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1 | CLICK ON THE GOOGLE DOCS LINK BELOW TO ADD YOUR INFORMATION | |||||||||||||||||
2 | https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdwsg_9SO2p-RoImu6kgawUWxkLe38TAw62PQMufWQE-lzV-A/viewform | |||||||||||||||||
3 | This is a sheet for UK publishing employees to compare salaries for the sake of transparency and change. | |||||||||||||||||
4 | This is an independent, anonymous survey not affiliated with any person or organisation. Separately, there is professional work being done on book job transparency here: https://www.bookjobtransparency.co.uk/ | |||||||||||||||||
5 | If you have any questions or would like to delete your entry, please get in touch: publishingtransparency@gmail.com | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Update 6 July: As this document inches towards a thousand entries, a massive thank you to everyone who has contributed. We all collectively own this information and I hope it can be used as an agent of change. Books are incredible but the mainstream publishing industry is very flawed. Success is largely measured by profit. And ultimately, to echo the thoughts of Angela Davis, capitalism is central to furthering racism, heteropatriarchy and class exploitation. It is impossible to separate publishing from this. There is a lot of work to do. Not just around pay (for employees, authors and illustrators alike) but also around representation, a sense of belonging, unlearning learned behaviours, acquisition, how books are published, sold and marketed... everything. Now is the time to interrogate our roles in the system, our jobs, our companies, our set of beliefs. Let's hold ourselves and others accountable and do what we can, small or big, to dismantle and rebuild. To anyone in a leadership role, please listen to your employees. As publishing slowly begins to open its doors to a wider group of people, the dissenting voices are getting louder. And consider including your salary as well – this is as much about what we earn as it is about understanding disparate pay potential under the current system. Without senior leadership participation, part of the puzzle is missing. The intention with this document was always to raise awareness and provide a collective, public forum to share. While this is not research or an official survey of any sort, it is a truthful representation of the industry. Please continue sharing, encouraging people to participate and using this as a reference tool. Keep talking. Know your worth. And join a union! | |||||||||||||||||
7 | What is / was your job title? | Who is / was your employer? | Location: | What is / was your salary? | Employment Status: | RACE / ETHNICITY (collecting this data because it may inform how people are paid and/or promoted) | GENDER IDENTITY (collecting this data because it may inform how people are paid and/or promoted) | SEXUAL ORIENTATION (collecting this data because it may inform how people are paid and/or promoted) | Years spent working in publishing: | Years of overall professional experience: | Please list any additional compensation here, e.g. annual bonus, target-based bonus, compensated travel expenses, incentive bonus, performance bonus, etc: | Please use this space to share any additional information you think is useful to know, e.g. religion, negotiation experience, promotions/raises, etc: | ||||||
8 | Brand exec | PRH | London | 27k | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 5 | 10 | Annual performance bonus, around £500-800 | |||||||
9 | Senior Designer | HarperCollins | London | 36,000 | Full-time | White | Man (cisgender) | Straight | 8 | 8 | none | |||||||
10 | senior commissioning editor | Hachette | London | 40,000 | Full-time | White/Irish | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 9 | 13 | bonus of around £1.5K per year | I left because I was bored. I did not know how I was going to progress and felt hopeless. I wasn't learning anything new. I had no targets. Senior management undermined staff confidence to prevent them from asking for more – I'm not sure they were even aware they were doing it, but they did it to everyone. I had to get out for the sake of my mental health. It wasn't really about money, though I knew I could have been making a lot more after working so hard for the same amount of time in another industry. | ||||||
11 | Translation Rights Executive | Leading Literary Agency | London | 28,950 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 5 | 6 | discretionary annual bonuses which were very good the years I was at the company (ranging from 1 - 8.5k) as the company was doing well | I started at 20k | ||||||
12 | Sales Executive | Illustrated Publisher | London | £24K | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 2 | 3 | Annual incentive bonus. | £24k salary will be granted post COVID. | ||||||
13 | Rights Assistant | Literary Agency | London | £21,500 | Full-time | White British | Man (cisgender) | Straight | 1 | 1 | N/A | £500 p/a pay increase after promotion | ||||||
14 | Senior Commissioning Editor | Hachette | London | 35,000 | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Prefer not to say | 5 | 6 | Annual company bonus (2-5%) | £5k pay rise when I went from Commissioning Editor to Senior Commissioning Editor which was the biggest pay rise during my career in-house. Before then I got £2k pay rises (never negotiable). Started as an Editorial Assistant at PRH for £18k in 2014 before they upped assistants salaries to £23k. Then at Hachette - Assistant Editor £25k, £27k Editor, £29k Commissioning Editor. | ||||||
15 | Senior Sales Rep | HarperCollins | London | 29,000 | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Prefer not to say | 6 | 6 | Annual target based bonus - 800 | 2 promotions in six years | ||||||
16 | Editorial Assistant | Little Tiger | London | 20,000 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | Less than 1 | 7 | None yet. | 2 unpaid work experience. 6 years as a bookseller | ||||||
17 | Assistant Editor | Independent | London | 26,500 | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Bisexual | 4 | 5 | None | 2% company wide pay raise | ||||||
18 | Sales Assistant | Bloomsbury | London | 23.2k | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Prefer not to say | Less than 1 | 3 | None | 2% rise as part of company wide pay rise | ||||||
19 | Commissioning Editor | Hachette | London | 35000 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 8 | 8 | Up to 5% annual bonus | 6 months of unpaid work experience followed by 6 months as an intern at £12k at an independent publishing company. Salary as assistant at big 5 was £18k, raised to £19k after a year. Gradual and very tiny incremental salary increases. Up to £24k as assistant editor and £26k as editor. My salary increased to £29k when starting salary increased to £23k but only after i emailed CEO to ask what was being done about mid-level salaries. Left to join an independent company as commissioning editor on £35k. Now back at big 5 company on the same £35k salary, | ||||||
20 | Marketing Manager | Hachette | London | 34000 | Full-time | White/Asian | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | Less than 1 | 6 | na | 6 years marketing experience outside of publishing | ||||||
21 | Editor | Quarto | South East England | 26000 | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 15 | 15 | none | 7 year gap for freelancing | ||||||
22 | Editorial Assistant | Hachette | London | 23,500 | Full-time | Mixed Race | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 2 | 2 | Annual 10% bonus | Annual pay review (cancelled this year due to Covid) | ||||||
23 | IT Manager | Penguin Random House | United Kingdom | 45000 | Full-time | White | Man (cisgender) | Straight | 15 | 17 | Annual bonus, max 5% of yearly salary, based on company and group performance vs sales and profit targets | Annual salary adjustments vs inflation negotiated by union. Childcare vouchers on top of salary (£243 per month) till children aged 5 (then salary sacrifice). Company double matches pension to 6%. | ||||||
24 | Senior editor | Bonnier Books UK | London | £35000 a year, pro rata | Part-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 9 | 10 | N/A | Any payrises have come as a result of me fighting for them and highlighting inconsistencies. My starting salary as an editorial assistant elsewhere was £18,000 | ||||||
25 | Senior Commissioning Editor | Hachette UK | London | £40,000 | Full-time | White/British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 7 | 8 | Group bonus | As an assistant editor I was called by HR to say I was being overpaid and owed the company money/had to pay back my salary simply because they thought my salary 'looked too high for an assistant editor', even though it was correct. My salary has only significantly approved by moving around different publishers rather than staying in one group/publisher. | ||||||
26 | Senior Editorial Assistant | Bloomsbury Academic | London | 24,000 | Full-time | White European | Woman (cisgender) | Prefer not to say | 3 | 3 | Annual tube loan, 75% staff discount | As Senior Editorial Assistant (paid at 24k), I had commissioning responsibilities (both print & digital) and was line managing a part-time staff member. | ||||||
27 | Production Controller | Independent Publisher | London | 26000 | Full-time | Mixed - Asian and White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 2 | 2 | Annual bonus of 300 | Asked for a raise, and was told that the company only grants raises at one particular time each year and that I should wait for then. | ||||||
28 | Designer | Small indie publisher | Scotland | 25,750 | Full-time | White British | Man (cisgender) | Straight | 4 | 8 | Annual bonus dependent on company performance. | Asked to declare current salary on application. Starting salary £20k, increased annually. Company is fair, although due to size not much room for progression other than change of job title. | ||||||
29 | Head of Sales and Marketing | HarperCollins | London | 40k | Full-time | British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 12 | 12 | 10% incentive bonus | At a former big 6 publisher, I only ever got pay rises when I tried to leave. One pay rise was significant - from £28k to £45k so I must have been very, very underpaid for years | ||||||
30 | Project & Brand Exec | Large publisher | London | 33,000 | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 3 | 12 | company performance bonus once a year (equates to about one paycheck). Annual cost of living salary increase (which management often think counts as a "raise"). in my bracket that means a couple extra hundred pounds a month. | At my most recent review I was told that I'm "paid well." I've not had a raise since starting three years ago.In my experience, raises only happen with new jobs, either internally or as a competitive offer to something external. Being financially rewarded for doing your job well just doesn't happen often, if ever. | ||||||
31 | Senior Publicity and Marketing Executive | Little Tiger Group | London | £28,000 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Lesbian | 7 | 15 | In 4 years at company, usually we are given annual 3% raise in line with inflation, plus bonus on years at company scale. Bonus wasn't granted since US Penguin buy out. | Athiest raised in CoE schooling with agnostic parents. One company move to higher level role and one promotion in seven years of full time publishing work. I've never negotiated for a raise because I don't feel confident in my abilities to do so, and am also aware my wages are higher than others at similar level within the company in other departments - this also means I've not asked for a promotion. My entry level wages at Orion/Hachette in 2013 were £23000 so my current salary may be a reflection of that higher wage start than some peers. | ||||||
32 | Publicity & Marketing Assistant | Hachette | London | 23,000 | Full-time | White/Irish | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 3 | 6 | 2% annual bonus (not to be paid this year) | Attempt at negotiating promotion resulted in being told someone would need to leave for me to step up. Attempt at negotiating salary resulted in being told to wait for pay review. Pay review not happening this year. | ||||||
33 | Editorial Manager | Luath Press | Edinburgh | approx £11-13,000 p.a. | full-time but no contract, paid hourly | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | Less than 1 | 3 | No contract, no pension, 20 days paid annual leave. | Badly wanted a job in publishing so felt had no negotiating power. Publisher uses unpaid interns in lieu of paid staff. Incredibly stressful job - when CEO away, staff have to run the company without support | ||||||
34 | Marketing Campaign Coordinator | Oxford University Press | Oxford | £23,633 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Queer | 3 | 3 | Small annual bonus split amongst all employees based on press' annual performance | Base salary for the role was £23,000 but increased last year in line with inflation. | ||||||
35 | Editorial Assistant | Quarto | Brighton | 21,000 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Gay | 3 | 4 | Nothing offered | Been on lowest pay grade of company since I started in 2017. When I ask about possible pay increase I'm repeatedly told 'it's not the time' - no prospect of pay rise. Very little discussion of promotion or career development. | ||||||
36 | Marketing Manager | Independent Publisher | London | 30,000 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 4 | 4 | Annual company bonus based on profit | Been promoted internally but amount of salary increase never negotiable | ||||||
37 | Press Officer | Hachette | London | £25,000 | Full-time | Mixed - Indian/White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 2 | 4 | Annual bonus depending on company's overall performance | Been promoted internally but have been told there isn't space for progression or a pay raise. | ||||||
38 | Senior Assistant Commissioning Editor | Oxford University Press | Oxford | 29,000 | Full-time | white | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 5 | 5 | 1000 | been promoted twice, plus maternity cover, never been involved in negotiating salary as been in same department | ||||||
39 | Publishing Assistant | Small independent publisher | London | £22,500 pro rata | Part-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Bisexual | Less than 1 | 2 | n/a | Began as an intern on 18.5k and was promoted and given a raise after four months | ||||||
40 | Marketing Assistant | Hachette | London | 23,000 | Full-time | Chinese | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 2 | 2 | Annual bonus | Began on a year long traineeship for 20k, tax free | ||||||
41 | Senior Publicity Manager | Hachette UK | London | 40,000 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 5 | 7 | Annual bonus | Big jump in pay from Manager to Senior Manager despite no changes in job role. Only ever been promoted because of interest from competitors. | ||||||
42 | Senior Commissioning Editor | HarperCollins (HQ) | London | £35,500 | Full-time | White British | Man (cisgender) | Gay | 9 | 9 | Received one company bonus which was under £1000 after tax. | Came from a previous Comm Ed job at £32k, was offered £34k to move and negotiated slightly higher salary before accepting, but significantly worse benefits (no summer hours etc). | ||||||
43 | Marketing Manager | HarperCollins | London | 31000 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Demisexual | 5 | 4 | None | Changed jobs three times in three years | ||||||
44 | Senior Rights Executive | Penguin Random House | London | 31,920 | Full-time | White Other | Woman (cisgender) | Bisexual | 3 | 3 | inflation-based pay rise | Christian | ||||||
45 | Export Sales Executive/Territory Manager | Usborne Publishing | London | £35,400 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 8 | 10 | Annual bonus scheme based off of company profits. It is very generous and the same percentage for all employees | Clear salary banding and grading structure available as soon as you start. Inflation pay rises every year and agreed with unions before announced. | ||||||
46 | Marketing Executive | Penguin Random House | London | 28k | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 3 | 3 | Comp | Company bonus | ||||||
47 | Special Sales Manager | Medium Indie (approx 50 employees) | London | £35,000 | Full-time | White /Irish | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 5 | 7 | Annual bonus, Christmas bonus, performance bonus, compensated travel expenses | Company is fair but there is no transparency, hard to know what you should be asking for and hard to ask for it. | ||||||
48 | Marketing Manager | Small indie | London | 26k | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 2 | 4 | None. | Consistently told no budget for payrises, even though at one point I was doing the job of three people. Also told I shouldn't discuss any payrises with members of staff, then junior members of staff would reveal your salary to everyone at social events. | ||||||
49 | Editor | Hachette | London | £28,000 | Full-time | BAME | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 4 | 10 | Annual bonuses do bring up my salary to £31,000 | Definitely think from my years of struggle in the publishing industry that BAME employees have to work twice as hard as their white counterparts to get the same recognition. | ||||||
50 | Marketing Designer | Hachette | London | £28,000 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 2 | 3 | Annual bonus, depending on company performance | Denied several raises based on 'budget/department restrictions' so had to move companies to get any increase in salary and position. | ||||||
51 | UK Sales Assistant | Quarto | Central London | 22,500 | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Bisexual | Less than 1 | 1 | Travel loan, summer hours | Department Director seems adamant to praise and give positive pay/role changes to the most junior staff | ||||||
52 | Rights Professional | Independent Publisher | London | £31,500 | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 2 | 2 | annual bonus (depends year on year) ~ £800 | didn't negotiate, company standard | ||||||
53 | Editorial Assistant | DK (PRH) | London | 18,500 | Contract | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Asexual | 3 | 3 | None | Editorial Assistants doing the same job on permanent contracts were on 23,500. I left because they refused to up my salary to that amount. | ||||||
54 | Editor | Bonnier Books UK | London | £32,000 | Full-time | White | Man (cisgender) | Straight | 7 | 7 | None | Employed as a Publishing Assistant on £13,000, which I was able to accept thanks to then living with parents. Editor since 2016. Been commissioning c.10 books a year since then, although so far not being given job title to reflect this. | ||||||
55 | Editor | Thames & Hudson | Central London | £23,500 per annum | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Bisexual | 5 | 6 | Annual bonus based on company performance | Employees are explicitly told not to discuss salary with co-workers; appraisals and promotion discussions seem structured to avoid discussion of pay | ||||||
56 | Editorial Assistant | Pan Macmillan | London | £23,000 | Contract | British Asian (South Asian) | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 3 | 3 | N/A | Entry-level job advertised requiring 6-12 months experience, no salary given but current salary was requested. £1K higher salary to other entry-level staff due to extra experience. Muslim family name, non-English first name, first job in publishing came through a Creative Access internship. Living at home due to low salary and instability of fixed-term contract. This company has a history of extending contracts over and over before making people permanent. | ||||||
57 | Publicity Director | Big 5 | London | 50,000 | Contract | White/Asian | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 10 | 10 | N/A | Every raise and promotion achieved through new job offers only, never in line with positive appraisals/successful performance/awards alone. Discussions around these issues fobbed off as a matter of course at every job, be it at corporations or major indies. Lack of development opportunities or paths to progression. Starting salary was £21k in late 2010. | ||||||
58 | Publicity Director | Big 5 | London | 50,000 | Contract | White/Asian | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 10 | 10 | N/A | Every raise and promotion achieved through new job offers only, never in line with positive appraisals/successful performance/awards alone. Discussions around these issues fobbed off as a matter of course at every job, be it at corporations or major indies. Lack of development opportunities or paths to progression. Starting salary was £21k in late 2010. | ||||||
59 | Editorial Assistant | Mid-size Indie | London | 22,000, starting 20,000 | Full-time | White Irish | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 3 | 2 | No bonus, moved from 20k to 22k when internally changed departments | Fellow colleague (male) started after me with less experience and is earning 24k. | ||||||
60 | Literary Agent | Central London agency | London | £33,000 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Bisexual | 10 | 12 | Commission-based bonus | First 8 years in publishing I averaged at £22.5K p/y, starting at £16.5K which covered rent but not food or travel, which I took a second job / overdraft for. No family money/support; ended up in £10K of debt plus student loan. More manageable now but my partner is in the Arts and things are still v precarious. | ||||||
61 | Senior Manager | Penguin Random House | London | £42,000 | Full-time | South Asian | Woman (cisgender) | Pansexual | 10 | 11 | Annual bonus based on divisional targets, and usually there's an annual pay increase to adjust for inflation | First gen immigrant with a working class upbringing. Found it very difficult to progress in the first half of my career with constant feedback around needing to be more 'proactive' and 'visible' but nothing actually tangible or helpful. Pay feels like a taboo subject and even when you're promoted or progress to a more senior level, pay rises are incremental despite having to take on much more responsibility. No transparency around salary on job ads (even internally). | ||||||
62 | Editorial Assistant | Hachette | London | £23,500 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | Less than 1 | Less than 1 | Annual bonus | First job in publishing, having done a BA in Publishing. £23,500 was the salary offered, with no negotiation | ||||||
63 | Marketing Manager | OUP | Oxford | £30,750 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 9 | 9 | Annual bonus dependent on list + organisation performance - paid some years | First salary (Marketing Assistant, fixed term) was £17,000. All promotions/pay rises have been slow and painful processes! | ||||||
64 | Publicity Associate | Academic Publisher | Oxfordshire | 25,000 | Full-time | White - British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 3 | 3 | N/A | First-generation graduate, non-privately educated, did 4 days of work experience at publishing house whilst at university as well as volunteered for university newspaper's editorial team for 2 years prior to job. Salary as an assistant started at 21k. | ||||||
65 | Senior Designer | Big 5 | London | 38500 | Full-time | Not white | Prefer not to say | Prefer not to say | 8 | 10 | Annual Bonus | Found it hard to get any pay rises because they would marked me up against internal publishing designer roles instead of overall marketing designer roles | ||||||
66 | Literary Agent's Assistant | Literary Agency | London | £28,000 | Full-time | Mixed - White/Asian | Woman (cisgender) | Bisexual | 3 | 4 | End of year bonus | Frequent and fair salary reviews | ||||||
67 | assistant | boutique literary agency | Central London | 16,000 | Full-time | white british | Man (cisgender) | Straight | 12 | 12 | christmas bonus - £50 for each year served | from unpaid intern to low paid intern i worked two jobs for a very long time (every eveningm, and doubles on weekends), no family money to support me,. circa £1k payrise a year. | ||||||
68 | Senior Managing Editor | Large indie publisher | London | £33,660 | Part-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 15 | 16 | Usually a small annual bonus given to all staff | FTE salary would be £42,075. I'm only paid as well as I am because I was offered more than I was paid in my previous company to make the move. I think moving companies is the only way to secure significant jumps in salary. | ||||||
69 | Corporate responsibility assistant | Penguin Random House | London | 25.5k | Full-time | Black Caribbean | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 1 | 12 | Annual bonus | Given a 3 grand pay rise when inquiring about promotion. Over qualified for my role but was only given a payrise which is 1.5k more than set salary for entry level employees. | ||||||
70 | Corporate responsibility assistant | Penguin Random House | London | 25.5k | Full-time | Black Caribbean | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 1 | 12 | Annual bonus | Given a 3 grand pay rise when inquiring about promotion. Over qualified for my role but was only given a payrise which is 1.5k more than set salary for entry level employees. | ||||||
71 | Senior Designer | Faber | London | 36000 | Full-time | White British | Man (cisgender) | Straight | 13 | 13 | Small annual bonus if profitable year | Grew up in London. Both parents worked in publishing. Salary has always matched my age, give or take (e.g. ~25k when I was 25 etc.) | ||||||
72 | Senior Commissioning Editor | Hachette UK | £33,000 | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 4 | 10 | Yearly Christmas bonus | Had to fight very very hard for my first promotion, very demoralising and stressful and was in a lot of debt at the time. Have moved up quickly since then and can now survive on my salary but have only just started being able to save. Am lucky to have a partner in London earning more so can rely on them sometimes. | |||||||
73 | Ebooks Manager | Bloomsbury | London | 32,000 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 4 | 4 | Annual bonus if the company hits targets | Had to move to London for first job at Harper Collins, left after a year and a half as a internal promotion opened up but they went for an external candidate with the same experience rather than promoting internally. Every pay rise/promotion has come by applying for a new job. | ||||||
74 | Publicity Manager | HarperCollins | London | £30,000 | Full-time | White, British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 5 | 7 | Annual bonus depending on company performance | Had to negotiate extensively to get current wage as a manager | ||||||
75 | Editorial Assistant | Taylor and Francis | Oxford | 24700 | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 2 | 2 | Small bonus if company hits projected targets | Hard to move up, but seems like quicker than most other publishers - in normal (non-pandemic) times, it's normal to move from EA to Editor after 2 years, although this is never by promotion, always competitive interview process. Salaries at EA level are all standard and it's really possible to negotiate salary until you reach senior editor level. | ||||||
76 | International Sales Assistant | DK (PRH) | London | 24,909 | Full-time | White/Other | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 1 | 4 | 500.00-800.00 (Variable) | Have a Master's degree and did over a year of unpaid internships before this position | ||||||
77 | Agent’s Assisstant | Literary Agency | London | £24,000 | Full-time | White (British) | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 5 | 6 | company wide bonus (pro-rated this year as first year at current company) | Have a MSc in Publishing (as well as an undergraduate degree from a top Scottish university). Moved from Oxfordshire-based academic publisher to London-based agency (after two years of constant applying) and salary went DOWN for the trouble. | ||||||
78 | Senior Content Manager | Cambridge University Press | Cambridge | 30125 | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 8 | 14 | Performance bonus | Have an MA in publishing | ||||||
79 | Senior Editor | Independent publisher | London | £36,000 | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 5 | 5 | N/A | Have asked for every pay rise or promotion but generally the company seems to be fair in what it pays people at different levels | ||||||
80 | Sales Assistant | Medium Indie | London | 20500 | Full-time | Black Caribbean | Woman (cisgender) | Bisexual | 3 | 9 | Annual bonus depending on company performance | Have had inflation adjustment referred to as my "annual raise" | ||||||
81 | Literary Agent | Small/Mid-sized Agency | London | £32,000 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 10 | 14 | Annual bonus based on commission vs costs and how well company has done overall (never achieved) | Have had no salary change in 5 years, have asked but been told there isn't money for it. Started on £20k 10 years ago as agents' assistant. | ||||||
82 | Rights Assistant | Bonnier | London | 22,550 | Full-time | Black British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 2 | 3 | Good company performance' bonus of 2.5% in Feb 2020 | Have never received an appraisal, even after being told there would be one. | ||||||
83 | Publicity officer (incorrect previous form) | Bonnier books | London | 26k | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 3 | 3 | None | Have worked for the company from intern to now. Previously stated my salary incorrectly at 23k it is 26k | ||||||
84 | Key Account Manager | PRH | London | 30400 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 10 | 10 | Annual Bonus based on Company Performance, no performance based sales bonus | Have worked in Publishing for 10 years but have only been in London since late 2016 - this is the second Publisher I have worked for since then and my 4th role (due to moving company or through promotions). | ||||||
85 | Press Officer | HarperCollins | London | 26,000 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Bisexual | 2 | 2 | Annual bonus based on company performance | HC countered a job offer I got from PRH | ||||||
86 | Copywriter & Senior Metadata Executive | Penguin Random House | London | £30,000 | Full-time | White | Man (cisgender) | Straight | 4 | 5 | Usual PRH bonus | Hired at £24k in non-senior version of the role | ||||||
87 | Editorial Assistant | Palgrave Macmillan | London | 22k | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 2 | 2 | 0 | Hiring freezes and constant restructuring mean that assistants are put under increasing pressure and opportunities for promotion/salary increase are virtually nonexistent. | ||||||
88 | Marketing Manager | Publishing technology vendor | UK | 50,000 | Full-time | White/British | Woman (cisgender) | Queer | 8 | 12 | Compensated expenses, WFH stipend during COVID | HQ US-based | ||||||
89 | https://unitetheunion.org/why-join/membership-types/unite-young-members/ | https://unitetheunion.org/why-join/membership-types/unite-young-members/ | https://unitetheunion.org/why-join/membership-types/unite-young-members/ | https://unitetheunion.org/why-join/membership-types/unite-young-members/ | https://unitetheunion.org/why-join/membership-types/unite-young-members/ | https://unitetheunion.org/why-join/membership-types/unite-young-members/ | https://unitetheunion.org/why-join/membership-types/unite-young-members/ | https://unitetheunion.org/why-join/membership-types/unite-young-members/ | https://unitetheunion.org/why-join/membership-types/unite-young-members/ | https://unitetheunion.org/why-join/membership-types/unite-young-members/ | ||||||||
90 | Project Editor | DK (PRH) | London | 30,200 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 6 | 6 | Annual bonus dependent on company performance, company benefits. | I accepted my most recent job in publishing after applying for two roles at the same company – different departments but same job title. Later in the process learned that there was a 4k difference between the two salaries. I have also always tried to negotiate salary on acceptance of a new job (after once learning on my first day that the other – less experienced – new start was being paid 4k more for the same job), but have been told twice at Big 5 publishers that there is no negotiation possible. Even though the salary was therefore clearly set, it has never been advertised from the start. | ||||||
91 | Key Account Executive | Penguin Random House | London | £27,945 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 3 | 10 | Profit related bonus | I agree with previous comments that PRH appraisals are structured to avoid conversations about promotion and salary. I am lucky to have an easy and open relationship with with my manager where I am able to raise the subject myself. If the circumstances were different I can imagine feeling very stuck. | ||||||
92 | Managing Director | Medium indy | London | 50,000 | Full-time | White | Non-binary | Queer | 12 | 14 | Profit (and loss) share | I am a co-owner of the business | ||||||
93 | Assistant Editor | Bloomsbury Publishing | London | 26,000 | Contract | White British | Man (cisgender) | Bisexual | 5 | 7 | I never received a bonus in any position I have worked in | I am from the north of England. Negotiation has always been catered towards the idea of "luckiness". I have felt ostracized from certain roles due to unconscious bias as a) I went to a state school b) I didn't go to Oxbridge c) my relatives don't work in the industry | ||||||
94 | Assistant Editor | Penguin Random House | London | 27,000 | Contract | Asian | Woman (cisgender) | Prefer not to say | 4 | 8 | None | I am on a temporary fixed term contract for this role, working full-time | ||||||
95 | Contracts Assistant | Penguin Random House | London | £26,000 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 6 | 6 | healthcare benefits are nice to have but they don't pay the rent | I am still on short term contracts after 2 years, which are extended each time. Salary was £23K for nearly 2 years @ PRH, salary only raised due to company-wide raise. Have never had an annual review whilst at PRH. Previous job was for an indie outside London @ £23K, which PRH matched. | ||||||
96 | Development Editor | Oxford University Press | Oxford | £28,000 | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Questioning | 5 | 6 | n/a | I asked for the top of my pay band when I accepted the job, and have recieved yearly raises just over inflation. | ||||||
97 | Senior Commissioning Editor | Penguin Random House | London | 40000 | Full-time | White British | Woman (cisgender) | Prefer not to say | 8 | 8 | Annual company bonus | I consider myself lower middle class and benefited from growing up in a bookish household with some tangential industry 'ins' which helped me get experience which, in turn, helped me get my first internship. I worked Saturdays both while interning and as an EA to supplement my income as salary wasn't enough to live in, even when splitting rent for a room in a houseshare with my partner. Moved companies twice which led to my biggest raises- about 7k each time. Otherwise, have never had pay increase more than 2k. | ||||||
98 | Assistant editor | Independent publisher | London | 28000 | Full-time | white | Woman (cisgender) | Lesbian | 4 | 6 | annual bonus of approx £1000 | I did 3 paid internships, 4 expenses-only internships and many more unpaid internships just to get my foot in the door. | ||||||
99 | Assistant Editor | Penguin Random House UK | London | £27,000 | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 3 | 4 | Annual bonus, £600-£1,000 depending on divisional performance that year | I didn't find out salary of my current job until I was offered it. I tried to negotiate, as a friend/mentor told me to always try, but didn't feel confident in doing so as I had nothing to measure it against, not knowing what the threshold/banding of this role usually is. | ||||||
100 | Publicity Manager | Big independent publisher | London | 37,000 | Full-time | White | Woman (cisgender) | Straight | 5 | 8 | No additional compensation | I got a big salary jump when I moved from one of the big 5 publishers to a smaller one to a more senior role. I was initially offered less and negotiated more through counter-offer. My last pay rise before that was because I got another job offer from another big publisher and got a counter-offer. I've never had a pay rise from performance alone, only from moving jobs so far. | ||||||