Editor-in-Chief

I agree with much that the last poster put down—and I wish I had made $50k at that stage of my career! I didn’t, in fact, I was never an associate editor and it took me a long time to learn to negotiate in this business. It is THE CRITICAL FACTOR to getting ahead, in any industry really, but especially in ours, where everyone is always crying poor and preying on the good graces and eager attitudes of young editors. $40,000 is WAY TOO LOW for the top position on the masthead. I know: I have launched three magazines and worked on three startups, both national and regional, and have seen first-hand both how hard and what a money drain it is to get a magazine off the ground, and what ding dongs go into it for the glamour and prestige, thinking they’ll be the next Tom Florio, Anna Wintour, or Tina Brown. Too often those who go into publishing, at least on the other side of the masthead, either don’t know or hardly know what they are doing. I have seen it many many times over, publishers who have little or absolutely no magazine background, essentially saying, “I’m going to start a magazine! And it’ll be really glamorous! And I’ll throw fabulous parties and get my picture taken with all kinds of fabulous people and sell ads to Dolce & Gabbanna and Gap and Revlon and the money will just roll in and everyone will marvel at how we are just so cool and our layouts are so innovative and we are the next big thing!” Not. Too many times I’ve seen this and too many times I’ve seen editors get worked to death for very low pay and freelancers get paid late or not at all. Frankly, it sucks and it makes my blood boil.

So, as the senior sister to many of you Ed’sters, I feel dutybound to advise! The fact that you are even asking if we think the salary is too low and second guessing that dollar amount gives you your answer. The question you have to ask yourself is, how badly do you want it? And you may be fearing that another great opportunity will come along. Fear not: It will. There are hundreds of jobs out there, maybe not your dream one at first, but that’s not the issue; the issue is fair compensation for amount of work done. Have you signed on just for the launch or are you there to stay? (And have they given you—or even offerred—a contract? Whether you are there for just a short time or the long haul, you should ALWAYS get EVERYTHING in writing and have a lawyer look at it.) I understand your passion and your desire to want to be in the biz and rise to the top of the masthead, and rise you should, but ONLY if you are compensated fairly. You don’t want to end up feeling overworked and underappreciated and/or underpaid. I also do understand that startups don’t have big budgets—or so they say. Quite often it is because they are not funded or backed by the right financial means, in which case, do you want to work for an outfit like that anyway? Statistically, a magazine takes five years on average to turn a profit—any profit. Do you have a clear sense of your duties? Will you be able to hire staff to help you? I worked on a magazine three years ago as one of five staff members. Five. For everything—art, production, and edit. We had no copyeditors or fact checkers. And it was almost a weekly summer publication. Glutton for punishment was I? Maybe, but I did want it then too. Until I saw that it was an almsot insurmountable task, and caused us to work until 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 in the morning, sometimes later. And when the publisher started making excuses about not being able to pay my paycheck, that’s when I quit. Nothing matters more than respect for the immense labor that is involved in piecing together a publication. I love what I do but I love myself more.

Let your gut guide you. It won’t steer you wrong. And negotiate for at LEAST $60K. You are WELL worth it!!!

Seriously? I’m earning 50k as an associate editor. I guess if the magazine is really tiny and underfunded, then you might only make 40k, but in that case ask yourself if really want to join a startup that is severely underfunded. And honestly, if you’re editing a startup, you’ll be doing an incredible amount of work trying to get it off the ground—don’t lowball yourself here. All the numbers I was able to find identify a 20k range within each salary bracket, and guess at which end women were clustered? Forgive me for assuming you’re a woman here, but I’d bet a kidney you are. If you deserve the job, you deserve the salary. I’d ask for at least 60k.