Hello everyone and welcome Publishing in a Nutshell! This is a new segment I want to introduce here on my blog.
In every article I'll aim to highlight and discuss a couple of news from the publishing world, so if you have an interest in the publishing sector stay tuned 😊
Let’s begin our first segment with some positive news. Recently the Publishers Association has released a new report showing that the publishing sector is worth £11 billion of UK's economy. What an extraordinary amount, clearly there are ample avid readers out there and it’s wonderful to see!
The research also predicts that this will only continue to grow in the next ten years, potentially contributing another £5.6 billion to the UK economy and supporting a further 43000 jobs. As someone who is interested in the publishing sector and wants all creative industries to continue flourishing, this study offers some promising and hopeful news about the future of publishing.
The publishing sector is a highly dynamic one, it has foregone many changes in the last few decades, and I predict it will only continue to change and adapt in line with new technological advancements. But despite its’ changes I’m glad to see that it is still an important contributor to our culture and economy and has lots of potential for further growth. Living in our contemporary society, I believe it is more important than ever that we continue to support creative industries and ensure that human creativity is promoted rather than hindered. Art in all its forms is such a significant part of human experience and seeing that the publishing industry is so well supported is truly great to see!
For the full article please follow this link to the Publisher’s Association website:
Marriott, Michelle. “New Research Shows UK Publishing Sector is Worth £11 Billion to UK Economy”. Publishers Association. March 11, 2024: https://www.publishers.org.uk/new-research-shows-uk-publishing-sector-is-worth-11-billion-to-uk-economy/
However, while these are excellent news, I also believe that growth should happen for all members of a sector, and as recent research from The FLIP (Female Leadership in Publishing) suggests, there is a lot of room for growth and improvement.
The Bookseller have recently published an article about the above study which found that 58% of publishing staff feel their salaries are unsatisfactory in covering living costs and 97% of staff have experienced burnout. This is really disheartening to see, especially when looking at the economic success of the industry from the previous article. Every member of a sector deserves to have a sustainable living and as an editorial assistant mentions in the original article to which I highly agree, it costs more to train new members of staff than contributing to the financial growth of already existent members. Mind you this issue is not exclusive to the publishing sector, and not even to creative industries, it seems to be a general employment issue that sincerely needs to be tackled.
Unfortunately for publishing jobs, a lot of staff are required to relocate to London, especially early on in their careers which will put even more financial pressure on professionals. It is important when speaking of financial growth of any sector that we remain aware of the people that help make that growth happen; every staff member is valuable for a company, and their financial needs and opportunities for growth should be met and their mental health protected. I hope that with studies such as this new research surfacing, new light and transparency on employment matters will be shed and changes for the better will be seen.
For the full Bookseller article please follow the link below:
Wood, Heloise. “New Research from The FLIP Finds That While 77% of Staffers Enjoy Work Most Have Experienced Burnout”. The Bookseller. March 28, 2024: https://www.thebookseller.com/news/new-research-from-the-flip-finds-that-while-77-of-staffers-enjoy-work-most-have-experienced-burnout
I hope you enjoyed this first Publishing in a Nutshell segment! I thought this would be a great way to make my blog more personable, and besides, it’s really intriguing to keep an eye on the sector that makes all the wonderful books that you and I read possible.