How many publishing jobs are actually unlisted? I see people move around all the time on pub lunch but hardly ever see any openings. How does the poaching across publishers process actually work?
I'm curious how your parents handled the middle name situation. It's obviously not a thing in Asian countries (or at least not mine). Apparently when they were naming me and my brother they asked about a middle name but our cousin said it wasn't necessary, so we don't have one officially. But I have a really common Asian kid name combo, so I've been using my Chinese name as an unofficial middle name for my email address and my online portfolio domain to stand out and prevent having numbers at the end. Anyone else do something similar or did your parents actually add your Asian name as a middle name?
This is an ongoing issue in publishing but I’m curious about other people’s thoughts on this? Has it improved or is it about the same? Or did the industry have a moment of “oh we need more diverse books” as a DEI effort in 2020-2021, only to fall back and no longer care. Same with hiring BIPOC staff. Personally I’ve been having a hard time getting anything BIPOC past the powers that be.
I was recently offered an MSA due to “performance issues,” which I honestly don’t agree with (they said I needed a lot of handholding but my boss is actually a micromanager who asked to read all my emails to clients and memos). At the end of the day it really just came down to they didn’t trust me for whatever reason. But when asked while interviewing can I say something about how this company was just not a fit for me and I want to be somewhere I can have the freedom to bring forth my own vision? Or is saying “fit” a red flag?
I was recently offered the option between a PIP which I was told I would fail and a Mutual Separartion Agreement. (Personally I find the performance issues they raised completely subjective—saying I need hand holding when my manager is clearly a micromanager and mansplainer, not a good speaker despite doing two seasons of toastmasters and feeling like I’ve improved and am more comfortable). I picked the MSA for obvious reasons of it not being on my record and having to go through a PIP they’re basically telling me I will fail. And they said they would tell anyone who calls them about me that my clients adore me and I’m a hard worker. But should I trust them on this especially if they were prepped to give me a PIP? Or should I preempt it with other references. HR also told me that if I applied internally they would need to say that it was a performance based MSA. But is that actually true? I actually do like my company but really just don’t feel a cultural fit with this division so I’d wanna stay if I can. But are my prospects here dead because of this?
Is anyone part of a local book club or interested in starting one? I’ve been trying to read more/ rediscover my love for reading.
Does anyone have any experience working in editorial at sourcebooks? What has your experience been like when it comes to getting projects past Ed board or competing with the big 5 ( ignoring the fact that PRH has a stake in sourcebooks), especially in terms of advance amounts and winning projects?