Comments on: Pursuing the Creative Career, and Getting Paid for it Too http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/pursuing-the-creative-career-and-getting-paid-for-it-too/ Everything About Money You Were Too Polite To Ask Sat, 18 May 2013 16:35:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: cwmilton http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/pursuing-the-creative-career-and-getting-paid-for-it-too/#comment-29804 cwmilton Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:51:37 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=20847#comment-29804 @LaNocciola Having worked as an editor in both educational publishing (where I currently am) and trade publishing, I think that neither is what most readers think of when they hear "publishing in London." At least in education I get paid slightly more and work more e-Books, websites, and interactive activities that accompany textbooks these days. I find that it's fun to get creative with new mediums even if it's not the Maxwell Perkins-esque career I imagined. @LaNocciola Having worked as an editor in both educational publishing (where I currently am) and trade publishing, I think that neither is what most readers think of when they hear “publishing in London.” At least in education I get paid slightly more and work more e-Books, websites, and interactive activities that accompany textbooks these days. I find that it’s fun to get creative with new mediums even if it’s not the Maxwell Perkins-esque career I imagined.

]]> By: cmcm http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/pursuing-the-creative-career-and-getting-paid-for-it-too/#comment-29340 cmcm Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:15:22 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=20847#comment-29340 YES. THIS, except I'm in academia. Sometimes I do feel the need to brag about my 35 days annual leave a year and flexible working schedule because I feel so shitty about the amount of debt I've accumulated and how low my salary is. YES. THIS, except I’m in academia. Sometimes I do feel the need to brag about my 35 days annual leave a year and flexible working schedule because I feel so shitty about the amount of debt I’ve accumulated and how low my salary is.

]]> By: Kate Dollarhyde@twitter http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/pursuing-the-creative-career-and-getting-paid-for-it-too/#comment-29317 Kate Dollarhyde@twitter Thu, 03 Jan 2013 23:34:57 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=20847#comment-29317 Replace every instance of "publishing" with "museums" and that's my life. Whee! Replace every instance of “publishing” with “museums” and that’s my life. Whee!

]]> By: werewolfbarmitzvah http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/pursuing-the-creative-career-and-getting-paid-for-it-too/#comment-29309 werewolfbarmitzvah Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:52:53 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=20847#comment-29309 @stuffisthings In my case, at least, the allure came out of pure youthful/immature naivete, not at all the reality of what the 9-to-5 desk job world actually entails (I was 22, fresh out of school, and all I knew so far were retail jobs, internships, part-time clerical jobs where I rarely had to do anything more intense than filing or occasionally breaking the fax machine, etc.). I wanted to be a big important novelist, and I somehow got it into my head that 1) publishing houses were populated entirely by people who simply loooooooved books and held hands while dancing in a circle talking about their very favorite books all day, occasionally taking breaks to work on bringing new, undiscovered, brilliant books to the public, and 2) if I wanted to become a writer myself, working in publishing could put me in close proximity to people who could make that dream a reality, while also immersing me daily in a creative, book-loving culture that would set my writerly juices a-flowin'. As it turned out, publishing is a BUSINESS, not a book-reading lovefest. And in the publishing business, most of the books being published were crappy inspirational career guides, disposable chick lit novels with pictures of shoes on the cover, a thousand interchangeable books about vampires, and really very few things that were anything other than cringeworthy (there are some publishers - tiny independent publishers and university presses - that publish really great books, but those places pay you even less than a regular publisher will). And when a job in publishing entails a 12-hr day trying to sell the book-buying public on crappy career guides and interchangeable vampire books, you can very quickly start to feel less like a person with a satisfying, creative career, and more like a used car salesman. In comparison, working in nonprofit isn't perfect, but at least at the end of the day I feel like I've been somewhat useful, instead of feeling like a tired huckster shilling carefully polished turds. @stuffisthings In my case, at least, the allure came out of pure youthful/immature naivete, not at all the reality of what the 9-to-5 desk job world actually entails (I was 22, fresh out of school, and all I knew so far were retail jobs, internships, part-time clerical jobs where I rarely had to do anything more intense than filing or occasionally breaking the fax machine, etc.). I wanted to be a big important novelist, and I somehow got it into my head that 1) publishing houses were populated entirely by people who simply loooooooved books and held hands while dancing in a circle talking about their very favorite books all day, occasionally taking breaks to work on bringing new, undiscovered, brilliant books to the public, and 2) if I wanted to become a writer myself, working in publishing could put me in close proximity to people who could make that dream a reality, while also immersing me daily in a creative, book-loving culture that would set my writerly juices a-flowin’. As it turned out, publishing is a BUSINESS, not a book-reading lovefest. And in the publishing business, most of the books being published were crappy inspirational career guides, disposable chick lit novels with pictures of shoes on the cover, a thousand interchangeable books about vampires, and really very few things that were anything other than cringeworthy (there are some publishers – tiny independent publishers and university presses – that publish really great books, but those places pay you even less than a regular publisher will). And when a job in publishing entails a 12-hr day trying to sell the book-buying public on crappy career guides and interchangeable vampire books, you can very quickly start to feel less like a person with a satisfying, creative career, and more like a used car salesman.

In comparison, working in nonprofit isn’t perfect, but at least at the end of the day I feel like I’ve been somewhat useful, instead of feeling like a tired huckster shilling carefully polished turds.

]]> By: stuffisthings http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/pursuing-the-creative-career-and-getting-paid-for-it-too/#comment-29298 stuffisthings Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:01:22 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=20847#comment-29298 @werewolfbarmitzvah I never understood the allure of publishing -- it seems like all the negatives of both the private sector and the nonprofit world rolled into one. Journalism I can certainly understand, but seriously, what is the allure of publishing? I like cheese, doesn't mean I want to work on a dairy. @werewolfbarmitzvah I never understood the allure of publishing — it seems like all the negatives of both the private sector and the nonprofit world rolled into one. Journalism I can certainly understand, but seriously, what is the allure of publishing? I like cheese, doesn’t mean I want to work on a dairy.

]]> By: werewolfbarmitzvah http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/pursuing-the-creative-career-and-getting-paid-for-it-too/#comment-29294 werewolfbarmitzvah Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:14:54 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=20847#comment-29294 @LaNocciola @julebsorry Agreed 1000%. I worked in publishing for a couple of years after college, and had to get out. The publishing field turned out to be so disillusioning, so disappointing. I thought the work would be creative; it wasn't. I thought it would be fun; it wasn't. I thought it would be possible to survive on publishing's entry level salaries, or at least to move up eventually; it wasn't. I also thought I'd have enough spare time left over to write a brilliant novel in the off hours; I didn't! The work was grueling and tedious, and it was incredibly frustrating to see all the other entry level publishing workers somehow affording to live in nice neighborhoods and wearing nice clothes, while I was practically destitute, and finally I figured out that most of them had a secret parental source of extra money which made their lifestyles possible. Now, ultimately, I'm done with the creative fields. Done done done. I'm in nonprofit now, and while I still don't make very much money, it certainly pays better than publishing did, and the work is oddly a LOT more satisfying. @LaNocciola @julebsorry Agreed 1000%. I worked in publishing for a couple of years after college, and had to get out. The publishing field turned out to be so disillusioning, so disappointing. I thought the work would be creative; it wasn’t. I thought it would be fun; it wasn’t. I thought it would be possible to survive on publishing’s entry level salaries, or at least to move up eventually; it wasn’t. I also thought I’d have enough spare time left over to write a brilliant novel in the off hours; I didn’t! The work was grueling and tedious, and it was incredibly frustrating to see all the other entry level publishing workers somehow affording to live in nice neighborhoods and wearing nice clothes, while I was practically destitute, and finally I figured out that most of them had a secret parental source of extra money which made their lifestyles possible. Now, ultimately, I’m done with the creative fields. Done done done. I’m in nonprofit now, and while I still don’t make very much money, it certainly pays better than publishing did, and the work is oddly a LOT more satisfying.

]]> By: Flora Poste http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/pursuing-the-creative-career-and-getting-paid-for-it-too/#comment-29293 Flora Poste Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:13:01 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=20847#comment-29293 I found this article especially interesting, as I have just moved to London (Zone 6 though) for my first job, and am on only a slightly higher salary. I definitely don't feel the financial stress that you did, in fact I feel like it adequately pays for my lifestyle, although I suppose a potentially big difference in rent would explain that. I am interested in working in publishing myself (I am currently in quite a different field), and you have definitely given me some food for thought before exploring that any further. I found this article especially interesting, as I have just moved to London (Zone 6 though) for my first job, and am on only a slightly higher salary. I definitely don’t feel the financial stress that you did, in fact I feel like it adequately pays for my lifestyle, although I suppose a potentially big difference in rent would explain that.

I am interested in working in publishing myself (I am currently in quite a different field), and you have definitely given me some food for thought before exploring that any further.

]]> By: LaNocciola http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/pursuing-the-creative-career-and-getting-paid-for-it-too/#comment-29292 LaNocciola Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:12:54 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=20847#comment-29292 @la_di_da Woo! Former publishing minions unite! What will you do next? @la_di_da Woo! Former publishing minions unite! What will you do next?

]]> By: Megano! http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/pursuing-the-creative-career-and-getting-paid-for-it-too/#comment-29289 Megano! Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:07:06 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=20847#comment-29289 Huh, kinda funny when you look at the ratio of women in a field and the salary. And by funny I mean incredibly depressing. Huh, kinda funny when you look at the ratio of women in a field and the salary. And by funny I mean incredibly depressing.

]]> By: la_di_da http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/pursuing-the-creative-career-and-getting-paid-for-it-too/#comment-29284 la_di_da Thu, 03 Jan 2013 19:58:21 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=20847#comment-29284 THIS. I am leaving publishing. It's not just the low salary, which I was willing to accept in the short term. It's that there's no way to move up coupled with absolutely no room to negotiate in most cases, because you're a dime a dozen. Everybody wants your job so we pay you crap. Fine. Supply and demand, I get it, but there's something to be said about a fair wage for an educated worker who consistently works overtime. THIS. I am leaving publishing. It’s not just the low salary, which I was willing to accept in the short term. It’s that there’s no way to move up coupled with absolutely no room to negotiate in most cases, because you’re a dime a dozen. Everybody wants your job so we pay you crap. Fine. Supply and demand, I get it, but there’s something to be said about a fair wage for an educated worker who consistently works overtime.

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