UK in-house staff turning to freelance work in ‘growing trend’
In the UK, in-house publishing staff are turning to freelance work to avoid burnout, in what the Bookseller calls ‘a growing trend’.
The publication spoke with several professionals in publishing and the wider UK books industry, hearing ‘a range of issues including burnout, poor treatment at work and a desire for greater autonomy cited as reasons for the change’.
‘It used to be that people got sacked and went freelance, but now people are leaving good jobs to go freelance,’ observed Dotti Irving, an agent with Greyhound Literary, speaking of workers in the publicity field, adding that the decision might relate to unaffordable housing: ‘They all work out of London and are all excellent at what they do… Who can afford a house in London now?’
Similarly, former HarperCollins commissioning editor Catherine Gough, who departed the company earlier this year to offer freelance publishing services, said: ‘I knew going freelance would mean sacrificing financial stability for flexibility, but the salaries in publishing aren’t so amazing that they’re a factor in convincing people to stay, especially in relation to the hours worked. Going freelance means that I’m now paid for the time I give, but the most significant change I’ve noticed since working for myself is the reduction in stress.’
However, interviewees also observed that freelancing could not solve all workplace difficulties, calling for structural changes in the broader industry. One publicist, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘I’d be much happier if it was a pull to be a freelancer rather than just a push from work. There are rubbish things about being freelancing: doing all your own finances, IT support, managing the workload so you’re either feast or famine and not having a big organisation behind you can be scary when you start out.’
‘The bullies within the corporate world will bully freelancers too,’ they added. ‘Bullying should be looked into; people crying in the loos is terrible. If bullying is there, then managers should take it a lot more seriously.’
Category: International news
