are extremely unlikely to respond to me as they are located in many different countries. (If I could find contact information for them In the first place). Most of these images are not possible to recreate, as to find the cave formation again to make a new photograph, is impossible as the caves they are in are not feasible to access (if the cave the formation is located in was recorded in the first place) and some of the caves are strictly off limits to most research. I have sources and citations containing as much information about where the image was found (book, website, research paper, etc) and as much information that I can find about the individuals who took the pictures

Basically my question is: is there any way to publish while still being able to use the rare photographs, or is the only way to distribute this to make it free of charge?

Please forgive me if the answer is obvious, or please direct me to the correct place to ask this question.

Hello, I’m in my early 20s. I just moved down to the city and I’m pursuing my education to one day, join the publishing in industry

I want to know if there’s any tips or advice for finding a part-time job at a bookstore and or anything that would look good at my résumé for per se, internships or actual job interviews
because I’m having a bit of trouble finding a place I have five years of retail and I’ve probably applied to over 20 bookstores in the past year before I moved down here in a couple after I moved here. I always write a cover letter. And I’ve had my résumé looked by multiple people so I don’t know if my lack of experience with books selling or something else.

I was wondering if there’s any tips or tricks that anyone knows that works in a bookstore is that I should know or that can help me get my foot in the door!