At a time when mental health issues are soaring, earnings are plummeting and over half of debut novelists report the experience of publishing had a negative impact on their mental health, systemic solutions are needed.
TLC Director Aki Schilz’s opinion piece on the subject has been published in the books sector’s largest media platform, The Bookseller. We have reproduced it below, or you if you are a subscriber you can read it at The Bookseller here.
In 2025, the Society of Authors published their author care toolkit for “the ways in which publishers, agents and other publishing professionals relate to, support and communicate with authors”. Framed around three principles – transparency, support and inclusion and respectful communication – the toolkit is clear and helpful.
However, in a time when mental health issues are soaring, earnings are plummeting and over half of debut novelists report the experience of publishing for the first time had a negative impact on their mental health, the onus for better care cannot fall only to individuals.
We need better guidelines for organisations too.
We simply cannot rely on a few trailblazing individuals who do good work. When they leave, the good work leaves with them, and while they are still there, the risk of burnout is enormous. This isn’t sustainable, and it doesn’t solve the systemic issues at play.
Writers continue to want to write, to desire readerships, to wish to be read. They persist. They insist. They live in hope. And changes do come that feel real. The recent announcement of Canongate switching to quarterly royalties was billed as revolutionary, and it is. Regular payments are author care. Changing a system is radical. These things are deeply linked.
If we are to revolutionise author care, we must systemise the change. With that in mind, here are eight suggestions for things that publishers, agencies and other professional bodies working with writers can do now, which are easy to put in place and take minimal prep but have lasting impacts on author wellbeing and success.
An author welcome pack with all of the key pieces of information about your agency or publisher (or imprint etc). Your story, your values, your mission and vision.
Workflow charts that show clearly and exactly how you intend to work with an author for each part of the process (I’d like to mention Cassava Republic, who is the only publisher I have worked with on in-house training who has been able to produce a version of this when asked – and it was excellent.)
We simply cannot rely on a few trailblazing individuals who do good work. When they leave, the good work leaves with them, and while they’re still there, the risk of burnout is enormous
Resources and FAQs – make them once, revisit them every couple of years. The difference between ‘Just ask if you have a question/Just come to me if you need something’ and ‘Here are answers to some commonly asked questions’ is critical. One is you pointing to a closed door saying feel free to work out how to get in. The other is allowing someone to walk through an open door and finding a room full of, yes, care.
Wishlists and response times – most agents have these, but not all. Almost 100% of the authors we work with at The Literacy Consultancy (TLC) who are looking for an agent report the overwhelming feeling of having no idea where to start. Who do I send to? What do they want? A clear wishlist, stating if you are open or closed for subs, and a clear process for managing and responding to submissions available on your website feels obvious, but it makes a huge difference.
Holistic evaluation – empower your authors by building genuine co-creation and active listening into your evaluative processes. What do your clients actually need to feel well, empowered and creative? What is the scale of feasibility (what’s a version of this that is free, a version that costs a little, a version that is an investment, etc?)
Thoughtful skills-based training – in every other profession, CPD is an essential part of the career pathway. We can absolutely learn, for example, how to edit. (I wish we would rely less on the total pot luck of finding a good in-house mentor for this). I also believe that all editors from all backgrounds can learn to edit all authors from all backgrounds more ethically.
Space to commune – this might look like providing a regular space for your authors to hang out, online or in person. Writing is a lonely business, and being able to be together can offer them the kind of community that most of our writers tell us is in the top three things they are looking for. For your staff that might look like think-ins, regular non-mandatory drop-in spaces and honest process chats.
Opportunities for restorative care – maybe that looks like a breathing circle for your clients. Maybe it looks like an employee assistance programme or a therapist on a retainer. Maybe you have a biannual day of rest where you all come together and do something restorative. This is not about an away day with a million exercises. It is about creating, as one of my most recent TLC for business clients articulated as their number one desired outcome – ‘more breathing space’. See here for more on Restorative Care Practice (RCP).
At TLC, we are working on an author-care manifesto, that we intend to publish this year, in which we will outline precisely what we feel our commitments are to our clients. We are also making our Reading Principles (which we use to train up our editors) publicly available for the first time.
And what about you?
A lot of us in the industry care deeply about what we do. But truth only when prompted is not the same as transparency, which makes clear before anyone needs to ask what we do, and what we don’t do. Just as knowledge is power, transparency is safety.
We need a care revolution in this industry. It is overdue. But it is not too late.
