More Editor Stuff

Editors are still on the brain, I guess.

So, are they paid based on how much a book they acquire makes? Or do they get a salary? And if a book does well, what kind of a reward does an editor receive?

I'm just wondering what kind of incentive they have to choose a great story to buy. Will the success or failure of their acquisition determine the future of their career?

I know. I'm nosy. :-)

It's an interesting business, I think. Being an agent or editor, being paid to read, is my idea of bliss.

Anybody "got the goods" on this profession?

This just in! According to a bookends post, editors do NOT get paid commission. Makes me wonder what their incentive to buy the best is. ???

Comments

Eileen Astels Watson said…
I understand it to be a percentage. Most agents I believe charge 15%, but for foreign sales 20% since it is split between two agents in that case. So, for the sake of simplicity, if you earn $1/cover sold in North America, and you sell 5000 books, then the author gets $4250, and his/her agent gets $750. I thought I read somewhere that it's common for the actual royalty cheque to go directly to the agent who then takes their fee and forwards the remainder to the author.

But I'm no expert, so I'll be checking back in on these comments to see what others have heard. Hopefully you'll get someone in the know to comment. This is an interesting topic.
October 24, 2008 at 8:47 AM
Eileen Astels Watson said…
Oops, I just realized you were talking about editors, not agents. My bad. Sorry! Forget everything in that previous post.

As far as incentive for editors, I would guess the bottom line income of the publishing house does eventually effect their individual pocket books. I would think an editor's bonuses and promotions would be directly related to how their chosen books do.
October 24, 2008 at 8:51 AM
Sarah said…
So are you considering becoming an editor, or what? Do tell...
October 24, 2008 at 5:06 PM
Susan J. Reinhardt said…
Hi Jessica -

Perhaps it depends on the size of the publishing house, the location, and the skill level of the editor. I haven't seen much on the subject.

Blessings,
Susan :)
October 24, 2008 at 7:27 PM
Anonymous said…
If nothing else, I would think that the notoriety from choosing and polishing a hit book would be something an editor's ego would thrive on.

As far as their pocket books go, Eileen's hypothesis seemed very sound: that they have bonuses and promotions based on the successes they bring into their publishing house.

Great questions, Jessie! I'd never even thought of those...
October 25, 2008 at 9:32 AM
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