Compensation

Creating a literary agency succession plan is an extremely personal endeavor. Agency heads must consider the timing of handing off their agency, the “purchase price” (whether the agency is bought outright or paid out over time), and keeping their clients, while also navigating the less visible aspects of retirement, such as making sure their agency maintains its ethos, keeping connections with beloved authors, and stepping back from work when their work is so closely tied to their identity. As we’ve reported, each plan is unique, though they usually fall into one of three categories—an agency employee taking over, merging with […]

David Black has signed over ownership of his agency, which he has run for 36 years, to agent Sarah Smith, who has been with the agency for 13 years. “That was the hardest piece of paper for me to sign,” Black said. “But I do so proudly.” Smith will run the day-to-day operations of the agency, which will keep its name. She will also take on business strategy and eventually become the face of the business. Black, she said, “is not going anywhere” and he “is going to remain in his capacity as rainmaker and counsel and be there to […]

When Simon & Schuster publisher Sean Manning first applied for an editor position at the flagship imprint in 2016, then-publisher Jonathan Karp told him he was the least qualified candidate, The Cut reports. Manning had never worked in books, just magazines. But according to Manning, Karp meant it as a compliment. “His feeling was, if we bring somebody who’s maybe seeing things differently, what could that potentially lead to?” he said. Publishing is often thought of as an apprenticeship industry, but Manning is one publishing professional who entered in the middle of their career, without having started as an assistant […]

A new poll conducted by Gotham Ghostwriters has found that 1/3 of ghostwriters make upwards of $100,000 per year. Gotham surveyed 269 working ghostwriters and collaborators following the first Gathering of the Ghosts Conference, at which ghostwriters called for more fee transparency in the field. The findings of the survey reinforce PL’s reporting from earlier this year that high-quality, experienced ghosts mostly charge in the six figures for long-form projects, but provided this additional, more granular data: -25 percent of ghostwriters charged at least $100,000 for their last nonfiction manuscript -8 percent of ghostwriters charged more than $150,000 for their […]