Not All Cinderella Stories Have Happy Endings

Our fairy godmothers need a union and more support, or, editorial burnout

Publishing twitter is having a very important public conversation, touched off by the announcement by Molly McGhee yesterday that she was leaving Tor after being refused a promotion, when her first acquisition hit the New York Times list this week. In her post, she detailed the large scale problems that led to this decision, including scads of administrative work she was also expected to do.

Molly McGhee @mollymcghee

I ain't reading all that. I'm happy for u tho.

Molly McGhee @mollymcghee

Tl;dr: I’m leaving @torbooks, despite the amazing success of my first acquisition (the author is a genius ok), because the current labor expectation in publishing is untenable 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

Several other editorial staff at other publishers also announced it was their last day. And if you’re in the publishing world, you can probably name several more people who’ve left recently off the top of your head. Many are leaving publishing entirely, going to places they can be better compensated and work normal hours.

Now, it’s certainly true that publishing has long demanded too much for too little of its staff — especially women, who make up the majority of the industry — and that it’s always been something of a revolving door. That said, this feels different and that’s because it is.

The pandemic has put extra stress on already breaking structures. AND THE PEOPLE WITHIN THEM. I like to think it has also allowed a lot of people to step back and reassess their priorities and decide that they value themselves too much to be treated this way.

The industry has lots of problems. It’s way too white, and too hierarchical in ways that no longer make sense — if they ever did. The way the corporate ladder works is extremely old-fashioned, and it was put into place mostly by and to benefit the extremely wealthy white men at the top. As the business itself has gotten more technology dependent, it has relied more and more on younger staffers to do that part of the job…in addition to the jobs they are already doing.

There have been many rounds of layoffs during lean times or consolidations over the years, and very little effort at rebuilding during good times. Instead, more work has been parceled out to employees in-house, who, if they ever want to move up, are expected to do it no matter how long it makes their work weeks or how much it destroys any chance of enjoying the job or having a life outside of it.

As many people have pointed out, publishing runs on dreams sprinkled with fairy dust. The love of books is weaponized. Don’t you love books? Won’t you kill yourself for that love? You want fair compensation? Better working conditions? Isn’t love enough for you???

Gwenda Bond 😈 Preorder THE DATE FROM HELL (4/5)! @Gwenda

The entire books business asks A LOT of everyone at every level and only compensates a few at a level comparable to the work they do. This is true for publishers, booksellers, and authors.

If you asked most people what an editor or editorial assistant in publishing does, they’d probably say buy books and work with authors on their books. But just in the time I’ve been actively publishing — the last ten years — I’ve seen that become more and more the part of an editor’s work they have to squeeze in around the edges of everything else.

This is still the most crucial part of editorial. At the end of the day, it is about the books, but so many other demands are made on the editorial staff’s time and priorities. (And you can extrapolate these same demands and conditions to other departments too!)

I’ve said for years that my absolute favorite part of the publishing process is working with great editors (and book people in general, are the best). I learn something new from every single editor I’ve had/have, and they’ve one thousand percent made my work better. They have comforted, understood, advocated.

Gwenda Bond 😈 Preorder THE DATE FROM HELL (4/5)! @Gwenda

Editors are manuscript detectives, teasing out what a book can be from teeny clues even you don’t know you left. They make books not just exist, but better and then exist. And it’s hard for us to think of that in the context of an infrastructure where they aren’t always valued.

Editors are also the most important connection we, as authors, have to our publisher and the rest of our team there. They are the ones who advocate for our books in meetings we aren’t at, who discuss plans with marketing and publicity and sales, who present our book to those other in-house people to get them excited, who work to shape our cover art, and generally shepherd books through the gauntlet of publication. Notice how all that stuff I described isn’t actual editing?

They also have to be actively reading submissions for themselves and others, apparently often doing all manner of admin tasks that office assistants should or could do, pulling data, etc. etc. Troubleshooting the every day emergencies that have surely increased in the past two years with COVID and its supply chain woes… And I’m sure there’s much more (feel free to chime in with comments to add or correct!).

Most women I know, myself included, place the blame on ourselves when we can’t manage to do everything. We will, in fact, keep doing more than we actually can until we completely burn out.

I think this is what we’re seeing. While the corporate bosses may think that these workers are easily replaced: they aren’t. Every time you lose someone like Molly McGhee’s knowledge and relationships, we are all the poorer for it.

The incredible challenge of consistently devalued overwork

The tragic thing is, of course, there are answers. Profits are up. Publishing weathered the pandemic well (and there’s a whole other business conversation to be had about why, when that’s the case, authors are being made offers cutting our payments into ever more slices and etc etc). There are ways in which publishing could reshape itself to support these positions and all its crucial staff.

Lee Mandelo @leemandelo

I said this elsewhere today, but it bears repeating: it is absolutely fucking wild to me how many industries completely devalue administrative work, even though it is literally what keeps their entire organization running

The money is there — and I truly believe that if publishing overlords invested in more humane working conditions, pay structures, and support staff, well, it would be even more lucrative. It would also at long last help diversify the make-up of the staff and retain those people too. But while I’d like to think conversations like the one happening will be heard by people who can do something about it… Yeah. Capitalism all the way down.

What can be done? I’d love to see publishing employees unionize, of course. And will support those efforts any way I can. What else can an author do?

Gwenda Bond 😈 Preorder THE DATE FROM HELL (4/5)! @Gwenda

YES. And not at all an answer to the larger issues but: at the very least, make sure the people we work with know how much we appreciate them. Brag up their work and talent at every opportunity. Send thank you gifts if you can afford it, and thank you cards if you can't.

claribel a. ortega @Claribel_Ortega

I don't know if there's much us authors can do to help, but if there is anything we can do for editors, assistants, any publishing employees who are struggling rn please let us know bc for my part I want you to know I care and am seeing what's happening rn

It sounds small, and it is. But the reason I wrote this is partly just because I feel like there is still a sense of glamour that pervades what even authors think life working at a publisher is like. There can be a tendency to blame people you work with for outcomes they have no control over, without realizing the overall conditions they are struggling with.

This is not to say authors shouldn’t advocate for themselves. But it’s also just a reminder to let those you work with know that you value them, that you see all they’re doing.

There’s a lot more to unpack here, and I’d love to invite your questions and stories in the comments. Also, what am I missing? Is there something else an author can do to help?

To editors, editorial assistants, publicity and marketing, the art department, all of you: THANK YOU. You deserve better.

And not just because some of you are apparently secretly Ally Sheedy, the other big publishing news of the day.

Elizabeth McCracken @elizmccracken

The most amazing thing I learned today: Ally Sheedy edits under a pseudonym, & "a bunch" of her authors don't know it's her.

vanityfair.comAlly Sheedy Left Hollywood. Then Came ‘Single Drunk Female’“It was this all-consuming love affair in my 20,” says the ‘Breakfast Club’ and ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ star of her career. Here’s why she stepped away—and decided to return.

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