Exciting news this month, when a number of publishers pledged to raise their starting salaries from $40,000 to $45,000/year. In part, this commitment to paying a living wage is to help diversify the publishing workforce, as discussed in this Poets & Writers article.

At the same time, a number of efforts are being made to demystify the publishing process and discuss what types of jobs are done by editors, designers, and everyone else employed by a publisher. A couple of free panels are coming up that will be of particular interest to those wanting to write or publish in the science fiction and fantasy field.

April 16, 9pm PDT/12am EST

Flights of Foundry
What Are All The People Working On Your Book Doing
Crafted for writers, this panel will discuss a book’s journey from pitched to published, and who all the professionals working on a book along the way. Panelists are Jill Roberts, Managing Editor, Tachyon Publications; Laura Blackwell, Copyeditor; Mike Allen, Publisher, Mythic Delirium Books; and Rosemary Jones (moderator), Creative Consultant, Book Publishers Northwest News. All are also accomplished authors who have seen both sides of the publishing process. An international conference, Flights offers panels and workshops 24-hours a day, April 16 to 19. To register for this and other Flights events, see their website at flightsoffoundry.org.

May 6, 4pm PDT/7pm EST

Tor.EDU
Genre Publishing 101
Join a group of publishing professionals from Tor Nightfire Books to learn their path towards breaking into the industry and more about their day-to-day work. This panel will focus on answering questions about how to get started as an employee in the book industry. Free to register at crowdcast.