Book editors love their jobs, perhaps more than the average worker. We work diligently with motivated and inspiring peers on projects we are proud of. You may not realise that every great book you’ve read has been through a rigorous editing process. If an editor’s job is done well, you won’t notice their hand in the final product – this is the invisible work behind each brilliant author, even (or perhaps especially) your favourites.

However, book lovers might be surprised to learn that the working conditions for many of those behind the scenes of book publishing are lagging behind other industries.

Waterstones says it can't pay living wage, as 1,300 authors support staff appeal Read more

In 2018, trade outfit Books+Publishing surveyed 349 Australian book publishing employees about their work. Their findings reveal some telling statistics: the publishing workforce is highly qualified (83%), mostly female (93%) and predominantly unpaid for overtime. Only 6% are people of colour and 3% identify as living with a disability.

These dispiriting figures are perhaps a consequence of the job being poorly paid more generally and applicants’ success highly reliant on previous (unpaid) experience: as an editor, your yearly wage starts as low as $45,000 and is unlikely to increase much as you progress, sometimes sitting at only $68,600 for up to 35 years’ experience. Compare this to the average full-time Australian salary of about $80,000 and it starts to look like a pretty depressing career prospect.

This lag in salary increases could be attributed to the fact that publishing has a highly feminised workforce who has been marginalised by a gender pay gap. In 2018 female publishing employees earned at least 10% less than their male counterparts in almost all departments, according to Books+Publishing. Full-time female editors, on average, earn 89% of their male colleagues’ salaries. Women are also less likely to ask for pay rises and more likely to accept a lower starting wage than men, and historically aren’t paid superannuation for their time on parental leave.

This is an industry that has relied on the insecurity of its employees

I think many publishing workers have also accepted that the Australian publishing industry is low-paying as a result of low profit margin and growth. That our jobs are highly sought after and competitive positions, with a yearly influx of new, willing publishing graduates ready to work harder for less. In publishing circles, you often hear the phrase “I put up with it because I love my job so much” – we accept the shortcomings and remind ourselves to be grateful for the privilege of working in an industry so seemingly fragile.

However, contrary to popular belief, the industry is not at risk of dying – far from it. In fact, the industry has seen growth in the last few years, with book sales increasing in value by 1.4% in 2018 (according to Nielsen BookScan) – small growth, but growth nonetheless. As Samantha Forge points out in her recent article for Kill Your Darlings, book publishing employees could be seen as excellent value for money because they cost their employers less than in other industries. But this should not be used as an excuse to keep wages stagnant.

No matter how much we love our jobs, our working conditions have been lagging at the mercy of big business. They are not isolated to my publishing house, they are historical and ingrained throughout the industry. This is an industry that has relied on the insecurity of its employees.

It is rare in publishing to see a job advertisement that is transparent about salary, workload and role responsibilities. No mention that you’ll be expected to work long hours without extra compensation, that the pay is less than similarly ranked positions in many other industries, and that this is not likely to increase in a fair and transparent way.

They don’t mention that it’s unlikely you will be consulted when your job description is changed to keep up with the increasing demands of publishing. It’s expected that you will have already made sacrifices, either through tertiary study or unpaid internships, to be eligible for even the most junior roles – a structure favouring applicants from only the most privileged backgrounds. These limitations are partly a result of the Book Industry Award, which was last reviewed in 2010. Despite the wages and responsibilities listed in the Award being well out of date, they are still used by most publishing houses as an apparently fair benchmark.

Slimming cookbook becomes fastest selling non-fiction book since records began Read more

Book editors’ standards for our own working conditions have, until now, been low. We have muted our expectations so as not to disrupt the delicate balance of the Australian publishing industry. But unionising has given us a voice in decisions that affect us daily – an opportunity for our rights and interests to be truly represented and bargained for collectively. With increased membership rates across the business, we are now in a position to sit down with our employer to create an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement. And here at Penguin Random House, we have already seen positive support from our employer, as well as other publishers and the local journalism, entertainment and literary industries.

I love my work, I love working with Australian authors and I am proud of what I do and the colleagues who work alongside me. It’s because I love my job, not in spite of this, that I have chosen to join the bargaining team on behalf of my colleagues at PRH. It’s because I love my work that I believe it’s well and truly time for a new chapter in Australian book publishing.

• Bethany Patch is a book editor at Penguin Random House and a Media and Entertainment Arts Alliance delegate and staff bargaining representative