RI's publishing sector attracts few<\/p>\n
By Hermawan Sulistyo<\/p>\n
PHOENIX, Arizona, United States (JP): Chief executive officers
\nor presidents of major publishing houses here are not underpaid,
\ncompared to other business sectors. Data shows that in 1995,
\nthose who head major publishing companies could reach an average
\ntop salary of US$330,000 (Publishers Weekly, August 1996).
\nResearch conducted by the magazine also revealed that most of
\nthese chief executive officers (CEOs) enjoyed increases in their
\nsalaries surpassing the inflation rate.<\/p>\n
When we count the total enumerations of selected executive
\nsalaries in American book-related companies, the amounts can be
\nstaggering. Mark Willes, CEO of Times Mirror, received
\nUS$2,032,856 last year. Second and third to his position are
\nJoseph Dionne of McGraw-Hill, with $1,594,325 and Len Riggio of
\nBarnes & Noble, with $1,305,000. Many more CEOs from midlevel
\ncompanies enjoy no less salaries and benefits.<\/p>\n
While these CEOs enjoy the benefits of the ever growing book
\nindustry, their Indonesian counterparts suffer from a steadily
\ndwindling rate of book production. CEOs of major Indonesian book
\npublishers barely earn more than $20,000 in annual salaries and
\nbenefits. If they do earn more, the company must be operating
\nsome other related profit making businesses, such as newspapers
\nor bookstores (which make their profits mostly from selling
\nstationery).<\/p>\n
Lower-ranking positions in the publishing world in the United
\nStates also enjoy similar competitive salaries and benefits,
\nalthough there is a wide gap between top executive salaries and,
\nsay, editorial salaries. Editors in chief of a big publisher,
\nincluded in the same category as top CEOs (in companies with
\nannual revenues over $100 million) earn an average salary of
\n$91,233, barely one third of those CEOs, yet still a competitive
\noccupation in comparison to fully tenured professors, who earn
\nsimilar or even lower salaries.<\/p>\n
Yet, someone with a similar position, working for a \"first-
\nclass\" trade publisher in Indonesia, would rarely receive over
\n$10,000 a year. Still, this is a decent salary considering the
\nfact that an editor working for a midlevel publisher (for the
\nIndonesian book publishing world, this means publishers with
\nannual book productions between 50 and 100 titles) may receive
\nonly $2,500 a year.<\/p>\n
As a logical consequence of highly competitive salaries,
\neditorial positions in the U.S. attract many of the best brains
\nin the country. With their skills and talents, they not only can
\nmaintain the quality of the books they produce, but also create
\nbetter books. In turn, these products would stimulate an increase
\nin consumer interest and their willingness to spend more money on
\nbooks.<\/p>\n
No wonder then that the survey by Publishers Weekly indicated
\nthat 86 percent of the executives reported they were satisfied
\nwith their current jobs. Only 4 percent said they expected to
\nleave the industry over the next five years. Nearly 30 percent
\nsaid they anticipated being in the same job five years from now,
\nand 26 percent expected to be in a higher position within the
\nsame company.<\/p>\n
Again, in contrast to their affluent positions, their
\ncounterparts here in Indonesia have to suffer from a stagnant and
\neven decreasing competitive job market. As far as I know, there
\nare only three full-time editors with master's degrees working
\nfor trade publishers here. University presses and vanity presses
\nare excluded, since they assume a special function as,
\npresumably, non-profit organizations.<\/p>\n
Fresh and talented graduates are not interested in working in
\nunderpaid positions in the publishing industry. Commercial, non-
\npublishing sectors are too tempting to avoid. If they want to
\npursue careers that utilize writing-related skills, they would
\nunderstandably choose other careers, such as in the mass media.
\nThe position of book editor often becomes the occupation of last
\nresort in job hunting. Some talented young scholars or fresh
\ngraduates work in the publishing sector until they find other
\nrewarding careers.<\/p>\n
As a temporary shelter during a long period of job hunting,
\npublishing houses still offer a good start for building \"credit
\nhistory\". With their in-house power, they could get workers'
\nnames to appear on the list of credits on the title page, which
\nlater makes for a good CV. Therefore, even established trade
\npublishers such as Gramedia permit copy editors to put their
\nnames on the title page, a practice that is not common among
\ntrade publishers in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Mediocre editors would be of no help to a bad manuscript that
\nwould otherwise turn out to be a bestseller had it been edited by
\na good editor. Thus, the situation is like a vicious circle, with
\nno end at all. Underpaid editorial positions attract no interest
\nfrom the best brains; only the losers and a few scholars
\nconsidered as \"strange and eccentric\" end their lives as book
\neditors.<\/p>\n
Expect bad products from mediocre editors: books that are not
\nmarketable. In addition to this gloomy and non-prospective
\nsituation, royalties amounting to only 10 percent of the gross
\nsale price are definitely not enticing for future authors.
\nFifteen years ago, trade publishers used to publish between 2,500
\nto 5,000 copies of a scholarly book. Now, only a foolish
\npublisher would make over 2,000 copies of similar books.<\/p>\n
It seems that without a political will from the authorities,
\nwe may expect a perish or peril situation for the book publishing
\nworld here. Unfortunately, there is no hint at all that we are
\nmoving to remedy the situation. The book industry is still far
\nfrom being an important element, beyond sloganistic official
\nstatements, in providing access to a better-educated people.
\nIndeed, it is not an exaggeration to state that this industry is
\neven moving backward, toward a hesitant retreat.<\/p>\n
The writer is a fellow with the Program for Southeast Asian
\nStudies, Arizona State University.<\/p>",
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