Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between authors and publishers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an author and a publisher. Additionally, an author has an average salary of $78,368, which is higher than the $71,539 average annual salary of a publisher.
The top three skills for an author include veterans, JAN and DOD. The most important skills for a publisher are press releases, customer satisfaction, and strategic thinking.
| Author | Publisher | |
| Yearly salary | $78,368 | $71,539 |
| Hourly rate | $37.68 | $34.39 |
| Growth rate | 4% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 953 | 10,303 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An author is an individual individual responsible for developing creative stories published in formats such as books, movies, or television scripts. Authors conduct research of information that may be included in their works, whether they are fictional or non-fictional. Before publicly making their work available, authors must present a draft to editors for feedback and approval. Authors may work as self-employed or freelance and sell their written content to book publishers or advertising agencies.
A publisher manages the design, editing, and production process with the help of proofreaders, printers, and editors. Publishers make schedules for every stage of the process and work backward from the planned date for publication. They distribute promotional catalogs to libraries and booksellers. They set the commercial and editorial direction for businesses publishing newspapers, digital content, magazines, and books. It is their duty to make decisions on the markets that their firms will serve as well as the type of content that they will give to their audience.
Authors and publishers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Author | Publisher | |
| Average salary | $78,368 | $71,539 |
| Salary range | Between $51,000 And $118,000 | Between $42,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | Beverly, MA | Stamford, CT |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | John Wiley & Sons | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between an author and a publisher in terms of educational background:
| Author | Publisher | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between authors' and publishers' demographics:
| Author | Publisher | |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.5% Female, 50.5% | Male, 55.7% Female, 44.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 4.9% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.1% White, 76.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 12% |