Book Publishing Career Information

Land a job in the book publishing industry.

The book publishing industry is large; nearly $27.9 billion in sales were realized in 2009, reports Christopher Steiner in a "Forbes" article. A career in the industry will allow you to impact the lives of students, college professors, laypersons and professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, who work in other industries. Authors, editors and publishers are three of the more widely known careers in the industry. Pay for book publishing jobs varies, with median salaries ranging from $53,070 for writers to over $118,000 for publishers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A bachelor's degree is required to fill some of the roles.

Author

As an author you will pen fiction, such as novels, short stories and poetry, and nonfiction, including college texts and reference books. You will use outlines, character descriptions, dialogue, charts and graphs to create manuscripts. If you work as a nonfiction book author, you will need research skills similar to those used by newspaper journalists. The ability to take a blank page and create entertaining and engaging characters or the ability to recount historical events in ways that engage, inspire and educate readers is necessary to enjoy success as an author. The advent of the Internet also allows authors to self-publish their books and earn a living writing and selling their own manuscripts. Whether you self-publish books or work for a traditional publisher, solid marketing skills will help you to increase your book sales and earn a larger income. The median annual income for authors was $53,070 as of May 2008, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Editor

A critical eye and a desire to spot and correct grammatical, spelling, story structure and plot errors and weaknesses are necessary to succeed as a book editor. Depending on the type of books (e.g. medical texts, biographies) a publisher prints, editors might need a solid understanding of writing styles such as the Chicago or Associated Press style. Experience editing at a newspaper or magazine will help you to land a job as an editor in the book publishing industry. If you do not have newspaper, magazine or book editing experience, you could start as an assistant editor and work your way up to editor. Book editors who work for bestselling authors or large publishing houses can earn higher salaries than editors with small clienteles. The top 10 percent of editors earned more than $95,490 as of May 2008 as reported by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Graphic Designer

Graphic designers work with marketing specialists at book publishing houses to create book covers and drawings included in books. Book publishers that print and distribute children's books can provide valuable on-the-job experience if you are thinking about earning a living as a graphics designer. As a graphic designer, you can also start your own business and create covers for print and electronic books written by self-published authors and produced by print-on-demand publishers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual income for graphic designers was $42,400 as of May 2008.

Printer

Shrink wrap machines, binders and rotary paper trimmers are types of equipment that printers in the book publishing industry work with. Printers handle short (fewer than 5,000 copies) and long print runs. If you work as a printer, self-published authors will submit their manuscripts directly to you to have them printed and bound. Authors whose work is purchased by a major book publisher will have their books submitted to you by the publisher. The ability to print charts, graphs, drawings and pictures absent smears or blurs will help you gain more customers. If you have equipment that allows you to print color and black and white copies versus only black and white copies, you can increase your earnings potential. Average pay for printers as of May 2008 was $15.46 an hour per the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Publicist

A strong desire to get out and communicate with other people is necessary to earn a living as a book publicist. Publicists write press releases, schedule radio and television interviews and book club meetings, and serve as media contacts for authors. If you work as an independent contractor as a publicist, you will work with book publishers and authors to set your rates. The more interviews you schedule for authors and publishers and the more books authors and publishers sell following these interviews, the more money you can make. You could earn more than $97,910 a year as a publicist, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

References

• The Princeton Review: Book Publishing Professional
• Boston College: Careers in Book Publishing
• "Forbes": Book Publishing's Profitable Model
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Authors, Writers, and Editors
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment Statistics: ewspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers