The international online site for book news, reports, and news in publishing has been surveying the publishing industry for over a decade, from sales data to publishing house production data to the job market itself. Bringing quantitative reports to the scenes behind our favorite publishers allows for an examination into the market and overall behaviors of the companies behind the books. Further, this reporting brings a level of accountability to big house publishers and corporations. Promises made in terms of diversity or precautions said to be put in place over developing technology are revealed through employee reports from those who’ve anonymously answered the survey that Publishers Weekly sends out to a variety of publishers.
In 2023, PW surveyed 618 respondents in the industry. Their positions ranged in both levels and departments across a variety of publishing houses (indie and industry). This year brought an end to the HarperCollins union strike, which saw an increase in starting salaries for those in the industry. The strike caused further ripples in the industry, affecting the big five publishers. In 2023, 62% of publishing employees expressed dissatisfaction in their positions — attributing this to their low pay. 86% of respondents, however, relayed that they did find some satisfaction in their work.
In terms of diversity, the percentage of respondents who were white decreased by two percent; however, the overwhelming makeup of respondents was still 81% white. Women, again, took the majority in the publishing industry, with over 70%.
2024 Data
This year’s industry report received a total of 632 respondents to their survey. With the development that technology has taken within the last year, the survey included a new section focusing on the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace.
Salary
The median pay for respondents was $75,000. Employees in the publishing industry were paid more last year than in 2022, with an overall raise of 7.3% in salary. The union strike from 2022-2023 fought to raise the minimum starting salary for entry-level employees to $50,000. Though this is not set to take effect until 2025, the number of entry-level positions being offered at $50,000 or lower fell from 17% to 12%.
The official median salaries of the departments broke down as follows: from the respondents’ answers, management was $155,000; sales and markets were $76,600; editorial roles were $71,400; and the median salary for operations and production was $72,000.
Satisfaction
A large number of respondents (85%) who are new to the industry said they were satisfied with their job to some degree, with 39% stating that they were extremely satisfied with their jobs. However, nearly 20% said they were not satisfied at all with their positions. This is reflected in the 12% of new employees that are speculated to be leaving.
AI Scare
The technology and industries behind the development of artificial intelligence have seen a boom this year. AI has taken a new role in almost every industry wearing a disguise as an aid but posing a threat to the people working the jobs that AI takes on and threatening creative work with computer generated work.
The publishing industry is not immune to the impact of AI. The number of companies that use AI tools in-house continues to grow. In 2022, only 23% of publishing companies reported utilizing AI tools within their operations. This number grew to over 50% in 2023. This increase has seen its biggest impact on the publicity and marketing departments, with 36% admitting to using AI. This percentage lowers to 27% for market research and to 18% for copyediting and proofreading.
For industry employees, these are frightening numbers. This fear is not only for their job security but also for the future of publishing. 40% of respondents believe that the use of AI will cause a negative impact on their jobs. When asked if the use of AI will make the industry worse, the number increased to 56%.
Written responses shared by those surveyed in relation to the use of AI in the industry shed light on the damaging reality of AI’s current impact. The majority of the responses highlight concerns for proper compensation of human employees, un-regulated usage, AI content in publishing, and genuine AI failure.
Those who’ve seen these tools integrated into their work have voiced their concerns over and over in their written responses. The overall concern is the effects AI tech will have on devaluing the work of humans. Respondents voiced that operations and positions were swapped for computers over people, and that the industry has faced setbacks from the intelligence’s inability to work correctly without perfect prompting.
AI has caused a ripple effect in many industries, threatening to replace human employees for the sake of uncontrolled technology that falters under slight pressure and buckles from imperfect prompting. When this advancing tech moves into the art world, a greater concern comes to light as the very thing that has made us human sees a tradeoff of the human brush and pen for the systematic and mechanical. One respondent captures this concern in a single, lasting question:
“Why even participate in the arts if a human did not have a hand in sourcing it?”
Anonymous respondent, Publishers Weekly Industry Report
To stay informed on the use of AI in the literary world, check out the Monumental Case Protecting Writers.
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