Author Archives: Laura Hazard Owen

Survey Results: Non-Work-Related Reading

As we noted in our original article, a lot of publishing people don’t have as much time as they’d like to read for fun because they’re too busy reading for work. “The work day never ends–‘so much to read’ is a blessing and a curse,” wrote one agent, while an editor described her heavy reading…Continue Reading

Survey Results: When Is Happy Hour?

It’s Friday, and it’s been a hard week. If you’re going to happy hour with a publishing crowd after work today, expect lots of people to order red wine–the drink of choice for 35.8% of respondents. 16.7% prefer white. One respondent just loves “good delicious wine.” 5.3% go for vodka tonics, and 3.5% like Bud…Continue Reading

Survey Results: Salary

How much money do you make? It’s a personal question, but we asked it, and most respondents answered. Here’s the salary breakdown: 3.2% of respondents make less than $30,000. 24.8% make $30,000-$50,000. 13.9% make $50,000-$60,000. 7.7% make $60,000-$70,000. 8.3% make $70,000-$80,000. 11.8% make $80,000-$100,000. 14.7% make $100,000-$150,000. 8.3% make $150,000-$200,000. 7.4% make more than $250,000….Continue Reading

Give Me More

I’ve posted an expanded version of Rich Kelley’s article from the October issue, “Battling the Online Tyranny of ‘More,’” on our Web site. Check it out here:http://pubtrends.wpenginepowered.com/copy/08/0810/0810tyranny.html

Survey Results: How Did You Get Your Job?

Want to get into publishing? A lot of people say it’s all about who you know–and the results of our survey support that belief. 35.5% of respondents heard about their current job via word of mouth. 9.6% found their position on the job board of a Web site like Publishers Marketplace, and 6% were recruited….Continue Reading

Publishing Trends Announces Results of Second Annual Industry Survey

Wondering how much your publishing coworkers make, or how they take their coffee? We got tons of interesting answers in our second annual publishing industry survey, and couldn’t fit them all into our feature article in the October issue of Publishing Trends. So we’ll be posting additional results throughout this month. Stay tuned!

Second Annual Publishing Industry Survey

It’s polling season, and PT’s not exempt! This year, 385 people who work in publishing took our survey; 86.5% completed it. The largest group of respondents were literary agents (26.8%), while the majority of respondents at publishing houses work in editorial (40.6%), followed by rights (6.3%) and sales (5.7%). 10% are 22–27, 25% are 28–35,…Continue Reading

Summer Sizzlers: Media Types Encounter Royalty Disputes, Dropped Deals, and More

Even though much of the Manhattan publishing crowd was out of the city for at least a couple of weeks, Summer 2008 was surprisingly heavy on drama of the publishing variety. Here, we spice up your Labor Day weekend by providing a rundown of the events that shook up the city this season. SHERRY ARGOV…Continue Reading

Crossing Over for Kids: The Words May Be Easier, but Children’s Books Are Harder than They Seem

Anyone who saw (or was) an adult reading Harry Potter on the subway knows that the line between books for grownups and books for children has become increasingly blurred. And despite time devoted to the discussion (see the recent New York Times Book Review essay “I’m Y.A. and I’m O.K”) and celebrity authors writing the…Continue Reading

Distribution Goes Digital

Since we last checked in with distributors, in June 2007, there are positive changes for the little guys. This year, micropress distribution experienced turbulence: The Sarasota, Florida–based BookWorld closed in late September 2007 without notifying its 104 clients. In January 2008, National Book Network (NBN) put its micropress sister company Biblio Distribution up for sale….Continue Reading