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Publisher vs senior editor

The differences between publishers and senior editors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a publisher and a senior editor. Additionally, a senior editor has an average salary of $90,094, which is higher than the $71,539 average annual salary of a publisher.

The top three skills for a publisher include press releases, customer satisfaction and strategic thinking. The most important skills for a senior editor are edit content, video content, and SEO.

Publisher vs senior editor overview

PublisherSenior Editor
Yearly salary$71,539$90,094
Hourly rate$34.39$43.31
Growth rate-5%-5%
Number of jobs10,30312,150
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

What does a publisher do?

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.

What does a senior editor do?

A Senior Editor determines the editorial content for a publication. They supervise the content creation process and manage junior editors.

Publisher vs senior editor salary

Publishers and senior editors have different pay scales, as shown below.

PublisherSenior Editor
Average salary$71,539$90,094
Salary rangeBetween $42,000 And $120,000Between $66,000 And $121,000
Highest paying CityStamford, CTSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateConnecticutConnecticut
Best paying companyMicrosoftApple
Best paying industryTelecommunicationFinance

Differences between publisher and senior editor education

There are a few differences between a publisher and a senior editor in terms of educational background:

PublisherSenior Editor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common majorBusinessEnglish
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Publisher vs senior editor demographics

Here are the differences between publishers' and senior editors' demographics:

PublisherSenior Editor
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 55.7% Female, 44.3%Male, 51.7% Female, 48.3%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 7.2% White, 76.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between publisher and senior editor duties and responsibilities

Publisher example responsibilities.

  • Manage the migration and reformatting of over 8,000 web pages into a new CMS.
  • Pitch, produce and build all content (manage freelancers, art-direct shoots, write text, CMS).
  • Manage blogs and social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn) to support the brand of the magazine.
  • Manage editorial calendar and run weekly meetings with cross-functional stakeholders.
  • Manage and perform administrative QC of electronic clinical submission modules within the Documentum document management system.
  • Supervise all editorial activities, including developing editorial story boards, managing freelance copywriters and directing contract photo assignments.
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Senior editor example responsibilities.

  • Contract and manage editorial freelancers and full-service vendors for successful high school Spanish and Latin textbook and ancillary programs.
  • Post video to the Fox17 website and youtube.
  • Complete several robust DVD authoring projects for clients.
  • Redesign the look and the style of lifestyle magazine.
  • Double traffic on the Instagram page with newly implement marketing plan.
  • Content editing for automobile DVD user manuals (English, French and Spanish).
  • Show more

Publisher vs senior editor skills

Common publisher skills
  • Press Releases, 13%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 12%
  • Strategic Thinking, 11%
  • Publishing Industry, 5%
  • Facebook, 4%
  • Market Trends, 4%
Common senior editor skills
  • Edit Content, 11%
  • Video Content, 7%
  • SEO, 7%
  • Digital Content, 6%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Facebook, 3%

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