Literary agent vs editor

The differences between literary agents and editors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a literary agent, becoming an editor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an editor has an average salary of $52,107, which is higher than the $37,482 average annual salary of a literary agent.

The top three skills for a literary agent include fiction, non-fiction and administrative tasks. The most important skills for an editor are web content, video content, and SEO.

Literary agent vs editor overview

	Literary Agent	Editor
Yearly salary	$37,482	$52,107
Hourly rate	$18.02	$25.05
Growth rate	10%	-5%
Number of jobs	28,819	15,115
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	43	44
Years of experience	6	4

Literary agent vs editor salary

Literary agents and editors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Literary Agent	Editor
Average salary	$37,482	$52,107
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $57,000	Between $34,000 And $78,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Microsoft
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between literary agent and editor education

There are a few differences between a literary agent and an editor in terms of educational background:

	Literary Agent	Editor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	English	English
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Northwestern University

Literary agent vs editor demographics

Here are the differences between literary agents' and editors' demographics:

	Literary Agent	Editor
Average age	43	44
Gender ratio	Male, 41.5% Female, 58.5%	Male, 46.4% Female, 53.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 9.5% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 7.3% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	6%	12%

Differences between literary agent and editor duties and responsibilities

Literary agent example responsibilities.

Schedule and meet individuals\groups for assign or self-generate leads, assist and enroll eligible individuals in suitable Medicare product.
Network at industry lunches and evening events on behalf of ICM.
Experience working with UK publishers, literary agents, and film and television production companies.
Perform editing services and act as agent for nonfiction business books and fiction work for other writers.
Acquire available life rights projects for all aspects of the company and pitch them for potential ICM represent projects.
Founder of a boutique literary agency specializing in literary fiction and narrative nonfiction.

Editor example responsibilities.

Manage content QC and Disney client QC of create content.
Manage campaign performance through data analysis and reporting, with actionable takeaways per designate KPI.
Manage and create newsletter archives for NASA: http: //www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/home/index.html
Manage business documentation for the department's strategic alignment SharePoint database.
Develop SEO strategies to increase profitability and manage social media to spread brand awareness and bolster readership.
Manage international man-made fiber market research/publishing company and supervise editorial content and sales of industry statistical journal.

Literary agent vs editor skills

Common literary agent skills

Fiction, 92%
Non-Fiction, 4%
Administrative Tasks, 4%

Common editor skills

Web Content, 13%
Video Content, 9%
SEO, 6%
Facebook, 4%
Editor-In-Chief, 4%
Twitter, 3%