BOOK INDUSTRY SALARY GUIDE
ou may be sitting at your desk wondering if the stressful job that is giving you gray hair and ulcers is worth it. Or, you may be perfectly content in your current position, but just a little bit curious as to whether your salary is competitive. You also may be wondering whether you are paying your staff enough to keep them from exploring other opportunities.
Now, using Book Business’ first “Book Industry Salary Guide,” you can see how your salary and your staff’s salaries compare to others in similar positions at other book publishing companies.
The guide is based on data compiled from a comprehensive survey conducted by independent research organization Readex Research, with cooperation from industry organizations the Book Industry Study Group Inc., the Association of Educational Publishers and the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. The survey findings, which are based on responses from 675 individuals, incorporate important variables such as demographic information, including age, gender and level of education.
Men Make More Than Women
Among the survey’s notable findings is the difference between salaries for men and women. According to the survey, men average $79,200 in total annual compensation (including bonuses and other cash compensation), while women average $62,800. In other words, on average, men earn $16,400 more than women.
If you look at the median salaries, which show the exact midpoint of men’s and women’s salaries, the gap closes by only $500, with men ($71,300) earning $15,900 more than women ($55,400).
On a percentage basis, the gender salary gap in the book publishing industry is less than the nationwide average across all industries. According to the “Book Industry Salary Guide” data, women are paid, on average, about 79.3 percent of what men are paid; and according to the National Organization for Women, women in all industries are paid, on average, about 77 percent of what men are paid.
Older May Be Wiser, But Not Necessarily Higher Paid
Another interesting finding from the research is the fact that salaries are not necessarily proportionate with age. Total compensation for executives ages 55 and older was, on average, $69,200, while executives ages 40 to 54 reported earning, on average, $75,400. Executives less than 40 years old averaged $63,800.
The Highest-Paying Positions
It’s likely not surprising that most corporate management positions are among the highest paid in the industry. However, according to survey data, executive vice presidents average higher salaries than those in the top corporate grouping of presidents, CEOs, COOs and CFOs. Executive vice presidents reported an average salary of $116,600, while presidents (etc.) averaged $93,700.
One possible explanation as to why the corporate group that includes presidents shows a lower average salary than some other management positions is that regardless of a company’s size, it will have a president. Smaller companies (which may not pay as much as some larger companies where the staff oversees more projects and employees) may not have executive vice presidents and vice presidents of marketing, etc. So salaries for presidents at small companies may be substantially smaller, and therefore, bring down the average salary, as well as the median salary (which is also lower than several other corporate management positions) for that grouping.
While other explanations are certainly possible, there is some statistical evidence that seems to support this conclusion. The average salary for companies with less than $5 million in revenue (2006) is $48,700, whereas the average salary for companies with $5 million to $19.9 million in revenue is $76,000, and for companies with $20 million or more in annual revenues, the average salary is $83,000.
Vice presidents/directors of marketing ($101,600) and vice presidents/directors of manufacturing ($100,200) also averaged higher salaries than the top corporate management group. In fact, 25 percent of vice presidents/directors of manufacturing are making more than $127,900, and 25 percent of vice presidents/directors of marketing are making more than $118,300.
The Lowest-Paying Positions
Editors didn’t fare quite as well in their average salaries. In fact, editors ($55,000), managing editors ($59,900) and acquisitions editors (58,800) were among the lowest-paid positions of those surveyed, with only production associates ($50,600) making less.
And it doesn’t seem to be a case of just a handful of significantly underpaid editors throwing off the average. Fifty percent of editors surveyed are making less than $49,000. Fifty percent of managing editors are making less than $63,000, and for acquisitions editors, that number is $57,000.
What Region of the Country Pays the Most?
Publishing industry executives in the northeastern United States nosed out the other regions with an average salary of $74,200 and a median salary of $66,800.
Twenty-five percent of executives in the Northeast are making above $94,600, while 25 percent of executives in the West are making above $85,000.
Raises and Bonuses
It’s also interesting to note that 61 percent of respondents reported that their salaries had increased over the previous year, while 28 percent said their salaries did not change. (Check out the chart “Compensation Change Over Previous Year” to see what kind of salary increases most respondents received.)
Bonuses seem to be a somewhat popular form of compensation in the book publishing industry, with 44 percent of respondents indicating that they received some other cash compensation in addition to their base salary. This other compensation ranged from less than $5,000 to more than $50,000. (See the chart “Amount of Other Cash Compensation” for the percentage breakdown.) BB